12/16/2020 football Edit

HawgBeat 2021 Target Big Board

Arkansas's first commit of the 2021 class, Wynne offensive lineman Terry Wells. (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

Nikki Chavanelle • HawgBeat

Managing Editor

Each recruiting cycle, a Division-I football staff will offer anywhere from 80 to 400 prospects to fill up 25 scholarship spots. Due to the vast number of offers, it can be tough for even the most die hard fans to keep up with all the names, visits and other programs in the mix.

That's why every year HawgBeat does the hard work for the fans to put together the Big Board. It's similar to what coaching staffs all over the nation put together to keep their priorities in order. Since there's only a certain number of spots they can fill without getting their numbers out of whack, they have to keep track of their "takes," their back-ups and then the backups' backups, which are players they may offer if many of their top choices go elsewhere or if they see something new on tape that they were waiting for.

Arkansas offered roughly 285 prospects, landing 22, plus a grad transfer.

***This is not the official Arkansas target board, this list was compiled based on interviews, rankings, official visits and the coaches' spring/fall recruiting activity***

Special Teams (1)

Specialists on scholarship in 2021

Jordan Silver
George Caratan
Cameron Little

OFF THE BOARD

Arkansas probably could've secured a commitment from KY linebacker Michael Lunz after he came to visit the Hill in March but with limited spots at the position, he wasn't high enough on the priority board to take. He gave his pledge to Arkansas State on May 15, decommitted, then committed to Tulane three months after.

Arkansas was in the top eight for Oklahoma linebacker Collin Oliver on April 3 but without a visit, there was a slim chance of the Hogs beating out the home state Pokes for him.

Arkansas may have had a shot at Indy CC tight end Quentin Moore had they been able to get him in for a visit but like many prospects during COVID19, Moore favored being close to home, choosing the University of Washington.

Ben Postma liked what he'd seen of Arkansas when he stopped by to visit before the COVID-19 shutdown but he said Georgia Tech was making him a priority so he committed to the Yellow Jackets sight unseen on May 26.

Stanford is a hard offer to turn down, that's why Caleb Ellis committed just 22 days after they offered him in May. Arkansas was looking to get him to campus after the dead period but it never came to fruition, maybe it still will someday.

Arkansas had an "in" with Joko Willis after recruiting him out of high school but Kentucky won out. The battle might not necessarily be over with months left until signing day.

Arkansas and Florida State offered Jordan Eubanks on the same day but it was the Seminoles that won out for his commitment on May 30.

Arkansas offered Gulf Coast JUCO player Jadarrius Perkins 10 days before Oregon did this spring but called the West Coast school his dream program. Perkins shut his recruitment down on May 29 but has earned offers from Florida, Alabama and more since.

Alexander announced a top 7 on June 9 that did not include Arkansas. His finalists were Missouri, Tulane, USF, UCF, West Virginia, Iowa State and Memphis before he picked UCF.

While Oklahoma hasn't technically "accepted" Coe's commitment, he considers himself a future Sooner after announcing on June 5.

Hailing from Mataio Soli's alma mater Douglas County in Georgia, Kani Walker was on Arkansas's radar but he decommitted from Boston College only to commit to Louisville a little over two weeks later.

Offered by Wisconsin several months before the Razorbacks threw their hat in the mix, Ricardo Hallman has the Badgers at the top of his list with a decision coming June 22.

As an in-state prospect for the Missouri Tigers and a top priority, it wasn't a surprise to see Tyler Hibbler declare his commitment to Mizzou on June 23.

After Arkansas already landed two commitments for the running backs room, Lufkin target Caleb Berry announced his pledge to Washington.

Georgia linebacker Martez Thrower was a good target for the Hogs, in a strong recruiting area for them as well, but the Razorbacks already had two linebacker commits when Thrower announced his pledge to Kentucky. The tide had been with the Cats for a while.

Ahmari Huggins-Bruce's commitment to Louisville was no surprise as he'd been trending that way over the couple months leading up to his announcement.

The Razorbacks were not in heavy pursuit of Illinois wide receiver Keontez Lewis when he committed to UCLA. The Hogs only have one WR spot at the moment, which is reserved for Rivals250 WR Ketron

Arkansas would've loved to keep Northside athlete Dreyden Norwood in-state but, like his cousin, Norwood chose to commit to an out-of-state program. Despite not being in his final five, A&M continued to recruit the No.2 player in the state and landed his commitment on July 10 out of the blue.

Hutchinson CC defensive tackle Demeco Roland decided to commit to Texas Tech after hearing news that JUCO football will be pushed to the spring. With a December graduation coming up, Roland wanted to lock in his spot at Texas Tech, where he'd get the opportunity to face the in-state Oklahoma programs that never recruited him.

Similar to Keontez Lewis above, Tommi Hill was not top priority for Arkansas with just one spot left at receiver in the 2021 class. Hill committed to Arizona State over 33 other offers and will have the opportunity to pick his spot either on offense or defense for the Sun Devils.

Didn't hear about too much interaction between Arkansas and Byron Turner when the 3-star Louisiana native pulled the trigger to Florida State.

Louisiana tight end Shield Taylor showed interest in Arkansas but in the end, they weren't in his grab bag of finalists which included Stanford, UCLA, Duke, Washington and more. Stanford won out easily despite Taylor never having visited the campus.

Jones County linebacker KJ Cloyd announced his decision to commit to Louisville just four days after the Cardinals offered him. After the news broke that the NJCAA is moving football to the spring semester, Cloyd decided to find a home that could take him immediately to bypass a second year at Jones County.

Chances were slim for Arkansas with Kansas City defensive end Tobechi Okoli but we didn't take him off the board until he officially made his commitment to Auburn. Okoli is teammates with Arkansas commit Jermaine Hamilton-Jordan.

Butler lineman Caleb Etienne cut Arkansas from his top six which included Houston, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas Tech, Mississippi State and Oklahoma State.

Louisiana running back Logan Diggs was trending to Notre Dame for quite awhile before finally making his decision to end the month of July.

The Razorbacks had been in the mix for Devin Lemear but things went quiet with the safety out of Texas and he pulled the trigger on his Baylor offer on August 8.

Michigan corner Maxwell Hairston was an early top target for the Hogs but communication broke off and they weren't included in the top 7 he dropped on his birthday. Finalists: Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Purdue, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Wazzu.

It seemed like Kamal Hadden would make a decision but instead he dropped a top 7, which included the favorite Auburn, as well as Kentucky, Nebraska, Texas Tech, Wazzu, West Virginia and UCF.

The Hogs weren't looking at taking another RB when Alabama back Kenji Christian committed to Virginia Tech.

Razorbacks had their sights set on Texas DE Landyn Watson for a long time but Gary Patterson and his TCU defense won out.

The Razorbacks made the top 7 cut for 4-star OL Kingsley Suamataia but he was trending towards Oregon for months before he made his official announcement on September 8.

After telling HawgBeat he hadn't been hearing much from Arkansas, Tennessee DB John Howse cut the Hogs from his top six and committed to Vanderbilt.

Approaching an October 1 decision, Mukuba cut his list down to Texas, Clemson, LSU and Missouri, eventually choosing Clemson.

California DE Jailen Weaver put out a top three of Indiana, Nebraska and Tennessee.

Arkansas filled up on running backs way before Valdez chose Texas Tech, where he'd been leaning for quite a while.

Arkansas would've loved to have 4-star, dual-sport athlete Jayden Thomas in the 2021 class but with Notre Dame leading the charge, they didn't hold out a spot to wait and see where he'd land.

The Razorbacks weren't still after Texas tight end Jasper Lott when he chose TCU.

Arkansas had eyes on Albert Regis but the Houston native was partial to saying in state, eventually picking Texas A&M over Texas Tech.

HawgBeat 2021 Target Big Board

Quarterback (1-2)

Running Back (2)

Wide Receiver (3-4)

Tight End (1)

Offensive Line (3)

Defensive Tackle (3)

Defensive End (0)

Linebacker (2)

Defensive Back (5)

Special Teams (1)

OFF THE BOARD