Musselman puts finishing touches on top-5 class

FAYETTEVILLE — Despite a reputation for building teams through the transfer portal, it has taken Eric Musselman just three years to sign the best recruiting class in Arkansas history.

With Nick Smith Jr. and Derrian Ford officially signing over the weekend, the five-man 2022 class is complete and ranked No. 5 nationally by Rivals. Some outlets even have the group as high as No. 2.

The speed at which Musselman has elevated the Razorbacks into a program that routinely lands elite prospects has even surprised the third-year coach himself.

“I think that we were hopeful to recruit in the top 20 in the country and then have a couple years in the first four years of being in the top 10,” Musselman said. “We wanted to recruit at a high level. I don’t think anybody really knows at all (how it’ll go) until you dive into the thing.”

Arkansas rounds out the top five classes in the country, with the only teams ahead of it being three blue bloods - Kentucky (No. 1), Duke (No. 2) and Kansas (No. 4) - and a fellow surging SEC team in Alabama (No. 3).