The walls have fallen—Arkansas football risk worst in-state recruiting year ever

When Sam Pittman arrived in Fayetteville as the head coach, one of the only compliments among a host of criticisms from folks around college football was that the career offensive line coach's ability to recruit was elite. And for the first few years, it showed.

The classes of 2022 and 2023 were exceptional, featuring 16 committed 4-star athletes combined between both years. But herein lies the problem: 14 of them are no longer on campus. Two have medically retired (Wide receiver/cornerback Quincey McAdoo and offensive lineman Luke Brown), but the remaining 12 have all transferred out.

Isaiah Sategna? Gone. Patrick Kutas? Gone. Andrew Chamblee, Samuel Mbake, Mani Powel, and Rashod Dubinion? All gone, and that's just the 2022 class. In 2023, Jaylon Braxton, Luke Hasz, Isaiah Augustave, Shamar Easter, Davion Dozier, and Malachi Singleton all transferred, as well. The retention of top talent on campus has always been a problem. But now, keeping top-rated high school talent in the state has also become a challenge.

The recruiting walls around Arkansas have fallen

Since 2024, Arkansas has missed at least three of the top five prospects in the natural state. Although Arkansas may not produce recruits of the same caliber as other SEC states, there are still a few high-quality athletes that emerge each year. In theory, it's much easier to earn a commitment in-state than having to fight for the same quality prospect from out of the state. For the 2026 class, Arkansas is coming dangerously close to losing the top four in-state recruits.

Arkansas has dropped the ball on three of the top-five Arkansas prospects already. Since Wednesday, 247Sports composite four-star defensive lineman Danny Beale from Cherry Valley and four-star offensive tackle Evan Goodwin from Bauxite have announced their decisions to leave the state to play elsewhere. Beale is heading to the Big 12 to play for the worst team in the conference last season, Oklahoma State. On the other hand, Goodwin is heading to Texas to play for Arkansas native Rhett Lashlee at SMU.

Linebacker Jakore Smith from Bryant is also leaving the state; he's committed to the University of Oklahoma. Dequane Prove from Bentonville has committed to the Razorbacks, but he recently moved to Arkansas from Texarkana, Texas. As the No. 4 and No. 5 recruits in Arkansas, that leaves the No. 3 in-state recruit, running back Terry Hodges uncommitted in the top five. If he decides against the Razorbacks, that would mean Arkansas missed on the top four recruits in the state for the first time since 247Sports began recording recruit rankings.

However, it could get worse. Other than Hodges, No. 6 in-state recruit Braxton Lindsey from Rogers is the only prospect that hasn't committed in the top ten. Everyone else in has also chosen to leave. Without the recent addition to the natural state, Prevo, eight of the top ten prospects in Arkansas will not be attending the University of Arkansas, with the possibility that all ten may choose different schools.

The walls have officially fallen. Arkansas is hemorrhaging its best talent and its not-so-great talent. It's a striking change to the recruiting dynamics in Arkansas and raises serious questions about the relationship between Arkansas high school coaches and the state's flagship program.