Three-star quarterback Landon Rogers' decommitment from Arkansas on Saturday left a lot of Razorback fans wondering if Kendal Briles will pursue another quarterback to give them two in the 2021 class.
With 12 commits through July 6, assuming Arkansas has enough transfers out of the program this year to bring them to a full class of 25, the Hogs still have 12 spots left to fill. One of the 25 spots is already reserved for Oklahoma wide receiver transfer Jaquayln Crawford. Despite being on campus for the 2020 season, Crawford will be counted forward in the 2021 class.
Playing HawgBeat Director of Personnel and Recruiting, here's how Arkansas could go about filling the 12 empty spots to fit their roster needs.
Starting with the offense, the Razorbacks have done a really solid job already of filling the basic needs to quality athletes who possess nice offer sheets. A lot of quarterback rooms get by with just four scholarship quarterbacks (one per class), so the Hogs really don't have a huge need to replace Rogers.
Because of the early work they've gotten done, the offensive coaches can focus on landing the top tight end in the state Erin Outley, and another to go along with him. Meanwhile, Justin Stepp can work on closing with his top remaining target–Ketron Jackson.
If there's room, and it looks like there will be, another offensive line addition would be nice as well so the Hogs won't ever have to face practice depth issues like they did during the Chad Morris era.
The defensive side of the ball is where the coaches still have a lot of work left.
The ideal distribution above is based on a defense that runs a classic 4-3-4, so Arkansas's "ideal" could be a little different, with fewer heads in the linebackers room and more in the secondary. Barry Odom's defense is "multiple" and heavily reliant on nickel and dime packages. For simplicity's sake, the players that fall into the nickel-type category are slotted in with the safeties in the distribution.
Arkansas recruited heavily on the defensive line, particularly in the 2019 class, so that room is a little bloated. Despite losing Collin Clay after last season and losing three seniors this season, the Hogs should probably only take two defensive tackles and one defensive end in the 2021 class.
The Razorbacks already have two linebacker commits but a third, preferably someone with experience, would help them tremendously and they'll more likely than not have the room to accomplish that.
The Arkansas secondary isn't slated to lose much, unless some players dramatically improve their draft stock in 2020, but based on the offers still going it, it looks like the group is still a major recruiting priority. They already have one nickel-safety and one cornerback but could take a couple more corners, another safety and still have room for an elite kicker.
Final Predicted Class Distribution
QB - 1
RB - 2
WR - 4 (w/ Crawford)
TE - 2
OL - 4
DL - 3
LB - 3
CB - 3
S - 2
ST - 1