Hognobbing

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FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas interim head coach Barry Lunney, Jr., has a lot on his plate in the final few weeks of the 2019 football season.

In addition to preparing to visit the top-ranked LSU Tigers on November 23, Lunney Jr. and the Razorbacks’ remaining staff are charged with trying to keep their 2020 recruiting class together in the wake of head coach Chad Morris being fired on Sunday.

Since Morris was officially dismissed, the Hogs have lost five verbal commitments in running back John Gentry, wide receivers Savion Williams and Mason Mangum, tight end Allen Horace, and athlete Kelvontay Dixon, leaving Arkansas’ current commitment list at nine.

All five of the de-commitments thus far have been from the state of Texas.

Morris’ son, quarterback Chandler Morris of Dallas Highland Park, has yet to officially de-commit from the Razorbacks but is unsurprisingly expected to do so in the near future.

While a wave of de-commitments is always expected in the aftermath of a coaching change, Lunney Jr. hopes the remaining future Hogs will hold on long enough to see who Athletics Director Hunter Yurachek hires as Morris’ replacement.

“When you recruit a kid and you get a kid committed, usually it’s two fold,” Lunney Jr. said. “Very seldom is a kid committed solely for the purpose of a coach; it’s usually a split between the coach and the university. The draw, the program, the facilities, the educational opportunities, the culture and environment of Northwest Arkansas – it’s split.

“So as a recruiter, we sell that. You go to a kid’s home, you don’t sell just yourself. You don’t sell just your coaching staff. You sell the university, you sell the Razorbacks, you sell the state and the pride that this state takes in our football program. So you’ve got to continue to sell that part. You say, ‘Hey, remember when we talked about this originally, it wasn’t just about one person or one coach. This was about our program.’ You remind them of that. You remind them of the great qualities of our university, and then you remind them that we have leadership that is, without question, going to make a decision that he thinks is best for 120 football players to bring a head coach in here that is going to want to connect with them, and give them the opportunity to re-evaluate their situation in a positive manner. 

“We’re doing that. We’re active. We spent a lot of time on the phone (on Sunday) with several of our commitments. Encouraging and reinforcing to them that they’re wanted here. They’re going to be honored here. That doesn’t mean that kids aren’t going to look somewhere else during this time. But our message to them is to just sit tight. Sit tight. We’ve just got a few weeks left. Let the dust settle. Just sit tight and let’s see how this thing plays out.”

At the time of this writing, Arkansas’ 2020 recruiting class still included Chandler Morris, athlete Darin Turner of Memphis (Tenn.) Central, tight end Brandon Frazier of McKinney (Texas) North, three defensive ends in Tyrece Edwards of Knoxville (Tenn.) West, Jashaud Stewart of Jonesboro (Ark.) and Blayne Toll of Hazen (Ark.), two linebackers in Catrell Wallace of Bryant (Ark.) and Drew Francis of Knoxville (Tenn.) West, and safety Mike Harris of Phenix City (Ala.) Central.

Arkansas is off this weekend but will face No. 1 LSU in Baton Rouge at 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 23 in a game that will be nationally televised by ESPN.