While 13 early scholarship enrollees began their first college spring practice for Arkansas on Tuesday, there were 10 other members of the 2021 recruiting class still finishing up high school.
That includes the Little Rock Parkview three-star duo of quarterback Landon Rogers (6-4, 215) and tight end Erin Outley (6-4, 256), who are the first Razorbacks football signees from the Little Rock School District in 25 years.
Both are set to be on campus in late May or early June.
Patriots head coach Brad Bolding believes there are some benefits to not getting to Fayetteville too soon.
“The last time I saw them, both of them looked really good and are working with trainers to get as ready as they can for what college workouts will be like,” Bolding said. “The way the situation is now, those guys may end up being redshirted, and I think that’s OK, because they can develop even more.”
Bolding noted the amount of Razorbacks taking an extra year due to the covid-19 pandemic has loaded up at several positions this year.
“A lot of the guys up there now are staying an extra year, they are bringing in somebody from another college that has one year left and is ready to help right away,” Bolding said. “It is kind of a unique situation for both of them and I think may be a great situation for them. I know my freshman year I got super strong and a whole lot better by redshirting.
"I think that would definitely help both of them, especially Landon as he continues to develop his arm.”
Rogers will be one of five scholarships quarterbacks and seven overall signal callers scheduled to be on the Razorbacks' roster in 2021.
He completed 92 of 150 passes for 1,247 yards and 6 touchdowns as a senior and rushed 150 times for 1,148 yards and 22 scores.
“The thing about Landon is that he has got a lot of ceiling left,” Bolding said. “We were talking about this a few months ago, when you look at stats, we had as many drops as we did catches. You take that into consideration when he was throwing darts.”
Outley, who had 48 catches for 721 yards with 8 touchdowns as a junior, saw his senior season end after two games due to a knee injury, but that may have been a blessing in disguise.
“They actually found another injury in there that could have been maybe career-ending if it had turned into a major injury during the season,” Bolding said. “It was something they caught after the initial injury. They were able to fix it and that was sort of an unseen positive.
“He was able to rehab and lost some weight, which he probably needed to do and should be 100% and better than ever once he gets up there.”
Arkansas gained a commitment on Saturday from Little Rock Parkview junior tailback James Jointer (6-1, 210) and also has an offer out to Patriots sophomore Willie Echols (5-11, 175).
“That’s actually opened up the doors for some other kids to be seen and offered,” Bolding said. “I think there may be one or two more that Arkansas may offer before next season gets going.
“I am always really excited for these kids when they get offers from these coaches you see on the sidelines every Saturday or Sunday on TV.”
Bolding is excited that Jointer will get to experience the camaraderie of being a pledge.
“Once Landon and Erin committed they really started to help with recruiting other players and it was kind of neat to hear those stories," he added. "Now that will be something that will be neat for James to get involved with and get to know those other guys before they reach campus.”
Bolding lauded Arkansas coach Sam Pittman and his staff for how they have recruited during the pandemic with no face-to-face interaction.
“They have done a great job and you have to give them credit for the situation they are in and how they are battling their way out of it with all the phone calls and Zooms and FaceTimes,” Bolding said. “I have always been really impressed with Coach Pittman and they have taken advantage of everything they can from their level.
"They are about creating and developing those relationships.”