Arkansas football took two steps forward and one step back with its 2024 recruiting class this week, as it landed Jeremy Cook and Justin Logan, but lost Noreel White.
Although they committed to the Razorbacks at the Hogwild Hangout on Saturday, Cook and Logan didn’t go public with their decisions until Monday and Wednesday, respectively. Those announcements were sandwiched around White’s de-commitment on Tuesday.
Losing a four-star athlete like White — who was being recruited by Arkansas as a defensive back — certainly hurts. The commitment of in-state safety Marcus Wimberly in the 2025 class, however, means it was still a productive few days for the Razorbacks.
Cook is a safety from Hoover, Ala., who was actually unrated by all of the major recruiting services at the time of his commitment, but has since picked up a three-star rating from 247Sports.
Logan is a linebacker out of Kell High School in Marietta, Ga., who is a high three-star prospect on most services, but has a four-star designation from Rivals.
With the two additions and one subtraction, Arkansas football now has 17 players in their 2024 class. The group is ranked as high as No. 16 nationally by 247Sports and as low as No. 22 by Rivals. It checks in at No. 19 in the On3 Consensus and No. 20 in the 247Sports Composite.
Here’s a closer look at the three decisions made this week…
Jeremy Cook Commits to Arkansas Football
The first 2024 commitment of the week came from Jeremy Cook, who announced his decision Monday afternoon, just two days after the Hogwild Hangout.
Among the 17 players who’ve pledged to the Razorbacks so far, the Hoover, Ala., product — who’s listed at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds — is probably the least heralded.
Arkansas was Cook’s first offer on May 10 and his only other Power Five offer was from Cincinnati, which is making the jump to the Big 12 this year. Southern Miss and South Alabama were his only other FBS offers, while Alcorn State — an FCS school — was his latest offer.
As mentioned above, none of the major recruiting services had even given him any stars at the time of his commitment. Following his announcement, Cook received an 85 rating from 247Sports, which makes him a mid-tier three-star recruit and the lowest rated player in the class.
Something likely factoring into that is the fact he missed a chunk — about seven games, according to WholeHogSports — of his junior season. Assuming he plays a full senior season, exposure shouldn’t be an issue for Cook because he plays at Hoover High School in Alabama.
Playing in the state’s largest classification, Hoover is a powerhouse program that regularly competes for state titles and produces Power Five players. The Razorbacks actually signed a player from the school back in 2010 when it landed wide receiver Maudrecus Humphrey.
They’re hoping Cook won’t be the only Hoover High product they sign in 2024, as they’re also actively recruiting four-star linebacker Bradley Shaw. Even though the top-60 prospect took an official visit to Fayetteville in June, Arkansas faces an uphill battle because it’s going up against the likes of Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and many others for his services.
Still, having a teammate already committed could help the Razorbacks’ chances.
Noreel White Backs Off Pledge
When they landed Noreel White out of St. Martin High School in Ocean Springs, Miss., back in March, it was a big win for the Razorbacks. Not only was he a four-star recruit, but he picked Arkansas over SEC West rivals LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Auburn.
It also gave Arkansas football fans a glimpse of co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Marcus Woodson’s recruiting prowess. He had landed White’s commitment while at Florida State and worked quickly to get the Razorbacks in the mix when he changed jobs.
Woodson got them firmly into what appeared to be a three-team race between LSU and White’s two home state schools, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Then, about two months after he was hired, White announced his commitment following an unofficial visit to Fayetteville.
Being from Mississippi and having played at Ole Miss was enough for Woodson to go into an area the Razorbacks haven’t traditionally had a lot of success and beat out the Rebels and Bulldogs.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for Arkansas to hang on to him. White announced his de-commitment Tuesday morning. In his message, he said the Razorbacks would “still be one of my top choices,” but rumors of him flipping to Ole Miss had circulated since April and he attended the Rebels’ recruiting event last weekend instead of the Hogwild Hangout in Fayetteville.
There have been examples of players de-committing and still ending up with the Razorbacks, including Benton running back Braylen Russell in this class. That kind of boomeranging isn’t particularly common and considering all of the smoke surrounding Ole Miss, it doesn’t appear likely in this case.
Something that could be at play in White’s recruitment is the fact he plays both sides of the ball in high school and he may have a desire to play wide receiver in college instead of defensive back, which is where the Razorbacks had him penciled in.
Hogs Finally Land Another Linebacker
The biggest news of the week came bright and early Wednesday morning, when Justin Logan announced his commitment to Arkansas football at 7 a.m. CT.
He picked the Razorbacks over Missouri, Louisville, North Carolina State, West Virginia and several other Power Five schools after attending the Hogwild Hangout on Saturday.
Aside from the fact he’s a four-star recruit, Logan was a much-needed addition to Arkansas’ 2024 class because he’s a linebacker — a position at which Pittman and his staff have swung and missed on several top targets recently.
Not including Julius Pope, a four-star athlete already committed to them at the position, the Razorbacks hosted seven linebackers on official visits in June and four of them have already committed elsewhere in the SEC — De’Angelo Barber (Auburn), Tylen Singleton (LSU), Brian Huff (Missouri) and Jordan Burns (Tennessee).
One of the remaining three is Xavier Atkins, whom Arkansas is hoping to flip from LSU, but is now trending toward Texas A&M. The other two are the aforementioned Bradley Shaw, who seems like a long shot, and in-state prospect Wyatt Simmons, who is trending toward Auburn.
To still land a player of Logan’s caliber after missing out on those big fish is a credit to the Razorbacks’ efforts on the recruiting trail. It’s also good for morale when you land a four-star recruit the day after losing one.
Arkansas Football Commits in Class of 2024
- DE Kavion Henderson — Leeds (Ala.) — Nov. 6, 2022
- DT Dion Stutts — Memphis (Tenn.) University School — March 11, 2023
- NOTE: Stutts tragically died in an ATV accident on June 13.
- ATH JuJu Pope — Batesville (Miss.) South Panola — April 8, 2023
- QB KJ Jackson — Montgomery (Ala.) St. James — April 9, 2023
- CB Jaden Allen — Aledo (Texas) — April 21, 2023
- DE Charleston Collins — Little Rock (Ark.) Mills — April 21, 2023
- WR Courtney Crutchfield — Pine Bluff (Ark.) — April 21, 2023
- CB Tevis Metcalf — Birmingham (Ala.) Parker — April 22, 2023
- ATH Jadan Baugh — Decatur (Ga.) Columbia — May 19, 2023
- ATH Ahkhari Johnson — Texarkana (Texas) Pleasant Grove — June 14, 2023
- WR CJ Brown — Bentonville (Ark.) — June 15, 2023
- OL Kobe Branham – Fort Smith (Ark.) Southside – June 26, 2023
- OL Zuri Madison — Lexington (Ky.) Frederick Douglass — June 27, 2023
- WR Ashton Bethel-Roman — Missouri City (Texas) Ridge Point — July 4, 2023
- RB Braylen Russell – Benton (Ark.) – July 14, 2023
- CB Selman Bridges – Temple (Texas) Lake Belton – July 14, 2023
- S Jeremy Cook – Hoover (Ala.) – July 31, 2023
- LB Justin Logan – Marietta (Ga.) Kell – Aug. 2, 2023
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