FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas suffered another tough loss over the weekend when No. 7 LSU escaped Razorback Stadium with a 24-17 victory, but Hog fans are having a tough time being upset these days. While they may not be pleased with Chad Morris’ current 2-8 squad this season, Arkansas fans are showing a fair amount of patience and understanding due to what Morris’ staff is doing on the recruiting trail.
Despite the lopsided win-loss record, the Hogs have somehow managed to build one of the most impressive classes in the nation for the Class of 2019. It’s a group that currently ranks No. 10 in the nation on Rivals and No. 16 in the country on 247Sports.
Granted, other power programs that haven’t yet filled up to the extent that Arkansas has will likely jump the Razorbacks at some point in the next month or so, but Morris and his staff have pretty much guaranteed themselves a spot inside the top 20 for this year’s cycle.
If the Razorbacks get the remaining targets that they’re expecting to land – guys like four-star safety Jalen Catalon, heavily recruited cornerback Gregory Brooks and a pair of offensive tackles – it will put a stamp on the greatest class that Arkansas has ever had in the rankings era.
Morris said he’s pleased with where things stand in recruiting with just two weeks remaining this fall.
“As far as finishing up our recruiting class, we won’t be finished with this recruiting class until February, signing day essentially,” he said. “So we’re constantly recruiting. It was extremely impressive the amount of recruits that we had on campus this past Saturday for the game.
“For them to see that environment and our fans was very special. We had some very elite players on campus. It was impressive to see.”
The Razorbacks got very good news from one of their top remaining targets on Sunday when four-star cornerback Devin Bush of New Orleans (La.) Edna Karr went public with his decision to join the Hogs.
Bush, 6-1, 190, had been silently committed to the Razorbacks for several weeks prior to showing up on campus early Saturday morning. He chose the Hogs over offers from LSU, Auburn, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee and many others.
Bush becomes Arkansas’ third cornerback commitment in the class, joining Malik Chavis of Rison (Ark.) and Adonis Otey of Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Blackman.
“The academic school of business, I heard that’s one of the top things in the program,” Bush said when asked what led to his decision. “When I go to college, I’ll be studying finance and business. I want to be a businessman in my future.”
Now that Bush is on board, fans everywhere already want to know who will be next for Arkansas’ class. There are a few possibilities left for Arkansas.
Catalon, a four-star defensive back from Mansfield (Texas) Legacy, might be considered the most wanted target remaining on Arkansas’ list, and for a couple of reasons. For starters, the Hogs have put in a ton of work for Catalon, 5-9, 190, since the beginning of the year. That work has started to pay off, too, as Arkansas now holds commitments from two of Catalon’s teammates in defensive linemen Enoch Jackson and Taurean Carter.
The remaining needs also include another cornerback in Brooks.
Getting both Catalon and Brooks would be icing on the cake for the Hogs, but they still need a couple of junior college offensive linemen.
Heavily recruited JUCO linemen Chibueze Nwanna and Myron Cunningham will be in town in early December for their respective official visits.
How those visits go could ultimately determine exactly where Arkansas finishes in this year’s rankings.