The Pac-12’s death might have helped Arkansas football land another big-time commitment in the form of Kai Greer.
A four-star offensive tackle from Waxhaw, N.C., Greer was committed to Stanford — one of the four west coast programs left out in the cold during the latest round of realignment — until backing off his pledge and flipping to the Razorbacks on Wednesday.
In addition to Stanford and Arkansas, the 6-foot-6, 285-pound lineman also visited Ole Miss, Penn State and Texas A&M during the recruiting process, plus had offers from the likes of Kentucky, Miami (Fla.), Missouri, Oklahoma State and others.
Rivals rates him as a 5.8 four-star prospect and the 27th-best offensive tackle in the country, while 247Sports and On3 each have him rated as a high three-star.
He is the 19th member of the Razorbacks’ 2024 recruiting class and their third offensive line commit, joining Kobe Branham from Fort Smith Southside and Zuri Madison from Frederick Douglass in Lexington, Ky.
The Recruitment of Kai Greer
Prior to his freshman year of high school, Kai Greer had never even watched a football game, according to an interview with WSOC-TV last month.
His background, incredibly, was in cross country. It wasn’t until Marvin Ridge High head coach Aubrey Carter spotted him running at practice one day and suggested he try football.
That proved to be a great move on Greer’s part, as he evolved into a legitimate Power Five offensive lineman, with offers from coast to coast.
Charlotte extended an offer last March to get the ball rolling and he eventually racked up more than 25 total offers, including Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt from the SEC.
The Razorbacks, Rebels and Aggies each received official visits in June, but Greer announced his commitment to Stanford on June 13. Even though it was located on the opposite side of the country, it was where Greer’s father played and where he lived until he was 7, which is also when his father passed away.
“I never really knew him that well,” Greer told WSOC-TV. “It’s just great to kind of do this in honor of him and kind of walk in his footsteps.”
Despite missing out on his commitment and having him cancel his official visit scheduled the final weekend of June, Arkansas stayed after him. When the Pac-12 essentially blew up on Aug. 4, with five more schools joining Colorado in leaving the conference, the Razorbacks were waiting.
There’s a chance Stanford could join the ACC, which is (for now) in Greer’s backyard. Still, nothing is certain at this point. That may have played a role in Greer’s decision to instead commit to Arkansas less than four weeks later.
Check out some highlights of new Arkansas football commit Kai Greer:
Building a Sam Pittman Offensive Line
When Sam Pittman was hired as Arkansas’ head coach following the Chad Morris debacle, it was unknown how a career offensive line coach would handle the role.
The one thing that most people agreed upon was that the Razorbacks were about to recruit a lot better in the trenches, as that was his calling card when he was in Fayetteville from 2013-15.
Working on Bret Bielema’s staff, all but one of his 11 offensive line signees or commits were rated as at least a 5.7 three-star on Rivals, meaning almost all of them were high three-star or four-star recruits. The lone exception was actually Sebastian Tretola, who ended up winning the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the best offensive lineman in the SEC.
It wasn’t just the recruiting services that liked Pittman’s offensive linemen either. According to their profiles on Rivals, those 11 players had an average of 10 other Power Five offers, including an average of 2.6 offers from other SEC programs.
As soon as he left for Georgia, though, Arkansas’ recruiting efforts at the position fell off a cliff. Under subsequent offensive line coaches Kurt Anderson and Dustin Fry, the Razorbacks landed 15 offensive linemen — none of which were even high three-star prospects on Rivals.
Those 15 players had an average of only 3.1 other Power Five offers, including a measly 0.7 from the SEC, meaning Arkansas was the only SEC offer for several of them.
This time around in Fayetteville, Pittman didn’t exactly hit the ground running as he had in the previous stint by landing Dan Skipper and Denver Kirkland in 2013. Still, he has steadily rebuilt the offensive line unit about how you’d expect.
The 2024 class is Pittman’s fifth at Arkansas and Kai Greer is the 17th offensive lineman from whom the Razorbacks have signed or received a commitment in that span. Of those, 10 have been at least high three-star prospects with an average of 9.6 other Power Five offers, including an impressive 4.0 from other SEC programs.
That number doesn’t include Bear McWhorter, who recently committed to Arkansas’ 2026 class. He is not yet rated because he’s still so young, but he has 15 other Power Five offers, including half of the SEC, and will likely be at least a four-star prospect.
It’s also worth noting that Pittman has signed only two low three-star offensive linemen and one of them was Devon Manuel, who could be the Razorbacks’ starting left tackle as a redshirt sophomore this year.
There’s time for Kobe Branham and Zuri Madison — both of whom are 5.6 three-stars on Rivals — to play themselves up to high three-star status this season, as well.
Arkansas Football Commits
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
- LB Wyatt Simmons – Searcy (Ark.) Harding Academy – Aug. 19, 2023
- OL Kai Greer – Waxhaw (N.C.) Marvin Ridge – Aug. 30, 2023
Class of 2025
- QB Grayson Wilson – Central Arkansas Christian
- S Marcus Wimberly – Bauxite (Ark.)
Class of 2026
- DB Tay Lockett – Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco
- OL Bear McWhorter – Cartersville (Ga.) Cass
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