Recently, John Calipari and the Arkansas basketball team have expanded their recruiting efforts internationally. Now, Sam Pittman and the Arkansas football program seem to be (kind of) dipping their toes into international waters, too.
OT Ben Mubenga commits to Arkansas football
Class of 2026 offensive tackle Ben Mubenga called the Hogs Saturday, choosing Arkansas over offers from Florida State, LSU, NC State, and Louisville, to name a few. Even though he's been in the United States for eight years, Mubenga and his family originally come from the Democratic Republic of Congo. In an interview with Pig Trail Nation, he discussed his journey from leaving the DRC to playing high school football in Georgia to now committing to the Razorbacks.
"So, we came here in 2017 and learned English in about six months," said Mubenga. "We had to learn English. My second oldest brother started playing football his junior year. I played soccer at the time. When I got to high school, everyone wanted me to play football because I am so tall. So, I started playing my freshman year. I started as a defensive end. I moved to the offensive line my sophomore year, and everything has been up from there.”
#AGTG COMMITTED!!! @CoachMateos @Coach_Davis22 @adamgorney @samspiegs @ChadSimmons_ @JohnGarcia_Jr @CoachBrowne72 @ArRecruitingGuy #WPS 🐗🐗 pic.twitter.com/bnexpJjk4i
— Ben Mubenga (@benmubenga21) June 28, 2025
At 6-foot-5, 290 pounds, Mubenga is a 3-star recruit, according to 247Sports Composite rankings. That puts him as the No. 51 OT in the class and the No. 598 national prospect. However, Rivals has him much higher, tanking the Buford High School product as a 4-star.
With Mubenga's commitment, the Razorbacks' 2026 class grew to 23 commitments, which is the tenth-most in the nation at the time of this article and the second-most in the SEC behind Georgia. The class also moves up to No. 21 in the overall class rankings.