HawgBeat - Pittman still feels confident about 2024 class despite losing streak
Sam Pittman is still confident in his recruiting class, despite 'vultures' looking to poach commits.
arkansas.rivals.com
While the team is suffering through a four-game losing streak on the field, the Arkansas Razorbacks are still holding strong on the recruiting trail with what could end up being their most productive high school recruiting class in the Rivals rankings era.
That doesn’t mean, however, other schools across the country don’t see an opportunity to swoop in and flip a few recruits from the Hogs’ stacked class.
Pittman spoke to the media Wednesday and said he is still confident in the class — which is currently ranked No. 21 in the country according to Rivals — because of the relationships the coaching staff has built with the recruits.
“I feel really, really good about the guys that we have committed to us,” Pittman said. “Real good. But, we also work very hard at keeping that relationship going, too. We know there’s vultures out there that are saying that we’ve lost four-in-a-row, they’re letting them know like they don’t already know.
“It’s the school they’re committed to. It’s a relationship game. It’s a relationship business, if you will. And as long as we keep our relationships I do not feel like we will have much of a problem of losing any of our commits.”
Arkansas is no stranger to flips, both on the receiving and losing end. Last year, Texas A&M managed to flip four-star wide receiver Micah Tease during the Early Signing Period in Dec. 2022.
The Hogs were also in danger of losing linebacker Brad Spence, who has performed well on the field as a true freshman this season with 12 total tackles, a fumble recovery and a pick-six. The week leading up to the Early Signing Period, there were rumors of the former three-star prospect flipping to Wisconsin.
Obviously, that didn’t work out for the Badgers, and Spence looks to be a solid piece of the Hogs’ defense moving forward.
Another recruit the Hogs were actually able to flip in the 2024 class is four-star offensive lineman Kai Greer. The Waxhaw, North Carolina, native took a visit to Arkansas in April, but later committed to Stanford on June 13.
That commitment lasted a little over two months, as Greer reopened his recruitment the morning of Aug. 30 and committed to Arkansas later that evening.
Pittman said Wednesday they’re still looking to build on the 2024 class, specifically at linebacker and along the offensive line.
“We’re actively looking in the '24 class because you never stop recruiting,” Pittman said. “If we could sign 19 or 20 of the ones that we want, I think I’d be very satisfied and then trade-out portal-for-portal.”
Given that Arkansas currently has 19 commitments in the class, Pittman’s comments indicate the coaching staff will be selective with who they decide to bring into the class from the high school ranks.
With over two months left to go before pen meets paper for the class of 2024, Arkansas will need to do everything it can to keep the class intact. The Early Signing Period begins on Dec. 20 and ends on Dec. 22, with National Signing Day on Feb. 7, 2024.
