Woo Pignic: Hogs prepare for big recruiting event

Arkansas coach Chad Morris is shown during practice Saturday, March 9, 2019, in Fayetteville.

Many of the SEC football programs have a signature day when it comes to recruiting.

Since the arrival of Nick Saban in 2007, Alabama has held its A-Day for its spring football game while Georgia calls its same-type event G-Day.

Auburn has its Big Cat Weekend in early June, and Texas A&M was once known for its event called Friday Night Lights.

Arkansas will be hosting its second annual Fall Kickoff Cookout, better known as the Woo Pignic, on Friday.

It will bring at least seven 2020 Arkansas commits to campus along with numerous other top targets in that class, as well as the 2021 class.

The Razorbacks are trying to establish it as a must-attend event for top talent in their recruiting footprint.

Arkansas coach Chad Morris noted at SEC Media Days he has to stack recruiting classes and talent on top of each other to get the program where he wants to be.

“Again, building a program is about being consistent,” Morris said. “Let’s be a consistent winner, consistently competitive every week of every phase of your program. And so I think going into year two, we’re in really good shape where we’re at, and we got to continue to recruit. It’s like shaving. If you don’t do it every day, you look like a bum. So you got to recruit. And it’s every day, and our staff hears it from me every day.”

The event, held right before Arkansas begins preseason camp, was a big hit last summer with numerous 2019 signees and 2020 commits on hand.

That 2019 class was ranked No. 23 class in the country, according to 247Sports composite rankings, which combines the rankings off ESPN, Rivals and 247.

A class that included landing and keeping 11 four-star prospects was considered a stunning success when you take into account what the Arkansas staff was working against.

“I think when you look at the way we recruited during the 2-10 season says a lot,” Morris said. “It says that, you know, the passion level that our fans have, the passion level to have a player want to come and be a part and be able to play and play quickly helped us in that recruiting in that first year. There’s no getting around it.

“Going into Year Two, if you look back where we were this time last year, very similar where we were in recruiting. Going into Year Two and see the successes that will come in Year Two, I’m excited about how we’re going to recruit. And the way we are, we’re off to a great start right now. And I think that our goal as a staff is to continue to be consistent in the way we recruit.”

Here are the recruits expected to attend Arkansas’ Woo Pignic:



Commitments

WR Mason Mangum- Austin (Texas) Westlake

QB Chandler Morris — Dallas Highland Park

TE Brandon Frazier — McKinney (Texas) North

OL Ty’Kieast Crawford — Carthage, Texas

CB Greedy Vance — New Orleans Edna Karr

DE Jashaud Stewart — Jonesboro

LB Martavius French — Memphis (Tenn.) Whitehaven

Prospects

OLB Catrell Wallace — Bryant

LB Bryson Eason — Memphis (Tenn.) Whitehaven

LB Aaron Moore — Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Oakland

OL Brady Ward — Mobile (Ala.) St. Paul’s Episcopal

CB Brian George — Highland (Kan.) Community College

ATH Connor O’Toole — Albuquerque (N.M.) La Cueva

CB Dwight McGlothern — Spring (Texas) Klein Oak

2021 DE Landon Jackson — Texarkana (Texas) Pleasant Grove

2021 LB Jai Jones — Dallas South Oak Cliff

2021 LB Jalen Jones — Dallas South Oak Cliff

2021 CB Andrew Mukuba — Austin (Texas) LBJ

2021 CB Dreyden Norwood — Fort Smith Northside

2021 QB Will Crowder — Gardendale, Ala.

2021 RB Brandon Campbell — Pearland, Texas

2021 LB Clayton Smith — Texarkana, Texas

2021 RB LJ Johnson — Cypress (Texas) Cy-Fair

2021 RB Jordan Jenkins — Lindale, Texas

Hoping to attend

DE Blayne Toll — Hazen (Arkansas commit)

TE Allen Horace — Crockett, Texas (Arkansas commit)

WR Savion Williams — Marshall, Texas (Arkansas commit)

ATH Jabari Small — Memphis (Tenn.) Briarcrest Christian

CB Devonte Nelson — Memphis (Tenn.) University

DB Dontae Manning — Rayton, Mo., (former Oklahoma commit)

2021 WR Jerand Bradley — Plano (Texas) John Paul II