Meet the Arkansas Razorbacks Class of 2021 Commitments
Get to know the class of 2021 prospects committed to the Arkansas Razorbacks in this feature from HawgBeat.com.
We have provided background info on each of the commits below (in chronological order from the newest pledge to the oldest), and will continue to update this article each time Arkansas lands a new commitment. Decommitments from the class are listed at the bottom.
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Recruited by the Razorbacks non-stop for almost a year, Cameron Ball finally made it official on Signing Day. He picked the Hogs without visiting despite calls to stay home at Georgia Tech.
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Offered by the Razorbacks in March, Jalen Williams also picked up offers from Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss and more. He picked Arkansas on signing day thanks to the efforts of Derrick LeBlanc.
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The Razorbacks had made the top 10 cut for Georgia native Jayden Johnson but he committed to the South Carolina in June. After Will Muschamp was fired, Johnson reopened his recruitment and committed to the Razorbacks two days later. Johnson said the Arkansas staff kept in close contact throughout his Gamecocks commitment, making it an easy decision when it came time to make a new one.
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One of Arkansas's earliest identified top targets, KeTron Jackson finally called the Hogs on September 3, one month after Bryce Stephens committed to Arkansas. Jackson completes Justin Stepp's wide receiver class and he's the fifth 4-star wide receiver to commit to Stepp at Arkansas. Jackson had been trending towards Texas in the weeks leading up to his decision but the bond he has with Stepp won out. Texas, TCU and others will continue to recruit Jackson until signing day but he's locked in for now with plans to enroll early.
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The Arkansas Razorbacks began recruiting John Marshall High standout Bryce Stephens to play wide receiver in May of 2019 and Sam Pittman's staff kept it up enough to land his commitment over two dozen other offers. Stephens is wide receiver addition No. 3 and the 18th addition to the 2021 class. Stephens is a swiss army knife but his speed shows up in everything he does, clocking in with a 4.3 40 yard dash time.
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Arkansas started the 2021 class off with three in-state commits, the third being Parkview HS quarterback Landon Rogers. Like Avant, Rogers received his offer and pledged his commitment to Arkansas on the same day. Rogers picked Arkansas over Kansas, Houston, Coastal Carolina, ULM, Louisiana-Lafayette, North Texas and a handful of FCS teams - UAPB, UT-Martin and Murray State.
Rogers announced his decommitment on July 4, presumably to find a program without a second quarterback in the 2021 class. However, on July 23rd, Rogers posted on Twitter, "I'm Back Baby #GOHOGS," rejoining the class as commit No.17.
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LANDON ROGERS RECOMMITS TO HOMESTATE HOGS
The Razorbacks needed an elite kicker in the 2021 class to follow up Connor Limpert and Duke grad transfer A.J. Reed, and they landed the 2nd-ranked kicker in the nation for commitment No. 16. Cameron Little called the Hogs over offers from Colorado, Oklahoma State, all three service academies, Nevada and Arizona.
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Arkansas got its must-get prospect of the class on July 18th. Parkview tight end Erin Outley chose to call the Hogs ahead of schedule, forgoing some visits he wanted to take to Oregon and Florida State. Outley is ranked the third prospect in the state of Arkansas but holds the largest number of offers at 24.
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The Razorbacks pulled of a surprise flip, stealing Vian, Oklahoma defensive tackle Solomon Wright away from Texas Tech on July 17 after a four-month long commitment to the Red Raiders. The 6-foot-1, 270-pound tackle put up monster numbers during his junior season and looks quick off the line and light on his feet for his size.
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A little more than two weeks after receiving his offer from the Razorbacks, Frisco corner Chase. Lowery announced his commitment to Arkansas over two dozen other offers. Lowery credits his commitment to the recruitment efforts by Sam Carter, Barry Odom and Sam Pittman, as well as the testimonials from other commits. Lowery has never visited Arkansas so the commitment comes sight unseen, just like Chris Paul and Raheim Sanders. Lowery is a projected corner or nickel but he could also bulk up to play safety. Lowery contributes in all three phases of the game at Frisco and is also the team's leading receiver.
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TEXAS CB CHASE LOWERY COMMITS TO ARKANSAS OVER MICH. ST, PITT, MEMPHIS
Crisp County inside linebacker Christopher Paul Jr. committed to Arkansas just six days after receiving his offer from the Razorbacks. The 3-star had committed to Nebraska in March but decided to reopen his recruitment to give his new options like Cincinnati, Louisville and Tennessee more consideration. An offer from Sam Pittman and Scott Fountain was all the consideration the 3A defensive player of the year needed he became the second linebacker commit on July 2.
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GEORGIA ILB CHRIS PAUL CALLS THE HOGS
COACH'S TAKE: BRAD HARBER DISCUSSES NEW RAZORBACK COMMIT CHRIS PAUL
Arkansas offered Devon Manuel at a Junior Day in March and never let up in their recruitment of the Louisiana native. Despite wanting to take things slow, the consistent effort by Brad Davis led Manuel to commit to Arkansas over Michigan State, Houston, Kansas and ULL on June 16.
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RAZORBACKS LOCK DOWN THIRD OFFENSIVE LINEMAN, LOUISIANA OT DEVON MANUEL
Arkansas's long standing history with AJ Green from camp in 2018 to his reoffer from the new staff in 2020 helped land the No.4-ranked prospect in the Sooner State over more than a dozen other Power 5 offers. Green gives Arkansas three of the top seven ranked players in Oklahoma in their 2021 class and a second running back commit to provide a one-two punch. Green was being recruited at corner by some schools and at running back by others, but made his preference clear that he wanted to be carrying the pigskin at the next level.
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Coley was the second QB commit in Arkansas's 2021 class before Landon Rogers decommitted in July. He's the third commit out of the Lone Star State. Coley picked Arkansas over P5 offers from Washington State, Louisville, Virginia Tech and more. The 3-star visited Arkansas under Chad Morris and loved Fayetteville, therefore he felt comfortable calling the Hogs without visiting again under Sam Pittman and Kendal Briles.
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TEXAS DUAL THREAT QB LUCAS COLEY CALLS THE HOGS
COACH'S TAKE: JOHN BACHMAN DISCUSSES NEW HOG COMMIT LUCAS COLEY
Credit to Arkansas special teams coordinator Scott Fountain and wide receivers coach Justin Stepp for locking down one of the top athletes in the nation. Gaining Sanders' commitment was probably only going to get harder once visits started up, so establishing the relationship and communication with his family was paramount to getting his pledge over the rest of his top 5–Missouri, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Florida State.
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FLORIDA ATH RAHEIM SANDERS COMMITS TO ARKANSAS OVER MIZZOU, SC, MORE
Justin Stepp and Arkansas identified Jaedon Wilson as a top target early, offering him in September of his junior season before any of the other schools at the top of his list. Arkansas staved off West Coast programs like UCLA and Cal to land Wilson on June 2. His visit to campus in February before the coronavirus shut down unofficial visits was huge in getting him on board. Wilson is a two-sport athlete and is highly competitive in long jump and triple jump.
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Javion Hunt has been recruited by plenty of Power 5 programs but the Razorbacks got him to campus before the shutdown and it may have made a big difference in his recruitment. He picked Arkansas, a day after Parker, over offers from Baylor, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ole Miss and more. Like Parker, Hunt wasn't offered by the Sooners. He plays both running back and safety for Carl Albert High School, which has won a state championship in each of Hunt's three varsity seasons.
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Arkansas has a history of going into the Sooner State and taking prospects not offered by the homestate program, and they did it again with Booker T. Washington cornerback Keuan Parker. Parker visited Arkansas on March 7 and was reoffered by coach Sam Carter. He was first offered by Arkansas State in September of 2018 and went on to earn 12 more offers including Oregon, Iowa State and more.
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Arkansas was third to offer Missouri hybrid Jermaine Hamilton-Jordan in mid-January after Iowa State and Kansas State. The 3-star visited both of those programs and several others like Missouri and Kansas but decided Arkansas was home after his Junior Day visit. Hamilton-Jordan silently committed to Barry Odom, Sam Pittman and staff before making it public on May 3. He's one of the more active recruiters for the Hogs in their 2021 class. He picked Arkansas over seven other Division-I offers and is projected as a nickel for the Hogs.
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Arkansas got extremely lucky in the recruiting process for Bogata, Texas lineman Cole Carson. Carson was relatively unknown when he received his fourth DI offer, from the University of Arkansas, then went on to gain offers from 17 more programs. Sam Pittman and Brad Davis got Carson to campus as soon as they could for Junior Day and as he'd only visited a couple schools, TCU and SMU, it put the Razorbacks in an advantageous position heading into the COVID19 shutdown. Carson was tired of the process and loved Arkansas, so he decided to make it his future home by committing April 21.
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More than two months after Terry Wells committed to the Hogs, Jonesboro linebacker Marco Avant, formerly of Forrest City, got his offer and pulled the trigger on the same day. Avant picked Arkansas over offers from Memphis, Houston, Kansas, Arkansas State, Liberty, Campbell, ULM, Illinois State,Texas Southern, Southern Miss and Austin Peay.
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It was so fitting that Arkansas's first commit of Sam Pittman's first full-cycle class was an offensive lineman. Wells committed to the Hogs after a February 1 Junior Day visit over offers from Kansas, Miami, Arkansas State, North Texas and Southern Miss. Wells' commitment to the Hogs was a no-brainer and he is, barring something crazy, going to help break a two-class streak of Arkansas losing its first commit of the class. With no camps during lockdown, Wells might have missed his only opportunity to boost his rating until his senior tape comes out but either way, the Razorbacks got a hard working in-state kid with a lot of upside.
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