Arkansas went from 20 straight league losses and arguably the SEC’s worst football program to a place in the Top 25 in 2021 and a New Year’s Day Bowl berth.
That’s been the path of resurgence under coach Sam Pittman and his staff as the Razorbacks (8-4) get ready for an Outback Bowl clash with Penn State (7-5) Saturday at 11 a.m. in Tampa, Fla.
That brought a great deal of pride to Arkansas’ 2022 signees, the vast majority of whom committed before the turnaround and have since been rewarded.
One is Duncan (S.C.) Byrne offensive lineman Eli Henderson (6-4, 300), who committed to the Razorbacks in August 2020 without having seen the campus or being able to visit in person with Pittman or his assistants.
“When I committed to the Hogs a lot of people were confused to why and how I would choose Fayetteville with the recent past of the team,” Henderson said, “and God’s honest truth I had no clue on how it would play out, but I had faith in Coach Pittman.
“Coach Pittman makes you want to play for him. He gives you faith so all I did was put some back into him and this program. To say the least, I made the right choice. This team is special and this time is special. This era we’re heading into will be historic for the university and me and the rest of the program are gonna work our tails off to make that statement true. Woo pig!”
Memphis Christian Brothers offensive lineman Patrick Kutas (6-5, 290) had a belief the turnaround was afoot when he committed this past July.
“I had that feeling that Arkansas was going to turn around and make that name for themselves again ever since I talked to Coach Pitt and his crew and even went on campus,” Kutas said. “So to see it happen and for them to reap the fruits of their hard work is awesome and it’s something that I’m super excited to be a part of soon.”
So did tailback James Jointer (6-1, 210) of Little Rock Parkview, who is part of a class ranked 12th nationally by Rivals and 18th by ESPN and 247 Sports.
“It means a lot, especially being from Arkansas just seeing how coach Pittman and staff has turned the program around in a little period of time,” Jointer said. “It definitely makes me feel good knowing I play for an Arkansas coaching staff that wants to win and make the state of Arkansas happy.”
Future Arkansas linebacker Mani Powell (6-3, 225) was so sold on Arkansas and Pittman that he and his mom moved from Canton, Ohio, to play his senior season at Fayetteville High.
Powell suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Purple Dogs’ fourth game, but never looked back on his decision and emotionally helped lead Fayetteville to the Class 7A state title game when he could no longer do it physically.
“It’s always good being in a new place and starting a new beginning,” Powell said. “It turns out this place is everything I thought it would be. I love it here. It’s definitely a place I can see myself being successful.
“The most important thing is the people and the environment turned out to be everything I thought it would be plus more.”
Powell and fellow linebacker Kaden Henley (6-2, 220) of Shiloh Christian and Jordan Crook (6-2, 220) of Duncanville, Texas, are all early enrollees at a position the Razorbacks will be looking to replace a ton of experience and productivity in Grant Morgan, Hayden Henry and possibly Bumper Pool.
“It’s definitely is cool to see the turnaround, it’s what I expected and can’t wait to see what is in store for the future,” Henley said.
While the vast majority of Arkansas’ 2022 signees committed before the turnaround, wins on the field this season have translated to momentum in the 2023 class, where the Razorbacks have four of the nation’s top 47 juniors committed.
Arkansas’ quartet of pledges are four-star tight ends Shamar Easter of Ashdown (6-5, 225) and Jaden Hamm (6-6, 225) of Eudora, Kan., Bentonville offensive lineman Joey Su’a (6-4, 319) and wide receiver Anthony Evans (6-0, 170) of Converse (Texas) Judson.
The program has also seen interest rise from other 2023 recruiting targets with the Razorbacks planning to bring in several top players in January.
Those include Fort Worth (Texas) Nolan Catholic defensive end Kaleb James (6-4, 250), Garland (Texas) Lakeview Centennial defensive end Trey Wilson (6-3, 230), Ellenwood (Ga.) Cedar Grove linebacker Everett Roussaw, Jr. (6-2, 220) and defensive back Dallas Young (6-1, 180) of Gardendale, Ala.
Arkansas’ 2023 class enters the new year ranked seventh by Rivals and ninth by 247 Sports, which makes them third in the SEC in both.
“I think we’ve got a pretty good start on 2023,” Pittman said. “ Obviously, in this league, you have guys that finish in the top five every year in recruiting, and those guys are certainly hard to beat.
“We want to be known as hard to beat in this region, you know, whether it be Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Louisiana, we want to be a team that, ‘Man, an Arkansas offer, they’re gonna be hard to beat.’
“And with this, with this surge of winning, that certainly has helped us and I believe will help us. Especially early here, we’ve gotten a lot of returns on our text messages. And people are very, very interested. So we’ve had a few guys say they want to come so I think it’s helped us tremendously.”