Arkansas’ football recruiting is well ahead of schedule as the Razorbacks prepare to begin fall camp next week.
Illinois offensive lineman Dalton Wagner became the Hogs’ 19th commitment Friday after visiting Fayetteville on Thursday. His commitment essentially puts the Razorbacks five months ahead of the curve with six spots left to fill in the class of 2017.
In Bret Bielema’s first three full recruiting classes, Arkansas picked up commit No. 19 on Jan. 31 (Micahh Smith, class of 2016), Jan. 23 (T.J. Smith, 2015) and Jan. 26 (Randy Ramsey, 2014).
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“Probably overall, I’ve got the best nine recruiters I’ve ever had as a staff together at once right now,” Bielema said.
The class isn’t ranked among ESPN’s top 25, but the fact Bielema and his staff have extended committable offers and accepted the pledges they’ve received indicates they believe they’ve found prospects who fit their system. Having 19 commits heading into August should allow Bielema and his staff to be more selective and focus more attention on marquee names moving forward this fall.
“What we have to do as we get down to the end here is make sure we’re getting the right kids at the right time at the right position,” Bielema said. “That takes a little planning. A little coordination.”
The staff has expanded its horizons with this class, too, nabbing commits from 12 states so far. The Hogs have four in-state commits, three from Louisiana, two from Texas and Florida, and one each from Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia, Oklahoma, Arizona, Mississippi, Missouri and Alabama.
Procuring signees from 10 states in the 2016 class was the previous high for Bielema at Arkansas.
“One of the things that jumped out at me when I made the jump from the Big Ten to here was just the exposure that you got to certain recruits,” Bielema said. “Not only in the state, but out of the state and really in different regions. As we’ve gotten better and gotten more recognition, it’s exposed that even further.”
Ashdown safety Montaric Brown became Arkansas’ fifth four-star commit, according to ESPN, when he announced his decision Thursday. He and quarterback commit Daulton Hyatt are both ESPN 300 members.
“It does feel good that the guys that we set out to get, guys that were at the top of that list, are on board,” offensive line coach Kurt Anderson said. “It does give you an opportunity to focus in on the season and the task at hand.
“In terms of having that high number of commitments that we already have, you’re talking about guys that are going to have plenty of time to bond and come together. Sometimes that’s what it takes to jump and leap in terms of taking certain steps in a program.”