With the official announcement Wednesday that Butler Benton had been named Arkansas Executive Director of Recruiting and Player Personnel, Razorbacks Coach Sam Pittman has a complete staff.
Benton, who was previously at Notre Dame, Michigan State, Kent State, New Orleans and most recently Georgia Southern, will take over what is technically a new job with combined duties.
Benton played his college football at Cincinnati for former Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio and current Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly.
He is expected to coordinate the Razorbacks' overall recruiting process, assist in evaluation and work as a liaison between the football staff and all other student-athlete components of the gridiron program.
Pittman was clear in his last zoom press conference that he was looking for the best way to utilize a job in the new age of college football and not just hire a person to set up official visitor schedules in the future.
"I need to talk to some different guys about how they're running their recruiting department for me to make sure I have a couple of guys that I can hire – or ladies or what have you – and I'm going to make sure I do it right," Pittman said in early February.
Benton, who numerically replaces Joshua Thompson after he left for an administration job at Auburn, arrives at a great time when Arkansas is poised to have a banner 2022 recruiting class that is bolstered by a loaded class of talent in Arkansas.
The Razorbacks have offered nine in-state juniors, more than has been the norm in recent years.
Greenland defensive end JJ Hollingsworth (6-4, 250) and Dewitt tight end Dax Courtney join Duncan Byrnes (S.C.) offensive lineman Eli Henderson (6-5, 290) join Ellenwood (Ga.) Cedar Grove athlete Roshod Dubinion (5-10, 180) as the Razorbacks' four pledges in the 2022 class.
That number is expected to grow in the near future, maybe by the end of the week or in the next month or two.
Other in-state 2022 prospects Arkansas is after are Little Rock Parkview running back James Jointer (6-1, 210), offensive linemen Andrew Chamblee (6-5, 292) of Maumelle and E'marion Harris (6-7, 338) of Joe T. Robinson, Maumelle defensive Nico Davillier (6-5, 275) and the Fayetteville duo of wide receiver Isaiah Sategna (5-11, 165) and linebacker Kaiden Turner (6–2, 220).
Clarendon wide receiver Quincy McAdoo (6-3, 180), who has committed to Florida State, is the ninth in-state prospect to have been offered by the Razorbacks.
The attention to in-state prospects is impressive to see according to Little Rock Parkview head football coach Brad Bolding.
"When Coach Pittman and his staff arrived they made a effort to let the high school coaches in Arkansas know that they were not only going to to talk about recruiting Arkansas hard, but actually do it and not just pay lip service," Bolding said. "They have certainly done that and kept their word.
"I'm not surprised at that one bit because Coach Pittman always says what he mans and does what he says. I think it is something that all of the high school football coaches in Arkansas are excited about.
"Like I have said before, the best teams we have had in Fayetteville have been when there are a lot of in-state players up there playing with the pride of being a Razorback and playing for their state."