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A surprise commitment from a top-100 recruit has turned Friday the 13th into Good Friday for Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks.
Ashdown tight end Shamar Easter, the No. 84 overall prospect in the county, announced in a ceremony at his school Friday that he was staying home and committed to Arkansas over the likes of Auburn, Florida State and LSU. He is the Razorbacks’ first commitment in the 2023 class.
Even though he visited Fayetteville this summer, the news comes out of nowhere, as early indications were that Easter was strongly considering offers from out of state.
Clemson, which is famously stingy with its offers, was reportedly close to pulling the trigger and Arizona State, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Tennessee and Texas A&M were also in pursuit.
Listed at 6-foot-5, 214 pounds, Easter plays a major position of need for the Razorbacks. Blake Kern will be gone after this season and Hudson Henry would be a fifth-year senior by the time Easter gets to campus. The other scholarship tight ends on the roster would include current redshirt freshman Collin Sutherland, true freshman Erin Outley and 2022 commitments Dax Courtney and Tyrus Washington.
They’ve been so thin at tight end that defensive end Eric Thomas Jr., offensive tackle Marcus Henderson, linebacker Levi Draper and running back Dominique Johnson have gotten looks at the position since last fall. That doesn’t include Blayne Toll, who flip-flopped between tight end and defensive end before transferring, and Koilan Jackson, who recently converted from wide receiver.
Despite being a Class 4A school, Ashdown has been particularly kind to Arkansas in recent years. Assuming he sticks, Easter will be the third four-star recruit from the school to sign with the Razorbacks in a span of seven years, following defensive backs Montaric Brown and LaDarrius Bishop.
The Panthers have also sent Tajhnick Bishop to ULM and Trey Green to Arkansas State during that span, plus Jaden Hill was offered by multiple Power Five schools as a quarterback before deciding to pitch at LSU.
Landing such a high-profile recruit could kick-start the Razorbacks’ 2023 class, as Easter is just the 21st player in the Rivals250 for that year to announce his commitment.
It could still change, but he could be just the 12th top-100 recruit to sign with Arkansas since Rivals began its rankings in 2002. With 2022 commit Myles Rowser dropping to No. 102, Easter would end a six-year drought dating back to Chevin Calloway (No. 92) in 2017.
At his current ranking of No. 86, Easter would be the seventh-highest ranked player to sign with the Razorbacks in the Rivals era. Here’s a complete list of those players…
Rivals100 Signees since 2002
2017 - DB Chevin Calloway - No. 92
2016 - DE McTelvin Agim - No. 50
2015 - TE Cheyenne O’Grady - No. 90
2014 - OL Brian Wallace - No. 96
2009 - DB Darius Winston - No. 24
2008 - RB De’Anthony Curtis - No. 94
2006 - QB Mitch Mustain - No. 10
2006 - WR Damian Williams - No. 95
2005 - ATH Darren McFadden - No. 23
2002 - ATH Chris Baker - No. 61
2002 - OL Tony Ugoh - No. 64
