FAYETTEVILLE — The state of Arkansas isn’t known for producing a great amount of heavily recruited Division I football prospects, but the Class of 2019 is one of the rare exceptions. The crop of current juniors is loaded with talent and, on paper anyway, has a chance to become the best in the modern recruiting era.
Most who follow Natural State recruiting closely would point to the 2008 instate group as arguably the best ever. It featured 15 instate signees for the University of Arkansas and several future NFL draft picks such as Tyler Wilson, Joe Adams, Jarius Wright, Chris Gragg and Greg Childs. However, that class was signed before scholarship limitations went into effect, meaning more offers were extended because they could be and not necessarily because they should have been.
The Class of 2015 was another very good cycle in the state of Arkansas. That cycle included a total of five, four-stars and a dozen players who signed with Power-5 conferences.
But if one were to compare the top eight prospects from 2015 to those in next year’s class, the 2019 crop probably takes the cake.
So far, four instate prospects have been given four stars by Rivals.com and at least two others appear to be on their way to that status when the next round of rankings are released.
At the top of Rivals’ list is Warren junior wide receiver Treylon Burks, a borderline five-star and the nation’s No. 77 overall prospect regardless of position. The 6-3, 217-pounder has offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Ole Miss and several others.
Just behind Burks in the national rankings is Pulaski Academy tight end Hudson Henry. Henry is the No. 84 overall prospect in the country and the top-ranked player at his position. He owns a who’s who offer list comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, LSU, Ohio State, Stanford, Texas, USC and several others.
In the northeast part of the state, Jonesboro offensive lineman Darius Thomas is also a Rivals100 member as the nation’s No. 91 overall target. He owns scholarship offers from half the Southeastern Conference, including Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss and others.
While Thomas’s recruitment began immediately after his sophomore year, another four-star offensive lineman got a later start but still managed to build an even more impressive offer sheet.
Camden Fairview’s Stacey Wilkins’ first major scholarship came from the instate Hogs on Dec. 17, and since then he’s added options from the likes of Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, USC and several others.
Pulaski Robinson defensive end Zach Williams has had a similar journey. After starting out with offers from UMASS and Tulane, the 6-4, 225-pounder now has Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, TCU, Texas and others. Williams is the son of former Razorback linebacker Rickey Williams, whose name still stands on the UA’s top ten list for career tackles.
In Northwest Arkansas, Bentonville-West’s Jadon Jackson is a standout on both sides of the ball and now holds offers from the Hogs, Georgia, Oklahoma State, Tennessee and Ole Miss, among others.
While the six aforementioned may have bigger offer lists and higher rankings at the moment, it’s the state’s lesser-known prospects that might put this year’s cycles above all others.
Warren defensive tackle Marcus Miller and Rison defensive back Malik Chavis, who has already committed to the Razorbacks, are still gaining plenty of looks as coaches hit the road for the NCAA’s spring evaluation period.
There are approximately 5-7 others across the state who have already seen their respective offer lists reach the Division 1 level this spring, so there’s a chance that an already impressive crop will be even deeper by the end of the year.