If you've been paying attention to Arkansas recruiting in the past month, you've felt the tide turning. With every commitment since 4-star wide receiver Shamar Nash flipped from Mizzou in June, the anticipation has grown, culminating in a huge week with five commitments in six days.
The Razorbacks were set to host a plethora of studs on the Hill on Friday, which most were expecting to yield a couple commitments, but got surprise early commitments from two 4-star defensive ends.
With spaces filling up, 4-star IMG Academy defensive end Eric Gregory decided to flip his commitment from Memphis to Arkansas. It was a big surprise as the former Central HS (Memphis) standout was supposed to hit the Hill this week but was then unable to make the trip with school starting. So, sight unseen, Gregory called the Hogs and they picked up their first commit of the week and 10th of the 2019 class.
Heading into the middle of the week, more hype was building around 4-star Oklahoma defensive end Collin Clay who, with Gregory's new commitment, was seeing his spot on the Hill fade fast. Clay decided to pull the trigger early in a ceremony at his school, pulling an Arkansas hat out of a box and committing to John Chavis and a now star-studded defensive line. Clay became the 11th commit of the week and made a bit of Arkansas recruiting history becoming the third 4-star lineman to commit in one class for the Hogs.
Anticipation couldn't have been higher on the day of the WooPigNic. With three in-state 4-stars, another 4-star linebacker on commitment watch and plenty more elite talents on the Hill, Hog Nation was desperate, hitting the refresh button over and over Friday night to see who would be the first to pull the trigger.
It wasn't until Saturday morning at 11 a.m. that 4-star Texas linebacker Zach Zimos announced to the world what he'd already told the Razorback staff Friday night, he would make Fayetteville his home starting in the summer of 2019. Zimos has committed once before, to Cal, but after four official visits, he's calling it quits and he became the Razorbacks' 12th commit of the 2019 class. Zimos's commitment pushed the Razorbacks into the top 10 in Rivals team recruiting rankings among SEC schools, not a small feat for a 4-8 program.
An hour after Zimos's commitment, another Texas prospect decided he'll pack it on up to Fayetteville for college. Pflugerville 3-star defensive back Myles Brooks officially committed to the Razorback staff Saturday morning and announced it on Twitter, becoming the 13th commit and pushing the team recruiting ranking even higher, to no. 25 in the nation.
Finally, another surprise commitment came in for Arkansas Saturday afternoon as Warren HS defensive tackle Marcus Miller decided he couldn't wait any longer! Miller quickly tweeted a graphic with a simple #wps, #family hashtag combo, then he proceeded to go fishing, as per usual, with his best friend 4-star wide receiver Treylon Burks.
With the addition of five Razorback commits, Arkansas has jumped from no. 51 in the rankings to no. 24 in one week. Also, with five 4-star commits, the Hogs are 7th in the SEC in average star rating and no.18 overall.
The Razorbacks now have 14 commits in the 2019 class. On the offense, 3-star QB KJ Jefferson, 3-star WR T.Q. Jackson, 4-star WR Shamar Nash and 3-star offensive linemen Joseph Stone and Beaux Limmer. On the defense, 3-star DBs Malik Chavis and Myles Brooks, 4-star LB Zach Zimos, 3-star DE Zach Williams, 3-star DTs Carl Williams and Marcus Miller and 4-star defensive ends Mataio Soli, Collin Clay and Eric Gregory.
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