Recruiting Roundup: Massive Weekend Brings Hogs' '23 Class Into Top Five
Are you a displaced corporate executive or wanting to put your career in your own hands? Or are you an experienced entrepreneur wanting to diversify? Well, Andy Luedecke can help! Andy is a long-time Rivals member and franchise veteran, having owned multiple franchises and businesses. Using his expertise, he helps others find their American Dream through a very thorough and FREE consultation process. Call Andy, put your life and career in your own hands. 100% free, so what do you have to lose?!
Find Your Perfect Franchise at MyPerfectFranchise.Net
Contact Andy Luedecke (aka @Andy MyPerfectFranchise.Net) anytime at:
aluedecke@myperfectfranchise.net
(404) 973-9901
The Roundup
Decision Day
Saturday, July 9.
That date marks the end of the line for former Michigan State commit and current priority Razorback DB target Jaylon Braxton.
The four-star corner decommitted from the Spartans following his official visit June 17-19, calling Arkansas “definitely a school that I'd go to, just in case," while he was "keeping his options open" as a member of Mel Tucker's class.
Now, with his options seemingly narrowed to Arkansas and the Miami Hurricanes, Braxton is set to make a decision at the stroke of midnight CT this evening, and defensive backs coach Dominique Bowman is undoubtedly hoping for some good news from one of the team's top remaining DB targets.
Pair of Razorback Targets Snub Hogs for Blue Bloods
While Arkansas received more than its fair share of good news last weekend and is hoping for just a bit more with Braxton's decision, there was also a pair of targets to come off the board.
The first of which came Tuesday in Rivals250 wideout Omarion Miller opting to take his talents from LSU's class to Lincoln (Neb.) to play for Scott Frost and the Cornhuskers.
Rated as the No. 79 prospect in the class, Miller had recently narrowed his choices to three, with Arkansas and LSU joining the Huskers with hats on the table.
The second blow, thought to have less of an impact on positional recruiting for the Hogs came yesterday, as Pine Bluff native Jeremiah Hughes joined Brian Kelly's class at LSU.
Hughes' decision seemed all but done with his taking back-to-back visits prior to the start of the NCAA's summer dead period, and its confirmation begged the question of "what now?" for the Razorbacks' recruitment of defensive backs down the stretch.
Fortunately, I have you covered with a look at what Hughes' commitment means for Arkansas, as well as a pair of other targets to keep an eye on here.
Town Hall Headliner
This week we introduced a new segment over on The Trough, our subscribers-only message board, where I answered all the recruiting questions the HawgBeat readers had.
Though the ability to have your questions answered is exclusive to our subscribers, which you can become now for just $99.95/year or $9.95 a month, I released a condensed version of the Town Hall over on the site, with three free Q&As for all to check out. If you're reading this, then you're in luck, because I'm going to release another free preview below
From This Week's Town Hall Thread -
Q: In the first question at the top of the thread that you answered, you didn't mention more DTs could be signed. We only have 2 in this class if in fact Ian does start, and stay at DT but we've been so thin on guys who can actually contribute at a high level at this position, therefore wouldn't it make sense to take three and probably even four in this class especially since we only signed one DT last class in the 2022 class?
We seem to load up on defensive backs but not DL each recruiting season.
A: I mean certainly we could see that, but I think it’ll have to be a high, high-level guy if it were to happen.
The portal is a blessing and a curse, and defensive tackle is one position that P5 schools are able to bring in through that route at a high clip. While it is a newer phenomenon, it allows for the staff to evaluate guys who are more ready to play immediately and have a better idea of what they are as a finished product.
Malachi Singleton Joins Elite Company
The quarterback of the future for Sam Pittman and the Arkansas Razorbacks is officially Elite.
That's right, last week North Cobb (Ga.) quarterback and Razorback commit Malachi Singleton was named one of the eleven best signal-callers in the country at the Elite 11 competition in Los Angeles. In doing so, Singleton found himself among some pretty significant company, including Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck, Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees, to name just a few of the greats that come from the camp's ranks.
Singleton posted the sixth-highest composite score and showed the nation that his 5.7-three-star rating may not quite be indicative of his on-field abilities.
Here's this from SI's John Garcia Jr., who wrote evaluations of all the quarterbacks that competed in the finals.
#Committed
Arkansas decided to start its holiday fireworks show a couple of days early with a pair of defensive back commitments.
Kicking off the fun was Pinson Valley (Ala.) S TJ Metcalf, who committed at four p.m. CT. Rated as a high-three-star, Metcalf chose Arkansas over offers from Jackson State, Ole Miss, Penn State and others to become the Razorbacks' third defensive back in the class.
It didn't take long for him to be joined by DB commit No. 4 in high-two-star Dylan Hasz out of Bixby (Okla.).
If that last name is giving you a hint of deja vu, you've probably been following Razorback recruiting in at least some capacity over the course of the '23 cycle, as Dylan's brother, Luke, is Arkansas' highest-rated commitment at this time. The completion of the package deal was all but decided with Dylan's offer at the start of June, but his commitment likely signals the end of the recruitment for all members of the Hasz family.
The second wave of commitments came the night of July 4, with the Razorbacks continuing their recent hot streak by bringing in a pair of Rivals250 prospects.
Paris Patterson was the first to pull the trigger, calling the Hogs at 5 p.m. CT after receiving his offer less than a month ago at a Razorback team camp. Ranked as the No. 235 overall prospect in the class, Patterson proves yet again that Sam Pittman and Cody Kennedy are able to bring in top-of-the-line talent at the position.
Out wide, receivers coach Kenny Guiton added commitment No. 1 to his room, and it was a big one. Micah Tease, another Rivals250 talent joined the party just two hours later to boost Arkansas' '23 class into the top five. Long thought to be an Oklahoma lean before narrowing to Arkansas, Notre Dame and USC, Tease's commitment could signal the changing of the guard in the newly presumed SEC-West pod.
For my rapid reaction to these two commitments, be sure to check out our video over on the HawgBeat YouTube channel.