Category: Arkansas recruiting

Three star OL from Illinois commits to Arkansas

Arkansas earns the commitment of three-star lineman Paris Patterson on Independence Day, bringing their 2023 commitment total to 19.

It was a happy Independence Day for head coach [autotag]Sam Pittman[/autotag] and Arkansas Football, as they landed their third commit in the month of July on Monday.

[autotag]Paris Patterson Jr.[/autotag], a 2023 three-star interior offensive lineman from East St. Louis, Missouri, announced on Twitter Monday that he will continue his athletic career post-high school at Arkansas.

In order to land Patterson’s commitment, the Razorbacks’ coaching staff moved quickly. Arkansas extended an offer to Patterson less than two weeks ago, on June 22. Two days after receiving an offer, Patterson took his official visit to Arkansas, then committed just over a week later.

Patterson becomes the fourth offensive lineman to commit to the 2023 class, joining [autotag]Joey Su’a[/autotag], [autotag]Ian Geffrard[/autotag], and [autotag]Luke Brown[/autotag].

Paris Patterson Jr. is a 6-6, 345-pound interior lineman from East St. Louis, Mo. He is ranked as the No. 33 overall interior lineman in the nation, and the No. 8 overall prospect from the state of Illinois. He chose Arkansas over Iowa State, Tennessee, and LSU.

TJ Metcalf commits to Arkansas, giving boost to Hogs in recruiting rankings

By landing the three-star safety from Alabama, Arkansas Football now ranks No. 7 in recruiting for the 2023 cycle.

Arkansas Football has added another important piece to their 2023 recruiting class.

[autotag]TJ Metcalf[/autotag], a three-star safety from Pinson, Ala. has become the 17th commitment for Arkansas’ 2023 class, as he committed to the Razorbacks on Friday afternoon.

Metcalf announced his commitment in a video that was shot in his high school’s gymnasium. He began by being handed a shirt from his other three choices, Jackson State, Ole Miss, and Penn State. When he reached the top of the bleachers, he grabbed an Arkansas hat while talking to head coach [autotag]Sam Pittman[/autotag] on the phone. Once he placed the hat on his head, he told Pittman, “I’m coming home.”

Metcalf chose Arkansas over Jackson State, Penn State, and Ole Miss. While the major recruiting services projected Metcalf to commit to Arkansas, most felt that Ole Miss was next in line due to the fact that he is cousins with former Rebel wide receiver, DK Metcalf.

With Metcalf’s commitment, Arkansas has jumped Baylor in the 2023 recruiting rankings, as they stand at No. 7 according to 247sports.

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Arkansas commit making noise at the Elite 11 finals

Malachi Singleton’s dual threat ability has turned heads all week at the Elite 11 finals

The 20 best quarterbacks of the 2023 class are wrapping up a great week of competition at the Elite 11 finals, including an Arkansas commit.

[autotag]Malachi Singleton[/autotag], a four-star quarterback pledge for the 2023 class from Acworth, Ga. has competed in California this week as part of the prestigious quarterback competition. While there, he has caught the attention of the Elite 11 coaching staff.

Each day, Singleton has climbed among the rankings. By blending junior season film with camp evaluation, Singleton has increased his ranking from No. 11 to No. 7 in just one day.

Greg Biggins of 247sports revealed that Singleton’s dual threat ability is what makes him one of the best quarterbacks at the camp:

He’s known as a dual-threat and would probably be ranked among the top running backs in this year’s class when you see what he can do in the field. This week, he’s shown he can throw the rock as well and is going to give opposing defensive coordinators a lot of headaches in a few years.

Singleton is one of three quarterbacks that have committed to an SEC program, joining Alabama commit Eli Holstein and Tennessee pledge Nico Iamaleava.

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Arkansas loses linebacker from recruiting class as Roussaw de-commits

Everett Roussaw Jr. is re-opening his recruiting after committing to Arkansas in January.

Arkansas football’s 2023 recruiting class took its Arkansas loses linebacker from recruiting class as Roussaw de-commitsfirst blow on Tuesday.

Linebacker Everett Roussaw Jr., who in January became the eighth commit of the class, tweeted Tuesday he was de-committing from the Razorbacks.

Roussaw initially committed to the Razorbacks from Cedar Grove High School in Georgia during Arkansas’ Junior Day when he was in Fayetteville for a visit.

The Cedar Grove connection had become major for Arkansas in recent years. Wide receiver Jadon Haselwood went to CGHS and transferred to Arkansas in the winter after spending his first seasons at Oklahoma. Running back Rashod Dubinion, a member of the Hogs’ 2022 class, also played there.

Running backs coach Jimmy Smith was the head coach at Cedar Grove before entering the college ranks in 2018.

Roussaw said he was leaving his options open and would continue to consider Arkansas. He was also being recruited by Mississippi State, Missouri, Louisville, Virginia Tech and others when he committed to the Razorbacks.

Arkansas Football lands two commitments over weekend

Arkansas’ impressive 2023 recruiting class receives a boost thanks to receiving two commits.

This weekend has been a busy one for recruiting, as many of Arkansas’ top targets, as well as commits, visited Fayetteville.

As the weekend drew closer to an end, head coach Sam Pittman received great news in the form of landing two commits for the defensive side of the football.

Three-star defensive back [autotag]RJ Johnson[/autotag], as well as three-star linebacker [autotag]Alex Sanford[/autotag] announced their commitment while on their visit to Arkansas, which adds value to an already impressive 2023 commitment list for the Razorbacks.

Arkansas’ first commitment of the weekend is three-star defensive back RJ Johnson from McDonough, Ga.

Johnson becomes the second prospect from the state of Georgia to commit to Arkansas in a week, following Ian Geffrard’s commitment last Monday.

Johnson is the state of Georgia’s No. 65 ranked prospect, and is the fourth recruit from the state to pledge to Arkansas from the metro Atlanta area, joining Geffrard, quarterback [autotag]Malachi Singleton[/autotag], and linebacker [autotag]Everett Roussaw[/autotag].

Arkansas received more good news on Sunday morning, as linebacker Alex Sanford declared his commitment.

Sanford becomes the first commit from the state of Mississippi to choose Arkansas, and the second linebacker from the cycle to commit to Arkansas. Sanford is a three-star linebacker from Oxford, Miss., standing at 6-3, 240 pounds. He is the No. 63 ranked linebacker in the nation, and the No. 14 overall prospect from Mississippi.

Currently, Arkansas ranks No. 8 in the nation for the 2023 recruiting cycle by 247sports with 17 commitments.

Alabama cornerback lists Arkansas in top-8

Avery Stuart, a four-star defensive back from Alabama, is set to announce his commitment on July 6. Arkansas is among his top schools.

A four-star cornerback from the Yellowhammer State is considering Arkansas as his college destination.

[autotag]Avery Stuart[/autotag], a four-star cornerback from Montgomery, Ala., is closer to announcing his commitment after releasing his top-8 list on Sunday, which features Arkansas.

The Razorbacks are one of five schools from the SEC to offer Stuart, and one of three to make his top-8 list. Arkansas offered Stuart on February 7, but Stuart has not taken an official visit to the school says 247sports.

While there are no sure predictions for Stuart, On3 gives Florida State a 31% chance to land Stuart. Stuart has only taken two official visits, most recently visiting Florida State, as well as Kentucky. Stuart is set to announce his official commitment on July 6.

As it stands, Arkansas currently holds the nations No. 8 recruiting class for the 2023 recruiting cycle with 11 commits, five being four-star rated. If Stuart were to choose Arkansas, he would be the second recruit from Alabama to commit to the class, joining Dallas Young, a three-star defensive back from metro Birmingham.

Stuart is rated as a four-star cornerback by both On3 and 247sports. He is the 22nd ranked corner in the nation, as well as the No. 22 ranked prospect in the state of Alabama.

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Arkansas picks up depth at linebacker with big pick-up this weekend

Arkansas’ newest linebacker commit draws comparisons to Derrick Thomas.

Alex Sanford is what you might call a Beast.

At 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, Sanford is built like a former SEC linebacker to whom his game is drawing comparisons, too: Derrick Thomas.

Sanford, a Class of 2023 recruit, hopes to bring that sort of game to Arkansas after he committed to the Razorbacks over the weekend. His commitment made him the third linebacker and 16th player overall in Arkansas’ class.

The Razorbacks are building their linebacker depth after losing Grant Morgan, Hayden Henry and Andrew Parker off last year’s roster. Returner Bumper Pool and Alabama Drew Sanders are expected to see 90 percent of the snaps this year as Arkansas will rarely have more than two linebackers on the field at a time.

Sanford, a Mississippi native, chose Arkansas over Ole Miss, Tennessee, Memphis and others. He’s a three-star recruit who had 25 1/2 tackles for loss as a junior last year at Oxford.

“Then the way this defense is set up for me,” he told WholeHogSports. “It’s set up for linebackers to make plays. When you come here you’re going to make plays. You are going to get playing time, so there’s lots you are going to do here. That’s why I’m coming here.”

Ian Geffrard calls the Hogs, commits to Arkansas

Ian Geffrard becomes the 14th commit to the 2023 recruiting class, and the third from the state of Georgia.

The nation’s 9th-ranked recruiting class for the 2023 cycle has grown in the form of an offensive lineman.

[autotag]Ian Geffrard[/autotag], a three-star offensive lineman from Mableton. Ga., announced Monday via Twitter that he has pledged to join Sam Pittman’s squad.

Geffrard’s commitment comes after taking his official visit to Arkansas last weekend. He had also taken an official visit to Auburn earlier in the month.

In an interview with 247sports, Geffard says he enjoyed his visit to Fayetteville.

“I enjoy the location and overall scene, even though it is a little far from home,” said Geffrard. “I didn’t talk much with Coach Adams (the defensive line coach) before my official visit, but I spent a lot more time with him and realized I wanted him to be my coach when I play at the next level.”

When it comes down to what ultimately set Arkansas apart, Geffard says that he likes the culture that Pittman has established, and says that he hopes to help grow the recruiting class.

“After seeing what Coach Pittman has done with the program, and seeing how fired up the current players were about it got me motivated to join and recruit to make the team’s class the best in the country.”

Geffrard is a 6-6, 350 offensive tackle that is rated as a three-star by 247sports. He is the No. 97 prospect from the state of Georgia, and the No. 97 offensive tackle in the nation. Geffrard becomes the 14th prospect from the class of 2023 to commit to Arkansas, and the third from the Peach State, joining quarterback [autotag]Malachi Singleton[/autotag] and defensive back [autotag]Everett Roussaw[/autotag].

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Committed: Christian Ford becomes 13th member of Arkansas’ football class

Arkansas nabbed its second defensive back of the 2023 recruiting class on Sunday.

Christian Ford, a safety from Texas with offers from more than a dozen schools, has made a selection.

Ford became the 13th member of the Arkansas football recruiting class of 2023 on Sunday.

Ford is the second defensive back the Razorbacks have landed in the class, joining cornerback Dallas Young from Alabama. According to a report from HawgBeat, Ford told the staff of his decision on Saturday during his first official visit to the campus.

Arkansas’ class is currently ranked No. 9 in the country for the 2023 group, which is second among SEC teams. It includes five four-star players and is about halfway complete.

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Team led by Arkansas graduate set to purchase Denver Broncos

Rob Walton, part of the Walton-Penner group, has agreed to purchase the NFL franchise for $4.65 billion.

An Arkansas graduate and the heir to the fortune of the world’s largest retailer has agreed to buy the Denver Broncos.

[autotag]Rob Walton[/autotag], a 1966 graduate of the University of Arkansas and the son of the late Sam Walton, the founder of Wal Mart, heads a group that has purchased the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion dollars, which is the highest that anyone has paid for a professional sports franchise. reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Following the purchase, Walton released a statement regarding the purchase of the NFL franchise:

We are thrilled to be selected to move forward with the purchase of the Denver Broncos! Carrie, Greg and I are inspired by the opportunity to steward this great organization in a vibrant community full of opportunity and passionate fans.

Having lived and worked in Colorado, we’ve always admired the Broncos. Our enthusiasm has only grown as we’ve learned more about the team, staff and Broncos Country over the last few months.

We are excited to announce that Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO of Ariel Investments, has agreed to join our ownership group. Beyond her role at Ariel, Mellody is an influential leader in corporate and civic organizations across the nation.

Mellody currently serves as Chair of the Board of Starbucks Corporation and is also a director of JPMorgan Chase. We know she will bring her strategic acumen and leadership perspective to our team.

Thank you to Joe Ellis and the staff of the Broncos for the first-class manner in which they have conducted this sale process. In addition, we thank Hogan Lovells for their guidance and support in this effort.

We look forward to earning the confidence and support of the NFL as we take the next step in this process. When the necessary approval procedures are met, our family is excited to share more with Broncos fans, the organization and the community.

According to Broncos Wire, the sale is subject to NFL approval, which could arrive within the next few weeks. Walton will become the team’s new majority owner with Greg and Carrie Penner serving as minority owners.

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