College students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95! Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to andrewhutchinson413 (at) gmail (dot) com.
One of the biggest recruiting weekends of the Sam Pittman era has yielded its first commitment.
Just days after visiting Fayetteville for the second time in six weeks, Luke Brown pulled the trigger and announced his pledge to Arkansas via Instagram Live on Tuesday.
"It's been a long hard decision, but I thought it was time and I'll be committing to the University of Arkansas," Brown said.
Listed at 6-foot-6, 300 pounds, Brown is a 5.8 four-star offensive lineman out of Henry County High School in Paris, Tenn., who had offers from Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and several other Power Five programs.
The Razorbacks didn’t enter the mix until March 5, when they offered following his Junior Days visit, and quickly made up ground. He had announced a top eight that didn’t include Arkansas in late January, but committed less than three months later.
It is a notably commitment because Brown is the third four-star offensive lineman to commit to or sign with the Razorbacks under Pittman. The first two were Jalen St. John in 2020 and E’Marion Harris in 2022.
Prior to Pittman being hired as the head coach following the 2019 season, Arkansas hadn’t landed a four-star offensive lineman since Jalen Merrick in 2015 — Pittman’s last class as the Razorbacks’ offensive line coach.
That means they went four classes with no such recruits, but have now landed three in the same span, with the potential to add more. That number also doesn’t include transfer Ty’Kieast Crawford, a former four-star recruit.
Brown is the Razorbacks’ fourth four-star commitment in the 2023 class, joining linebacker Carson Dean and Rivals250 tight ends Shamar Easter and Luke Hasz.
As a 5.8 four-star prospect, Brown adds another 105 recruiting points to Arkansas’ total. That moves the Razorbacks back into the No. 3 spot in Rivals’ national rankings, as Ohio State and Georgia recently surged ahead of them.
The Razorbacks have 1,103 total points, which trails only Texas Tech (1,329) and Notre Dame (1,211). The only school with more total 2023 commitments is Texas Tech, which has 15.
