Category: Arkansas recruiting

Arkansas lands four-star CB Jaden Allen for 2024

Arkansas added another four-star commit from the 2024 recruiting class, and they are likely to add to that very soon.

Four-star cornerback [autotag]Jaden Allen[/autotag] has officially committed to the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Allen made his decision official on Twitter Friday morning, choosing Arkansas over Alabama, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, USC, Michigan State and others. He was initially committed to Texas for over a year before decommitting from the Longhorns in February.

Arkansas was reportedly the first team to reach out to Allen after his de-commitment, and that played a role in getting him to Fayetteville.

Allen’s commitment to the Hogs makes him the sixth of the 2024 recruiting cycle. He is also the fifth commit to hold a four-star rating from one of the four major recruiting outlets.

Next year’s recruiting class is shaping up to be an impressive haul for [autotag]Sam Pittman[/autotag] and they’re expected to get more commits on Friday in the form of Charleston Collins and Courtney Crutchfield.

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Hogs get visit from No. 2 recruit in the whole country

Williams Nwaneri may not be favored to go to Arkansas. But that he’s considering the Hogs is a great sign.

Lee’s Summit, Missouri, is just a short drive from Fayetteville, Arkansas. That certainly can’t hurt when it comes to the Razorbacks’ recruiting in the greater Kansas City area.

Over the weekend, Sam Pittman and the Hogs hosted a player from that southeast suburb of KC. He just so happens to be the No. 2 recruit in the country, as well.

Williams Nwaneri is a 6-foot-6, 260-pound defensive end took an unofficial visit to Arkansas on Friday. Nwaneri is a five-star recruit and while the Hogs may be a long shot to get his services in 2024, the visit itself shows things are on the rise in Fayetteville.

Per 247Sports, Nwaneri is projected to go to Oklahoma. Nothing official has come out in any way, shape or form, however. Georgia, Missouri, Oregon and Tennessee are also listed as “warm” on the site, suggesting they’re the most likely of landing places.

Arkansas landed a defensive end in the class already. Four-star Kavion Henderson from Leeds, Alabama, is the top-ranked player in the five-person class in the early going.

Nwaneri’s trip on Friday was his third to Fayetteville. He initially visited last spring then was in town again for the Hogs’ game against Alabama in the fall.

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Arkansas football set to host major recruits for spring game on Saturday

Arkansas football is set to host a lot of major recruits on Saturday. Here’s some of the names that will be in town.

[autotag]Arkansas football[/autotag] has been busy hosting a plethora of major recruiting prospects over the last month or so, and Saturday afternoon will see that trend continue for the spring game. The Razorbacks will be hosting a few big names to watch for the 2024 recruiting class.

First, 2023 signee [autotag]Quincy Rhodes[/autotag] will be in attendance as he has yet to enroll in school and will do so following the spring. As far as the 2024 class goes, Arkansas is hosting some priority targets on both sides of the ball.

Three-star defensive back Tevis Metcalf, of Birmingham, Ala., will be on hand. The 5-10, 175-pound prospect has a connection to Fayetteville already as he is the younger brother of 2023 Razorback safety signee, [autotag]TJ Metcalf[/autotag], who is already enrolled on campus.

Four-star running back Nate Palmer, of Decatur, Texas, will be on hand for the Red-White game as well as Arkansas native and four-star offensive lineman Kobe Branham from Fort Smith. Branham is a 6-5, 320-pound prospect who has received numerous predictions and forecasts to commit to the Hogs.

Another talented name to watch for Arkansas fans is four-star defensive back Jaden Allen of Aledo, Texas. Allen has visited Fayetteville numerous times and has another official visit scheduled for June of this summer. He’s high on this staff’s priority list and could be one of Arkansas’ next commitments for the 2024 class.

There will likely be more big names that make it to Fayetteville over the weekend, but this is an impressive list for [autotag]Sam Pittman[/autotag] and his staff that could mean more good news on the horizon.

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Arkansas lands quarterback of the future in 4-star from Alabama

As KJ Jefferson heads into his final season, KJ Jackson could be his replacement.

KJ may be in line to be replaced by KJ.

That is, Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson, heading into his last year of elibigility with the Razorbacks, is set for a massive season and will go down as one of the greatest signal-callers in school history. But his team, they’ll have to replace him.

Over the winter, the Razorbacks signed a potential such player in four-star Malachi Singleton. On Sunday, another four-star quarterback, one in the Class of 2024, committed to compete with him.

KJ Jackson is ranked No. 20 in the country at position and 6-foot-4, 217 pounds, he has the size of a future star. Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos’ penchant for putting players in the NFL – 13 quarterbacks have made it – was appealing to Jackson.

Jackson is the fifth player to commit to Arkansas from the Class of 2024. With his addition, the Hogs have the No. 20 class in the country in the early part of recruitment.

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Athletes! Arkansas lands four-star for Class of 2024

Arkansas picked up Juju Pope over Alabama, Oregon, Michigan and Ole Miss.

JuJu Pope is an athlete. He’s also a Hog.

The 6-foot-0, 195-pounder from Mississippi committed to Arkansas on Saturday night over Alabama, Michigan, Ole Miss and Oregon.

Pope’s decision came quickly, only about three months after he received his first college offer. That came from Nick Saban at Alabama, though Arkansas and Michigan were shortly after. Razorbacks running backs coach Jimmy Smith and co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson were Pope’s primary recruiters.

Woodson, in his first season with Arkansas, has had his primary focus as a defensive backs coach in recent years. Pope projects as a safety/linebacker hybrid.

Pope is the second of the four committed players in Arkansas’ Class of 2024 out of Mississippi. He joins fellow athlete and four-star Noreel White, who is from Ocean Springs.

Though it’s early in the process for 2024, Arkansas’ class ranks 26th in the country so far.

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Arkansas football picks up commitment from 2024 four-star athlete

In case you missed it: Arkansas football picked up a big-time commitment for the 2024 recruiting class on Monday.

[autotag]Arkansas football[/autotag] received some very good news on Monday afternoon in the form of a high-level recruiting commitment.

Four-star ATH Noreel White committed to Arkansas and announced it via his personal Twitter account. The 5-11, 170-pound Ocean Springs (Miss.) native chose the Razorbacks over Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU, Auburn and Florida State among others.

White is considered the No. 7 overall player in the state of Mississippi. He’s listed as an athlete on every major recruiting site, but he’s primarily a defensive back. Lead recruiters for Arkansas on this commitment were defensive assistants [autotag]Marcus Woodson[/autotag] and [autotag]Deron Wilson[/autotag], both of which were in his commitment tweet.

This commitment is huge for Arkansas’ 2024 class, but also signals a bigger shift within the program in regards to recruiting. The Razorbacks and newly hired defensive assistants [autotag]Travis Williams[/autotag], Marcus Woodson and Deron Wilson aren’t playing around when it comes to chasing high-level talent. Arkansas is getting visits and serious consideration from much higher-caliber players than we’ve seen in the past few seasons.

Of course with recruiting it’s always a “wait-and-see” approach, but the fact that Arkansas football is starting to make noise with recruits they typically wouldn’t have gotten should never be considered a bad thing.

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Arkansas football lands five-star defensive back transfer from Georgia

In case you missed it: Arkansas football landed a former five-star defensive back from Georgia via the transfer portal on Tuesday.

[autotag]Sam Pittman[/autotag] and [autotag]Arkansas football[/autotag] just landed the best remaining prospect in the transfer portal, five-star defensive back Jaheim Singletary from Georgia.

He was one of the most highly-sought high school prospects in the 2022 recruiting class and chose to sign with Georgia over Ohio State and Auburn. The Jacksonville (Fla.) native didn’t see any action and redshirted in his first season with Bulldogs before entering the portal in January.

Singletary is listed at 6-2, 175 pounds and according to his high school scouting report, has all of the tools to become and impressive cornerback for a Top 25 program thanks to his impressive length and instincts.

Arkansas finished dead last in the country in passing defense last season and lost a lot of contributors from that porous secondary, meaning that there were spots open for talented to players to contribute immediately. The Razorbacks also made some key staff additions in the offseason which seem to already be paying off.

[autotag]Travis Williams[/autotag] was hired as new defensive coordinator following [autotag]Barry Odom[/autotag]’s departure, and comes with a great recruiting background in key areas. He was hired shortly before [autotag]Marcus Woodson[/autotag] was brought on as co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. Woodson also has a well-respected recruiting background and helped bring in [autotag]Deron Wilson[/autotag] from Florida as secondary coach.

Arkansas will begin spring practices this Thursday, March 9. The Razorbacks will have 15 practices which culminate with the Red-White Game on April 15.

Arkansas football: Latest recruiting news and updates for 2024 class

As focus shifts from the 2023 recruiting class to 2024, here’s some of the latest updates when it comes to the Razorbacks.

Arkansas football isn’t officially done with the 2023 recruiting class but the main focus has already shifted towards the 2024 class.

Right now, [autotag]Sam Pittman[/autotag] has only secured one commit for the 2024 class, Kavion Henderson – a four-star defensive lineman from Alabama, but that number will grow as we make our way through the spring and summer.

Officially, Arkansas has offered a scholarship to 261 players in the 2024 class according to 247Sports.com’s recruiting database. This will be the first full recruiting cycle for new coordinators [autotag]Travis Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Dan Enos[/autotag]. Williams, alongside co-defensive coordinator [autotag]Marcus Woodson[/autotag], come to the Razorbacks with well-respected recruiting backgrounds in key areas such as Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.

Enos is in his second stint with the Razorbacks and has staff members below him with strong recruiting acumen. [autotag]Jimmy Smith[/autotag] (running backs coach) and [autotag]Kenny Guiton[/autotag] (wide receivers coach) are two of the better recruiters on staff. Arkansas also added [autotag]Morgan Turner[/autotag] from Stanford as tight ends coach, who has an impressive track record of recruiting future NFL tight ends.

Here’s a quick look at some of the latest updates for Arkansas recruiting in the 2024 class.

Hogs have two players Class of 2023 and both up for National Player of the Year

Arkansas’ only two commits so far are so good they’re up for National Player of the Year honors.

Arkansas coach Eric Musselman landed two five-star recruits over the last week in the Class of 2023. He doesn’t need many more, either.

The two commits – center Baye Fall and guard Layden Blocker – are both national Top 25 players in the country. And on Wednesday, both were named to the Nasiman Boys High School Player of the Year watch list.

Fall, a 6-foot-10 big from Denver, isn’t a traditional post player, though some say he reminds them of former Arkansas center Daniel Gafford. Fall has more of a jump shot and is less of a rim protector than the now-Washington Wizards center. Fall chose Arkansas Tuesday night.

Blocker committed to Arkansas on November 13. He is a Little Rock native who transferred to a school in Wichita this past season.

Arkansas has four seniors on its 2022-23 roster. All of them transferred in via the portal in the offseason.

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Arkansas basketball lands five-star center Baye Fall

Eric Musselman has done it again. Arkansas basketball lands another five-star recruit for 2023.

It seems Eric Musselman and Arkansas basketball can’t be stop when it comes to recruiting. Baye Fall, a five-star center, is the latest highly-coveted recruit to sign with the Hogs for 2023.

His commitment makes him the fifth five-star recruit to choose the Hogs since Musselman arrived in Fayetteville.

At 6-foot-10, Fall is currently rated as the No. 16 overall prospect and No. 3 center prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, according to 247Sports.com.

Fall is an uber-athletic big who can run the floor exceptionally well and protect the rim. He has very solid lateral quickness, which helps him hold is own against smaller guards and wings on the perimeter. His elite athleticism combined with his size help him excel at rebounding on both ends of the floor.

He’s an excellent foul shooter and has a respectable outside jumpshot. His strength and interior offense are both areas of concern, but will most likely be addressed once he arrives in Fayetteville.

“I wanted a great fit for my playing style,” Fall said in an interview with the Denver Post on Sunday. “Somewhere that I’m going to be held accountable and … (will help me) be able to just get to the next level the best way possible.”

Assane Diop, a four-star teammate of Fall’s at Accelerated Prep in Denver, also had Arkansas as one of his final three schools, but ultimately chose to commit to Colorado.

Fall is the second five-star recruit to commit to play for the Hogs in 2023. He joins Layden Blocker, a five-star point guard who signed with Arkansas this past Saturday.

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