BREAKDOWN: Early Signing Period & More
HD VIDEO: Chad Morris Early NSD Presser
Chad Morris Early NSD Presser Notebook
2018 Early National Signing Day Letters of Intent
Tracking Arkansas' Latest Offers
Arkansas 2018 Scholarship Distribution
When in Rome...sign with the Hogs
Chad Morris and the Razorbacks ran into several challenges leading up to the start of the early signing period. Arkansas won some, lost some, and is still in the mix for several more targets going forward.
Here's the good and the bad from the Hogs' first early signing day:
THE GOOD
1. Natural Decisions
Hours after being introduced as the new head Hog on December 7, Morris went right to work in making a pair of defensive players in the Natural State feel like top priorities in Fayetteville.
That hadn't always been the case for Ashdown cornerback Ladarrius Bishop or Fordyce defensive tackle Billy Ferrell, but it didn't keep Morris from landing both in his first 11 days on the job.
Both are important additions to the roster, too, as Bishop flipped from a divisional foe and helps make up for Arkansas' previous de-commitments at cornerback, Byron Hanspard and Tanner McCalister. He brings raw speed to a defense that has needed it for a while now.
Ferrell, who turned down Alabama, UCLA, Tennessee, Louisville and others, gives the Hogs a quality four-year player after Morris and four-star JUCO prospect Emmit Gooden parted ways. In terms of potential, Ferrell was a no-brainer once he checked all the other important boxes. Guys his size that can move the way he can are very hard to find, especially in Arkansas.
Good call by Morris to make a move on both of those SouthArk talents.
