Saturday was a busy day for Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman and his coaching staff, with three high school prospects and one from the junior college ranks announcing pledges to the Razorbacks.
The commitment train got rolling in the early afternoon, with East Mississippi Community College defensive back Shannon Blair making his decision known with a post on X (formerly Twitter). Blair is a part of the class of 2025 and will enroll in January.
Things got quiet for several hours until three high school prospects — 2026 four-star defensive end Colton Yarbrough, 2026 three-star safety Adam Auston and 2025 three-star running back Cameron Settles — all committed within roughly 30 minutes of each other, starting at 5 p.m. CT with Yarbrough's commitment.
Settles' and Blair's commitments brought the total amount of pledges to the Razorbacks' 2025 class to 21, which is around where Pittman said at SEC Media Days on July 19 he'd like to get to from the high school ranks.
RELATED: Parkview running back Cameron Settles commits to Arkansas
That class now ranks just outside of the top-25 at No. 26, just in front of Maryland (No. 27) and behind Georgia Tech (No. 25). It features three four-star recruits as of now, and 19 three-stars, though it's worth noting Rivals will release several updates to those ratings before signing day in December, so some of those three-stars could jump up to four-star status.
The class of 2026 now sits at five total commitments, as Yarbrough and Auston joined four-star defensive back Tay Lockett, three-star quarterback Jayvon Gilmore and Lakeside High School offensive lineman Tucker Young.
As it stands right now, Arkansas' 2026 class currently ranks No. 10 in the country according to Rivals, behind Oklahoma at nine and ahead of Florida at 11.
It's still extremely early for the 2026 class, as the athletes are just now preparing to enter their junior seasons. With two more high schools seasons and one more camp season over the summer of 2025 before pen meets paper in December 2025, things are bound to change, and positive momentum on the field could help the Hogs' cause drastically.
RELATED: 2026 four-star DE Colton Yarbrough commits to Arkansas
The most important thing the Hogs can do now to increase their odds of success in both of these recruiting classes is win in 2024. It's no secret one of the big reasons Arkansas has missed on many of the top in-state recruits in recent years (Parkview safety Omarion Robinson and Marion lineman Carius Curne are the most recent losses) is because of a lack of success on the field.
Right now, the betting lines for Arkansas in 2024 are somewhere in the realm of four wins, depending on what sportsbook you look at. If Pittman and his team can defy those odds and have a successful season akin to what they had in 2021 and parts of 2022, the chances of being able to circle back on some 2025 recruiting losses before signing day and get some flips increase significantly.
RELATED: Arkansas adds commitment from 2026 defensive back Adam Auston
The Arkansas Razorbacks are currently in fall camp preparing for the first game of the season, which will take place at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock against UAPB on August 29. Be sure to stay locked in to HawgBeat for the latest in Arkansas football coverage.
