FAYETTEVILLE — What Chad Morris said about his current 2018 signing class:
Chad Morris
-Sixty-one days ago we took over and the last 30+ we've had our staff out on the road, totaling over 18,000 miles. We're excited about the 16 guys we've signed, and we're not done yet. We could add a couple more.
-It's a small class, but what excited Morris is that they want to come play for the university and the state. The passion they have for the state of Arkansas stands out.
-We knew it was a small class, so we really had to be selective in who we chose.
-We had a need for a true rush defensive end, and you'll see some guys move around and change positions to meet that need. You have to have some depth along the defensive line. We need to talk about the speed at linebacker. Getting Bumper Pool and Andrew Parker was big.
-The relationship and connections in Highland Park and to the Jones Family was important in getting John Stephen Jones. One of the things that intrigued me about him is that he's a winner. If you put the numbers up that he did and win back-to-back titles, that was enough for me.
-Myles Mason will really leave a mark once he gets to the ball. He and Joseph Foucha and have that combination there is critical.
-With Rakeem Boyd we were focused on getting another back. You can't just go into the season with a couple of running backs. You need depth. We're excited about him. We knew of him out of high school, and he was one of the best running backs in the country then. He'll be up to around 220 pounds by the time the season starts. With Rakeem, he's going to come in and make an immediate impact.
-When you meet Ryan Winkel's family and see what they're about, you can see he's going to be extremely special. I love multiple sport players. It tells me you can take different types of coaching and you're pretty athletic. You can't coach 6-7. When OL coach Dustin Fry first got going Winkel was one of the first guys he went after.
-I think you're going to have to look 2-3 years down the road for the impact this class can make on this program. The final eight guys we signed we battled some other programs for them. I would take these guys all day long.
-We regrouped a bit after Dec. 20, but our staff continued to build relationships. Jan. 4 was our first official day getting together as a group. Chavis spent a little over a week just looking at what we had. He had a pretty good idea from playing Arkansas the last few years of what they had, then it was time to go after our targeted guys.
-If I've got to beg you to be here then I'm going to have to beg you to play, and I don't want that.
-I think you'll see more guys that may push it back to National Signing Day. Morris said that's just his personal opinion.
-On the quarterback group: We would like to have five on scholarship. Connor was receptive to being told the staff was wanting to sign another quarterback in the class. I'm excited to have these guys on board and in our program.
-I love where we are with our 2019 class. Morris anticipates signing 20-22 in next year's class. Our first prospect day will be this Sunday.
-There will be some position changes, but none I really want to discuss at some point. We moved Maleek Barley to running back. He was at receiver last year. My target number at receiver has always been 10-11. Let's see what Maleek can do there. Rakeem will not be in here until June.
-There's always a need for a fullback in this offense. Do we run with a true fullback at all times? No. We do run with a true tight end.
-I think looking back in two years, you'll think these guys made a real impact on this program.
-I don't care what other people think of other programs. I care about our program. Where we are when we first walked in here to where we are now, are we a better program? The answer is yes. I want football players.