FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas football team’s latest signing class includes a major haul from Coach Sam Pittman’s home state of Oklahoma.
Arkansas usually signs at least one player from Oklahoma, sometimes two, maybe three.
On Wednesday, the Razorbacks signed six.
Checking recruiting classes going back to 2000, six are the most players from Oklahoma to sign with the Razorbacks in the past 21 years.
The previous high for one class in that span was four in 2009. There were four classes with three signees and five classes without any.
Arkansas signed 29 players from Oklahoma from 2000 to 2020 for an average of 1.4 per year.
The six this year are more than the 2018, 2019 and 2020 classes had combined with five.
The Razorbacks got quality as well as quantity from Oklahoma with five of their signees ranking among the top 13 in the state, according to 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN.
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Running backs AJ Green from Tulsa Union and Javion Hunt from Oklahoma City Carl Albert are four-star recruits. Green is ranked the No. 2 player in the state by 247Sports and Hunt No. 7.
Rivals ranks cornerback Keuan Parker from Tulsa Booker T. Washington as Oklahoma’s No. 2 player and Bryce Stephens, a wide receiver from Oklahoma City John Marshall, at No. 8.
Defensive tackle Solomon Wright, from Vian, is ranked No. 9 by 247Sports.
Cameron Little from Moore Southmoore is ranked as the No. 1 kicker in the nation by 247Sports and was selected as an Adidas and Under Armor All-American.
“If you really look at the kids we signed, for the most part we signed a lot of speed out of the state of Oklahoma with AJ Green, certainly Keuan Parker, Bryce Stephens,” said Pittman, who is from Grove, Okla. “Those guys can really run, and so can Javion Hunt.”
Green, who rushed for 1,325 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior, chose Arkansas over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, LSU, Baylor and South Carolina. He also has won the 100 meters at the Oklahoma 6A state championships.
If he breaks, he’s gone,” Pittman said. “That’s just the way it is.”
As a senior, Hunt rushed for 771 yards and 12 touchdowns. He chose Arkansas over Ole Miss, Nebraska, Baylor, Minnesota and Iowa State.
Pittman was an Oklahoma assistant coach in 1997-98 when Hunt’s father, Jay, played for the Sooners.
“He’s like his daddy,” Pittman said. “He’s powerful — ‘I can run over you, I can run around you, I can run by you.’ ”
Stephens had 32 catches for 686 yards and 9 touchdowns as a senior, and rushed 11 times for 224 yards and 3 touchdowns. He chose Arkansas over Oklahoma State, TCU, Iowa State, Nebraska and Tulsa.
Parker, who also had offers from Oregon, Baylor, Michigan State and Nebraska, had 20 tackles and an interception as a senior.
“Very, very fast corner,” Pittman said. “Cover corner.”
Wright had 57 tackles, including 27 for lost yards, and 12 sacks as a senior. His other offers included Missouri, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Texas Tech.
“He’s not quite as tall as your typical D-lineman would be in the SEC,” Pittman said of the 6-foot Wright. “But he’s also much quicker. He can also run.”
Little hit 6 of 8 field-goal attempts — with a long of 49 yards — and was perfect on 24 extra-point attempts while averaging 42.6 yards on 49 punts. He chose Arkansas over Oklahoma State and Colorado.
“Cam Little in our opinion is as good a kicker as there is in the country,” Pittman said. “We were very fortunate to get him.”
Two of Arkansas’ starters on the offensive line — center Ricky Stromberg and guard Brady Latham — are from Oklahoma and were part of the 2019 signing class. Freshman safety Myles Slusher, who has started, also is from Oklahoma.
Pittman said it makes sense geographically for Arkansas to load up on players from Oklahoma considering Fayetteville’s proximity to Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
“We should go over there to Oklahoma,” he said. “Signing six out of there certainly was a plan.”