Arkansas has successfully pulled off a double commitment in the Sooner State, landing the pledge of Adam Auston on Saturday.
The high three-star safety out of MacArthur High in Lawton, Okla., picked the Razorbacks from a top-five list that also included Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas State and Missouri.
His announcement came about half an hour after Arkansas secured a commitment from another top rising junior in Oklahoma, four-star defensive end Colton Yarbrough.
Their decisions have shot the Razorbacks up the Class of 2026 rankings. They entered the day ranked 24th nationally in the 247Sports Composite with just three commits, but vaulted all the way to No. 8 with Yarbrough and Auston jumping on board.
That ranking also factors in only four of the five players in the class, as in-state offensive lineman Tucker Young is still unrated in the 247Sports Composite. Even if he had just a low three-star rating, Arkansas would be No. 5.
Of course, that high ranking is due to the fact that it’s still very early in the 2026 cycle, as those athletes are going into their junior seasons and many of them haven’t committed yet. Only Penn State has more 2026 pledges (6), while Auburn, Florida State and USC are tied with Arkansas for the second-most (5).
That’s impressive in its own right because the Razorbacks were left with only one 2026 commitment when offensive lineman Bear McWhorter de-committed in June. They’ve added Young, quarterback Jayvon Gilmore, Yarbrough and Auston in the span of one week.
Arkansas Fires Back at Oklahoma
The commitment of Adam Auston probably won’t generate as much national attention as Colton Yarbrough because of his status as a three-star recruit.
However, it’s worth noting that he is knocking on the door of four-star status on 247Sports with an 89 grade. His 247Sports Composite score of 0.8800 is also good for 393rd overall.
Of course, it’s still very early and he’ll have plenty of opportunity over the next couple of years to climb the rankings. Even as things stand now, though, Auston is the No. 4 overall recruit in Oklahoma and the state’s top safety in the 2026 class.
Even though he hasn’t been offered by the Sooners, Auston was on their radar and he attended a recruiting event in Norman earlier this year. He also admitted to being an Oklahoma football fan in his younger years.
Getting on a player like Auston — who had 92 tackles and a pair of pick-6s as a sophomore — early in the process, before Oklahoma gets into the mix, could be a way for the Razorbacks to steal away some of the Sooner State’s top prospects now that it’s in the SEC footprint.
With Yarbrough and Auston now committed, Arkansas has landed two of the top four players from Oklahoma in the 2026 class in one day.
That’s especially significant considering the Sooners did that to the Razorbacks in the 2025 class, reeling in the four-star safety duo of Omarion Robinson from Little Rock Parkview and Marcus Wimberly from Bauxite.
The latter of those two even took to Twitter after the former’s commitment to talk about “Arkansas boys” taking over the SEC at Oklahoma:
The fact that Auston is also a safety makes Saturday’s success in Oklahoma even sweeter.
Hogs from the Sooner State
Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman is from Oklahoma and has made the state an important recruiting territory for the Razorbacks. Here’s a look at all the players he’s signed or secured commitments from who hail from the Sooner State:
2020
- DB Myles Slusher – Broken Arrow (Okla.)
2021
- RB AJ Green – Tulsa (Okla.) Union
- RB Javion Hunt – Midwest City (Okla.) Carl Albert
- K Cam Little – Moore (Okla.) Southmoore
- DB Keuan Parker – Tulsa (Okla.) Booker T. Washington
- WR Bryce Stephens – Oklahoma City (Okla.) John Marshall
- DT Solomon Wright – Vian (Okla.)
2022
- None
2023
- DB Dylan Hasz – Bixby (Okla.)
- TE Luke Hasz – Bixby (Okla.)
2024
- None
2025
- OL Blake Cherry – Owasso (Okla.)
2026
- DE Colton Yarbrough – Durant (Okla.)
- DB Adam Auston – Lawton (Okla.) MacArthur
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Check out some highlights of new Arkansas football commit Adam Auston from his sophomore year:
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Read about Colton Yarbrough’s commitment to Arkansas football here:
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