University of Arkansas football Coach Sam Pittman will sign his first prospects to national letters of intents today, the start of the early signing period that ends Friday.
It appears he'll likely finish the early signing period with similar results as his predecessor during their first year on the job.
Former coach Chad Morris inked seven prospects in the first ever early signing period for college football two years ago, and it appears Pittman will sign about the same.
It's known that three in-state commitments are planning to sign with the Hogs today. Hazen defensive end Blayne Toll, 6-6, 244 pounds, 4.88 seconds in the 40-yard dash, will ink with Arkansas at 11 a.m. today while on a family vacation in Cancun, Mexico.
ESPN rates him a four-star recruit. Toll plans to enroll at Arkansas in January.
Outside linebacker Catrell Wallace, 6-6, 212, of Bryant will hold a ceremony with other Hornets signees at the school's indoor facility at noon. He's expected to send in his letter of intent to Arkansas shortly after 7 a.m., the earliest a recruit can send in a fax or an electronic signature.
Defensive end Jashaud Stewart, 6-2, 224, 4.61 in 40-yard dash, of Jonesboro is also expected to send his signature to the Razorbacks early this morning. He'll have a 1 p.m. ceremony at the school's performing arts center.
The Hogs hosted five prospects for official visits last weekend and are waiting to hear the college decisions of three of the recruits today and one on Thursday.
Virginia safety commitment Donovan Johnson, 6-2, 180, of Harvey (La.) Helen Cox left Fayetteville surprised by what Arkansas had to offer and will announce a decision at 9:30 a.m. between the two schools. He pledged to the Cavaliers in June.
Johnson is expected to enroll in January at the school he chooses. His teammate -- linebacker Kelin Burrle, 6-0, 220 -- is a former Texas- San Antonio commitment who also could ink with Arkansas.
Offensive lineman Ray Curry, 6-5, 315, of Memphis White Station visited Arkansas on Friday and left Saturday morning for a visit to Missouri. He's expected to announce between the two schools at 1:30 p.m. He committed to Missouri during the summer when Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom and offensive line coach Brad Davis were in Columbia.
Defensive back Myles Slusher, 5-11, 175, of Broken Arrow, Okla., had visited Fayetteville several times before his visit over the weekend. He's expected to decide among the Hogs, Oregon, Nebraska and UCLA at 2 p.m. He committed to Oregon in April, but it appears to be a battle between Arkansas and Nebraska for the ESPN four-star recruit. He's also a midterm enrollee.
Athlete Darin Turner, 6-4, 215, of Memphis Central, committed to the Razorbacks on Aug. 30 and reopened his recruitment after the firing of Morris. He made an official visit to Fayetteville for the Auburn game on Oct. 19 and was allowed to visit again over the weekend because Arkansas went through a coaching change.
The ESPN four-star recruit said he'll choose from among Arkansas, Tennessee, Ole Miss, LSU and Miami during a 12:30 p.m. ceremony at his school Thursday.
Arkansas recently extended scholarship offers to three junior-college prospects.
Junior-college All-American defensive end and Kansas State commitment Kirmari Gainous, 6-4, 255, of Hutchinson Community College in Kansas; Iowa State defensive tackle commitment Latrell Bankston, 6-1, 290, of Hutchinson Community College; and Texas Tech linebacker commitment Krishon Merriweather, 6-1, 230, of Garden City Community College in Kansas were offered Sunday. All three are expected to sign today.
In an interesting move, footballscoop.com reported Tuesday that Hutchinson head Coach Rion Rhoads is expected to join Pittman's staff and could coach linebackers. Gainous said Wednesday that the Rhodes hiring will have no affect on his decision and he will sign with Kansas State. The hiring also gives the Razorbacks a coach who is widely respected in the Jayhawk Conference, which is considered a junior-college recruiting hotbed.
Morrilton quarterback and North Carolina commitment Jacolby Criswell, 6-1, 205, is expected to ink with the Tar Heels at a school ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Pittman and offensive line coach Brad Davis visited with him Dec. 10.
Sports on 12/18/2019