With the 2025 season on the horizon, the future is now for the state of Arkansas’ most promising football prospects.
A number of four-star prospects in the 2026 class enter their senior seasons already committed to other Power Four programs, and highly-touted Arkansas commits like Bentonville wide receiver Dequane Prevo and Conway defensive back Tay Lockett will also suit up on the Arkansas prep circuit after their recent transfers into the state.
How this season unfolds will go a long way in determining which Natural State prospects emerge as the top recruits in the next two cycles. Four-star Fayetteville quarterback Hank Hendrix is already a top-100 prospect in the 2027 class, and Sheridan offensive lineman Bradley Sturdivant is committed to the Hogs.
One junior with an impressive and still-growing resume is two-way standout Hakim Frampton from Joe T. Robinson High in Little Rock. Frampton boomeranged in from Narbonne High in the Los Angeles area, where he posted 11 tackles, seven pass breakups, two interceptions and a forced fumble as a sophomore.
He was limited to just six games of action in 2024, as Narbonne was embroiled in an alleged recruitment scandal that forced the Gauchos to forfeit a number of games. The school’s sanctions include a three-year postseason ban starting this year.
Joe T. Robinson head football coach Tyler Uptergrove said that since Frampton arrived in January, he has already made his presence known in the locker room and on the field, and that the talented junior will be one of the Senators’ best players at both cornerback and wide receiver.
This is actually the second offseason Frampton has spent with the program. He was with the team from January to May of last year, but had to move back to the west coast after a change in circumstances. His cousin, Jakob Coleman, played for Joe T. Robinson a few years ago.
“It sucked for us, because we kind of knew what we had there, and we felt good about it, and then some things came up, so he and dad had to move back,” Uptergrove told Best of Arkansas Sports. “I guess he had a great experience here, and was kind of begging dad to come back to Arkansas, and so they came back in January. Now dad helps us out with coaching and stuff, and it’s just been a good fit.”
Frampton Family’s Connections to SEC Head Coach
That father, Dwayne Frampton, knows his stuff.
He’s trained a number of NFL wide receivers, including Odell Beckham Jr. and DeSean Jackson, through his “Framp Camp” program, following a standout career at Arkansas State after transferring in from LA Harbor College, a California JUCO.
In 2011, as a collegiate senior, the elder Frampton notched All-Sun Belt honors while:
- catching 94 passes for 1,156 yards and six touchdowns
- setting the school record for receptions in a game with 12 vs. Indiana, which was also the most by a Sun Belt Conference player
- recorded a career-high 138 receiving yards against Middle Tennessee, the most by an A-State player in a decade
The Red Wolves’ high-powered offense was then steered by head coach Hugh Freeze, who led A-State to a 10-2 regular season record and a conference title before accepting the head coaching job at Mississippi.
The younger Frampton met Freeze at A-State when he was a kid, through his father and that tie came though in June 2023 when Freeze became the first SEC coach to extend an offer to the younger Hampton. Since then, his list of 30 offers has expanded to include Arkansas, Texas A&M, UCLA, Indiana and BYU among others.
Dwayne told Best of Arkansas Sports it was an honor for his family to receive interest from Auburn after his experience playing for Freeze – and showing out in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Frampton’s first game at A-State was against the Tigers in 2010.
The Red Wolves came up short against Auburn, but Frampton finished with eight catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. Watch his touchdown here at the 14-second mark:
“That’s like a father to me,” Dwayne Frampton, now 36 years old, said of Freeze. “My biological father has been incarcerated for 28 years now, so he kind of took on that role for me. I’m grateful for Freeze. He got me that ball; even when I was triple-covered, I was open. That’s what I would argue with them, at least.”
Uptergrove said Hakim’s training sessions with his father from before the age of 7, when this highlight mixtape was posted, have given him a leg up.
“The game of football comes very easy to him, because he just knows where to be,” Uptergrove said. “He’s been working on technique on the sand dunes in California since he was three years old. He’s developed that work ethic over time because his dad’s really pushed him.”
Now measuring in at 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, Frampton is primed for a standout season on both sides of the ball.
“He’s just a playmaker. He’s getting all these offers at DB, but he’s arguably our best receiver, too,” Uptergrove said. “He just has that next-level gear and can take the top off. He’s gonna be good in the screen game for us, too, but defensively last year we kind of lacked that guy that could take one side of the field away, and he can do that at corner.”
Travis Williams’ Brutal Honesty With Hakim Frampton
Out of Hakim’s loaded slate of offers, Dwayne said that Texas A&M has stood out the most. Aggie head coach Mike Elko has shown them detailed plans he has for Hakim, down to specific defensive sets which he envisions for him. Elko, who has a defensive coaching background, sees Frampton as a prospect who can see the field as a freshman.
Oregon’s Dan Lanning, UCLA’s Deshaun Foster and Nebraska’s Matt Rhule have also been in direct contact with the family. Despite holding an offer from the Hogs, Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman has been missing from the equation.
“We haven’t even seen Arkansas’ school [campus],” Frampton’s father said. “I’m waiting on them. I would love to give them a fair shake, but we don’t really feel the love…I’m waiting on that conversation with the head coach at Arkansas. We ain’t talked to him yet.”
By contrast, the Framptons have already been on multiple unofficial visits to College Station. The talented recruit received an offer from Arkansas in January 2024, but received some brutally honest feedback from defensive coordinator Travis Williams.
“Coach T-Will was so real,” Dwayne recalled. “He was like, ‘If you were a 2026 prospect, I wouldn’t take your commitment…You have too many pass breakups. Why aren’t those interceptions? I know your father. You don’t train like that.’ My son cried for two and a half hours on the drive home…He held on to that.”
The tough love served as motivation. When he returned to Fayetteville for a 7-on-7 camp this summer, Hakim got his redemption in front of Williams and UA defensive backs coach Nick Perry.
“He jammed a dude inside and he threw it to somebody else, and Hakim spun off and high-pointed the ball, and then he just looked at [Williams] like, ‘Is that what you were talking about?’ And they’ve been on him ever since.”
At this point, Frampton said, most of Hakim’s communication with the staff is through Perry.
After missing on a number of in-state four-stars in the 2026 class, the pressure will be on for Pittman to land more homegrown talent amongst the 2027 crop. With his offer list, Frampton certainly has the talent to play for Arkansas. As of this point, however, two direct SEC rivals are in a much better position to land him.
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