Each Friday, HawgBeat's Alex Trader will write a Friday Night Lights preview piece that gives a snapshot of the top high school games in the country involving Arkansas commits and targets and provides updates on how they're doing, as well as lists where all of them are playing and other top players in each of those games.
HawgBeat's Friday Night Spotlight
Danville @ Greenland - 7 p.m. CT
This matchup may not have the star power we saw from the first two weeks, but it does have Arkansas’ first commitment in the 2022 class.
On Saturday, JJ Hollingsworth will be taking his second unofficial game visit since committing to the Hogs back in July 2020, as he was also at last week's opener against Rice. The eighth-ranked player in Arkansas has business to take care of before making the short trip to Fayetteville..
Hollingsworth’s Greenland Pirates are searching for their first win of the 2021 season. Standing in the Pirates’ way are the Little Johns of Danville, who also sit at 0-1 on the year. In a battle between winless teams, Hollingsworth is the clear focal point for our Friday Night Spotlight.
The Rundown
Last week’s Game of the Week lived up to every bit of its billing, as E’Marion Harris’ Robinson Senators rallied all the way back from 20 points down in the fourth to hand Maumelle its first loss of the season.
Playing both ways, Harris matched up against future teammates Andrew Chamblee and Nico Davillier throughout the game. Each of the future Razorbacks flashed dominance, but Harris locked up the blindside to help secure the OT win.
Last week, we showed a run from Rashod Dubinion and mama that man did it again.
With how Dubinion is running, this may as well be a recurring segment of its own, but for this week we’ll keep it as a high point in the rundown.
Finally, and on a much less positive note, 2022 tight end commit Dax Courtney suffered another season-ending injury, tearing his ACL in Clarendon’s 34-22 win over Barton.
On the Hill
It’s not only a huge week for the Razorbacks on the field, but on the recruiting trail as well. These visits offer an opportunity for players to get a taste of their future home, and what better way to impress recruits than with the first sellout crowd since 2017?
The list of official visitors isn’t a long one, but Rashod Dubinion, Eli Henderson, Eli Stein and Quincey McAdoo will be joined by a laundry list of unofficial visitors. Some of the most notable ones are 2022 four-star Gentry Williams and 2023 four-stars Brenden Jordan and Avery Johnson. HawgBeat has a full list of visitors here.
Calling the Hogs
2022
Belleville (Mich.) @ Churchill (Mich.) - 6 p.m. CT
Commit: Myles Rowser, 4* S (Belleville)
-- Belleville - Christian Rapley, 3* ATH (‘22) - holds offers from Kentucky, Minnesota, Ole Miss, Penn State, Tennessee, others
-- Belleville - Jeremiah Caldwell, 4* ATH (‘22) - previously committed to Kentucky, holds offers from Arkansas State, Iowa State, Michigan, Tennessee
-- Belleville - Deshaun Lee, 3* CB (‘22) - holds offers from Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Syracuse
-- Belleville - Aaron Alexander, 2* ILB (‘22) - Michigan commit
McCrory @ Clarendon - 7 p.m. CT
Commits: Quincey McAdoo, 4* WR & Dax Courtney, 3* TE (Clarendon)
Joe T. Robinson @ Marion - 7 p.m. CT
Commit: E’Marion Harris, 4* WR (Robinson)
-- Robinson - Daryl Searcy Jr., RB (‘22) - holds offers from Arkansas State, Memphis, North Texas, visited Fayetteville in February 2020
Maumelle @ Vilonia - 7 p.m. CT
Commits: Andrew Chamblee 3* OT and Nico Davillier 4* DE (Maumelle)
-- Vilonia - Austin Myers, 3* QB (‘22) - holds offers from Kansas and Middle Tennessee State
Byrnes (S.C.) @ Westside (S.C.) - 6:30 p.m. CT
Commit: Eli Henderson, 3* OL (Byrnes)
Haywood (Tenn.) @ Lexington (Tenn.) - 7 p.m. CT
Commit: Jaylen Lewis, 3* S (Haywood)
-- Haywood - Camron Douglas, 3* DT (‘22) - holds offers from Akron, Illinois, Memphis, Vanderbilt
Lowndes (Ga.) @ Lee County (Ga.) - 6:30 p.m. CT
Commit: Tyrus Washington, 3* TE (Lee County)
-- Lee County - Jaron Willis, 4* OLB (‘22) - Georgia Tech commit
-- Lee County - Qaeshon Sapp, 4* OG (‘22) - Florida State commit
-- Lee County - Quavian Carter, 3* S (‘22) - Michigan State commit
-- Lowndes - Jaccuri Brown, 3* QB (‘22) - Miami (FL) commit
-- Lowndes - Deaunte Hunter, 3* OLB (‘22) - holds offers from Cincinnati, Kansas, Ole Miss, Syracuse, West Virginia
White Station (Tenn.) @ Christian Brothers (Tenn.) - 7 p.m. CT
Commit: Patrick Kutas, 3* OL (Christian Brothers)
-- Christian Brothers - Dallan Hayden, 4* RB (‘22) - Ohio State commit, his older brother, Chase, played in 23 games for Arkansas from 2017-19
White Hall @ Parkview - 7 p.m. CT (Thursday)
Commit: James Jointer Jr., 3* RB (Parkview)
-- Parkview - Darien Bennett, RB (‘23) - holds offer from Arkansas, committing January 26, 2022
North Little Rock @ Fayetteville - 7 p.m. CT
Commit: Mani Powell, 3* LB (Fayetteville)
-- Fayetteville - Isaiah Sategna, 4* WR (‘22) - Oregon commit, No. 1 player in the state of Arkansas in 2022
-- Fayetteville - Kaiden Turner, 3* ILB (‘22) - Indiana commit
Cambridge (Wisc.) @ Waterloo (Wisc.) - TBD
Commit: Eli Stein, 2* LS (Cambridge)
2023
Hope @ Ashdown - 7:30 p.m. CT
Commit: Shamar Easter, 4* TE (Ashdown)
Piper (Kan.) @ Eudora (Kan.) - TBD
Commit: Jaden Hamm, 3* TE (Eudora)
-- Eudora - Jaiden Bender, 3* WR (‘23) - holds offers from Kansas, Kansas State
-- Eudora - Silas Etter, 3* ATH (‘22) - Kansas State commit
Other Names to Watch
2022
Liberty Tech Magnet (Tenn.) @ Milan (Tenn.) - 7 p.m. CT
-- Milan - Anthony Brown, 3* WR (‘22) - visited Fayetteville in June, Arkansas in Top 5, commitment date set for Sept. 14
2023
Hutto (Texas) @ Temple (Texas) - 7:30 p.m. CT
-- Temple - Mikal Harrison-Pilot, 4* WR/S (‘23) - Arkansas offer, Rivals250 player in the class of 2023, visited Fayetteville in early June
-- Temple - Naeten Jeremy-Mitchell, S (‘23) - Arkansas offer, frequent visitor to Arkansas’ campus this summer
North Crowley (Texas) @ Desoto (Texas) - 7 p.m. CT
-- DeSoto - Johntay Cook II, 4* WR (‘23) - Arkansas offer, No. 66 in Rivals100 for 2023
-- DeSoto - Dahlyn Jones, WR (‘23) - Arkansas offer, also holds an offer from Kansas, visited Fayetteville in late July
Judson (Texas) @ A&M Consolidated (Texas) - 7 p.m. CT
-- Judson - Anthony Evans III, WR (‘23) - Arkansas offer, also holds offers from Iowa State, TCU, Texas Tech, and G5 schools, visited Fayetteville in June
Rockhurst (Mo.) at Bentonville - 7 p.m. CT
-- Bentonville - Joey Su'a, OL ('23) - Arkansas offer, also holds offers from Georgia, Maryland, Michigan State, Oregon
-- Bentonville - Charles Nimrod, 3* WR ('22) - Tennessee commit
Mansfield (Texas) @ Mansfield Legacy (Texas) - 7 p.m. CT
-- Mansfield - Brenden Jordan, 4* S (‘23) - holds offers from Arizona, Kansas, Mississippi State and USC in addition to Arkansas
2024
Sheridan @ Hot Springs Lakeside - 7 p.m. CT
-- HS Lakeside - Braylen Russell, RB (‘24) - sole offer from Arkansas