FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas football coach Chad Morris and his staff began their first official recruiting weekend Friday with 10 prospects on campus.
The group was expected to include six Arkansas commits, another uncommitted in-state prospect and a trio of athletes committed elsewhere that the new Razorback staff is hoping to flip.
Morris and his staff have been scrambling to get in homes and schools of prospects the last eight days since his hiring. That has kept them from taking a close look into his current roster.
“As far as just looking at the roster and finding out what is coming back, I’ve got an idea, but with this early signing period, which has been absolutely crazy, I haven’t had a chance to do anything, but drink a lot of Red Bull and try to stay on the run as much as I can,” Morris said on Friday’s Paul Finebaum Show on ESPN2.
“But that is something that we will come back to, maybe, definitely on Sunday night and Monday and really get into our roster deep.”
Arkansas flipped three prospects last Sunday with Magnolia, Texas, wide receiver Mike Woods (6-2, 175 pounds), Ashdown cornerback LaDarrius Bishop (6-2, 190) and Yoakum, Texas, offensive lineman Silas Robinson (6-5, 300).
The new staff will try to flip another trio this weekend with Mississippi State safety commit Myles Mason (6-2, 205), Oklahoma athlete pledge Jaqualyn Crawford (5-10, 160) of Rockdale, Texas, and North Carolina defensive end commit Nick Fulwider (6-7, 245) of Tyrone, Ga., Sandy Creek.
Mason is among eight players who have arrived in Fayetteville. Crawford and Fulwider are due later tonight or Saturday.
Fordyce defensive lineman Billy Ferrell is taking his official visit along with five Arkansas commits - offensive linemen Luke Jones of Pulaski Academy and Noah Gatlin of Jonesboro, Springdale defensive end Isaiah Nichols, Charleston wide receiver/safety Sean Michael Flanagan, Bishop and Woods.
The visits are happening just a few days ahead of the first-ever early signing period, Dec. 20-22.
Morris thinks Arkansas will have a chance to sign about half his 2018 class during the early period.
“I think what you are going to find is it is going to be about 50-50,” Morris said. “I think you have got some guys that have been committed to the University of Arkansas, with the coaching change they are still committed, but they are wanting to build that relationship and make sure it is the right fit for them.
“And then you have some that we have had existing relationships with or they have a coach that knew me from a prior relationship along the way that can kind of vouch for the person I am and the staff we are going bring in that are ready to go on Wednesday.
“The way it is looking now I am seeing about 50-50 and that’s okay because if you are unsure we want to have a chance to build a relationship with you to give us a chance in January.”
Morris is rethinking his position about the early signing period.
“At the time, I think everybody thought it was a good idea, but what we are finding out - especially with the coaching changes right now - is that you are having to get into contact periods,” Morris said.
“They hired me on a Thursday. I have basically been here eight days and you are trying to get into people’s living rooms and get into schools with the guys that are committed, to hang onto the commits, to gather other guys and say ‘make sure and give me a chance to build a relationship.”
Morris noted that he is trying to make relationships in a short time period.
“You are trying to build a one-year, two-year relationship in about 20 minutes and it’s impossible,” Morris said. “You go into these schools and a lot of them are in final exams. How many times are these kids being pulled out of exams right here at a key time for them, it has been very difficult.
“I didn’t see it in this scope, but it has been very challenging.”
Morris is also trying to flesh out his staff.
“It has been really tough, really tough when you start looking at that,” Morris said. “They have got obligations to the university that they are at right now and they are in a signing period and a signing class time that they don’t want to do anything to disrupt there. That has been very difficult.
“So while we have a really, really strong idea of what my staff is going to look like, you are not ready to announce it yet and can’t announce it yet until some of these games get out of the way and until after the 20th gets here.”
Morris noted that he had a chance to watch Arkansas a few times during the season, but he and his staff will do a deep dive into the roster early next week.
“Well, you know what is kind of ironic about this is throughout the course of the season sitting in the hotel room getting ready to go play our games, Arkansas actually came on two or three times and just from afar of watching it and evaluating the schemes on both sides of the the ball,” Morris said.
Morris, who was the offensive coordinator at Clemson for four years, believes he is the right man at the right place at the right time.
“I got to Clemson when they were coming off a 6-7 season and the dynamics of that program and (Clemson head) Coach (Dabo) Swinney being a young head coach at the time, the vision that he had in place for that program, the dynamics of both of those programs - this one and Clemson - are very similar," he said.
“Arkansas looks very similar to what Clemson looked like seven years ago so with the vision and with the values that we are going to put in place, our recruiting and the networking down in Arkansas and down into Texas and around our bordering states and to recruit high level recruits is very similar.
“One of the things that I would say about this program is that it is a great time, it is a great fit for me being the head coach here. We want to get this program back to where it has been several years ago, winning championships and eventually building it into a prominent week in and week out top five, top two program in the country.”