New NCAA Rule Eases Path for Latest Hogs Commit

Gavin Garretson, Arkansas football, Arkansas recruiting
photo credit: Twitter/Gavin Garretson / Craven Whitlow

After a quiet couple of months on the recruiting trail, Arkansas football added to its 2025 recruiting class Tuesday morning with a commitment from Gavin Garretson.

The three-star tight end from Chico, Calif., announced his pledge to the Razorbacks a day after reopening his recruitment from San Diego State, where he had been committed since Sept. 8. The flip came on the heels of an official visit to Fayetteville for the LSU game over the weekend.

Listed at 6-foot-7, 240 pounds, Garretson’s only other FBS offers were from Cal and New Mexico State. Six FCS programs, all of which were on the west coast, had also extended scholarships.

His original commitment to San Diego State, which is set to join the Pac-12 in 2026, made a lot of sense because his older brother, tight end Gabe Garretson, is a sophomore for the Aztecs.

However, the Razorbacks were able to swoop in and swipe him from San Diego State about six weeks before the early signing period, which begins Dec. 4. They now have 23 commitments in the Class of 2025.

Garretson — Arkansas’ lone tight end commit in the class — is a mid-tier three-star prospect with an 85 rating according to 247Sports and On3. ESPN, meanwhile, rates him as a low three-star (73 rating) and Rivals has him as a two-star recruit (5.4 rating).

In the 247Sports Composite, which factors in each of the major recruiting services, he is a low three-star prospect with a 0.8370 rating.

The Recruitment of Gavin Garretson

One thing worth mentioning about Gavin Garretson is he’s actually listed as an edge rusher on both 247Sports and On3. That’s where he’s earned accolades at Pleasant Valley High in Chico, Calif.

In fact, Garretson racked up a whopping 16.5 sacks as a junior. That earned him Defensive Player of the Year honors for the Northern Section, as voted on by local media, and landed him on Cal-Hi Sports’ All-State second team.

He’s a two-way player, though, and is being recruited by the Razorbacks as a tight end.

Arkansas entered the mix with an offer on Oct. 2. It was Garretson’s only Power Four offer until Cal put its hat in the ring last week, just days before his official visit to Fayetteville.

Up to that point, most of Garretson’s offers from the FCS ranks — Cal Poly, Eastern Washington, Idaho, Northern Arizona, Sacramento State and UC Davis — but he did have a pair of Group of Five offers from San Diego State and New Mexico State.

The latter of those may hold the key to how Garretson popped up on Arkansas’ radar. Not only is Chico, Calif., relatively close (about a 3.5-hour drive) to Stanford, where tight ends coach Morgan Turner spent more than a decade before coming to Fayetteville. It’s also the hometown of Miles Fishback, a quality control coach for the Razorbacks who assists Bobby Petrino with the quarterbacks.

It was actually Fishback with whom Garretson said he talked – along with Sam Pittman – when he received his Arkansas offer and whom he specifically thanked following his official visit.

Fishback’s brother, Nelson, is the tight ends coach at New Mexico State and was Garretson’s primary recruiter. Nelson also happened to be recruited by Petrino at Western Kentucky, where he was a quarterback, and later worked for him at Missouri State.

As if that wasn’t enough of a connection, both Fishback brothers played at Butte College, the same JUCO program that both of Garretson’s older brothers — Grant and Gabe — played at before continuing their careers at UC Davis and San Diego State, respectively.

What it Means for Arkansas Football

It is somewhat of a surprise that Arkansas went after a tight end late in the 2025 cycle, especially considering it isn’t currently set to lose much from the room next year.

Assuming he appears in one more game, Andreas Paaske will exhaust his eligibility this season, but the other four – Luke Hasz, Ty Washington, Var’keyes Gumms and Shamar Easter – could each return for the 2025 season.

Already standing 6-foot-7, 240 pounds, Gavin Garretson seems like he might be a replacement for Paaske as a blocking tight end. He’s caught only nine passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns through six games as a senior and finished his junior year with only 20 receptions for 312 yards and five scores in 14 games.

That appears to be how his older brother, Gabe, has been used in college, as he had just four catches in five games as a freshman in JUCO and all 12 of his snaps this season have been used as a run blocker, according to Pro Football Focus. (The oldest Garretson brother, Grant, is an outside linebacker at UC Davis.)

Given his statistics and bloodlines, plus the fact he’s listed three inches taller than both of his brothers, Garretson profiles as someone who may help in Arkansas’ jumbo packages.

Of course, the Razorbacks may also have Paaske’s replacement already on the roster in walk-on Maddox Lassiter. A redshirt freshman out of Warren, Lassiter is listed as a tight end, but has carved out a role for himself as a fullback in those big packages. He is a prime candidate to earn a scholarship when one becomes available after the season.

Perhaps Garretson evolves into more of a threat in the passing game, but the other four tight ends with remaining eligibility seem to be more in that mold. The transfer portal exists, though, and there’s no guarantee they’ll be back next season or beyond.

With that possibility looming, not to mention how much the Razorbacks have liked to use that jumbo package this year, bringing in a guy like Garretson certainly doesn’t hurt. That’s even more true with the 85-man scholarship limit going away next year, allowing teams to offer full, or partial, scholarships to the entire 105-man roster.

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Check out some highlights of new Arkansas football commit Gavin Garretson:

Arkansas vs Mississippi State Bulldogs football preview

The Bulldogs rank last in the SEC in almost every defensive metric. The only thing they aren’t awful at is forcing turnovers: they rank in the middle of the SEC pack in turnovers forced this year. Texas A&M coughed it up a couple of times in Starkville last week and that’s the main reason the game was close, while Carson Beck’s two interceptions the week before allowed State to hang around with Georgia for a bit.

The main issue for Mississippi State is a total lack of disruption. This should be a welcome relief for Bobby Petrino and the Razorback offense, which have faced four straight very disruptive defenses to open SEC play.

More here:

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