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So far, all but one of Arkansas’ commits are now signees who will be on campus in the coming months to play for the Razorbacks.

The fun started around 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. Three-star offensive lineman Zuri Madison was the first commit to send in his letter of intent, and the rest started coming in quickly.

Perhaps the most nerve-racking of those letters of intent was from four-star wide receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman. He took an official visit to Texas A&M over the weekend and waited until right around 2 p.m. — when Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman met with the media — before it was announced that he signed.

One recruit’s letter of intent is still outstanding. Three-star cornerback Jeremy “JuJu” Cook will not be signing with the Razorbacks in the early period, HawgBeat learned.

During Pittman’s press conference, he discussed several of Arkansas’ 17 commitments. Here’s some notes and quotes from the first day of the Early Signing Period.

"When (Bobby Petrino) saw KJ Jackson, he said 'Man this guy is athletic,'" Pittman said. "He’s smooth. He’s got a quick release. He’s very accurate. And I said 'Well if you like the tape, you’re going to love the kid.' We went on a home visit and what a wonderful family. He’s 6-5. I mean, he’s a big man that can run and has a very, very strong arm."

“We didn’t sign anybody that didn’t have several offers from the state of Arkansas everywhere else,” Pittman said. “With Charlie, he probably was as top of that, Wyatt Simmons had a tremendous amount. Braylen. All these guys. And for him to stay here just proves that they’re going to be damn good Hogs because they wanted to be here. With Charlie staying with us, that was special.”

"Speed, speed," Pittman said. "Great kid, great family, but I think he ran a 21.3 or something like that in the 200 meters, something close to that. Obviously, we all know we like speed, Bobby loves speed. So we went out and got him."

"Kobe Branham," Pittman said. "Kobe Branham, I love him now. I love big, athletic guys. I love his family. I tell you what, I think he’s going to be really special. I think (Fort Smith Southside head coach) Kim Dameron and that group over there did a really good job with him."

"CJ Brown, obviously he’s local," Pittman said. "He did a little bit of everything for his team. He’s a great athlete. Faster than what I thought at first even, but he catches everything. The one thing is he’s tough. He comes from an athletic family. Both his sisters are athletic. Daddy was. They can’t say enough about him at the school, the type of person that he is. Of course, obviously they got beat in the state championship, but at one point they lost three in a row. It was great coaching, but it also was leadership and I think it was a lot of what CJ did on the team. So those are the guys and we’re really, really happy we got them all."

"Bobby and I were sitting there watching his tape, and we think he can play right now," Pittman said. "He's got the size, the physicality. He loves the state of Arkansas, the university, great parents. But I'll tell you, he's got the size and the physicality. He's really, really improved, in my opinion, over the last year. Didn't have to have -- his statistics may not be world-beaters because they didn't have to use him -- they had a really good ball club. But I think he has a chance to play for us this year."

"Obviously, nobody knew about Krosse Johnson," Pittman said. "I didn't either until about three or four days ago when we felt like we may lose a receiver. We needed another high school receiver, we needed speed. Krosse is running 10.5 and he runs it on the field. So, we were able to add there."

Johnson projects as a defensive back for the Razorbacks, but he played both quarterback and cornerback for Pleasant Grove last season.

The Texarkana, Texas, native could be one of the more underrated additions in the class just based on his athletic ability.

"Well, Wyatt, let’s start with him," Pittman said. "Very, very, very, very, very aggressive ... But Wyatt comes from, obviously, a father (who has a) background in coaching. Very, very physical. Can run. Played a little bit of everything — played tight end, played running back. But he’s a linebacker. He’s a Mike linebacker, to me. He can play Willy, too, but he’s a guy who can go sic ‘em, go after the football."

"He's really an athlete," Pittman said. "Here's what happened with Juju. We watched his tape, and we were doing the same thing. We're going, 'where are we going to play this kid? We going to play him at Hog? We going to play him at linebacker? We going to play him at running back?' So, what I said was 'Look, if we can sign 20 guys better than him, I don't think we can.' So, I said let's take him, and then we'll figure out where to play him when he gets here. On our depth chart right now, he's a Hog."

Tevis is the younger brother of current Arkansas defensive back TJ Metcalf. He helped lead his Clay-Chalkville squad to an Alabama State Championship this past season.

"He came from Alabama, and he had both state schools offer him and wanted him," Pittman said. "He stayed with us. I think it has something to do with his grandma. I think it has something to do with him and his coach and Deke Adams. All of those guys did a great job, but none of those other people would have a hold to stay loyal to us, especially the way our season went if he didn't want to. Just a wonderful kid, really good player, great person. We're just really pleased, happy and honored that he stayed with us."

"Logan was a guy who wasn’t quite as highly recruited as those guys, but we really liked his size," Pittman said. "T-Will kind of when after him. That was his guy that he goes (after), he knew a little about him and things of that nature character-wise. Great kid."

A three-star athlete out of Aledo, Texas, Allen was actually committed to Texas for over a year, the same school his brother BJ was at (BJ just last week announced his transfer to North Texas).

Allen didn’t stuff the stat sheets while helping Aledo to a Texas Class 5A State Championship in 2023, simply because teams didn’t really throw his way. He’s got great cover skills and does a good job not allowing a lot of space from his receivers.

One of the taller defensive backs in the country, Bridges possesses a 6-foot-4, 170-pound frame that goes well with his speed. It’s difficult for wide receivers to get separation from him simply due to his length, and he could be a real factor for the Razorbacks as early as next season.

The first of the class to send in his letter of intent, Madison helped his Frederick Douglass High School team to an 8-5 record. He chose the Hogs over offers from Miami (FL), Kentucky and others.

Madison is 6-foot-5 and 303 pounds, and his frame gives him the versatility to play either on the outside at tackle or inside at guard.

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