Even as the transfer portal heats up and rumors swirl on the coaching front, things are relatively calm on the recruiting trail for Arkansas football.
The Razorbacks have their 2025 class mostly complete and are now trying to get to Wednesday without losing any of their 23 commitments — but they might not be done.
A new name emerged over the weekend when four-star offensive lineman Chastan Brown backed off his pledge to UCF in the wake of Gus Malzahn stepping down to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State.
Arkansas was not in the mix for Brown when the Warner Robins, Ga., native originally committed in July, choosing the Knights from a top seven that also included Georgia State, Houston, Louisville, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh and West Virginia.
However, the 6-foot-9, 270-pound lineman wasn’t back on the market long before the Razorbacks entered the picture. Brown, who plays at Northside High in Warner Robins, de-committed on Saturday and announced an offer from offensive line coach Eric Mateos on Monday.
Some of the schools that were originally in the race are expected to once again pursue Brown, particularly Louisville, but Arkansas could be an intriguing option for the top-300 prospect. Of course, it isn’t alone.
Missouri also extended an offer Tuesday morning, meaning it could be another Battle Line Rivalry showdown — this time on the recruiting trail.
Given the timing of Malzahn’s move and Brown’s decision to decommit from UCF, it is widely expected that we could be waiting a couple of months before learning his decision. It is currently a dead period for recruiting, meaning Brown wouldn’t be able to visit Fayetteville — or anywhere — prior to the early signing period. Instead, he’s expected to sign on the traditional date in February.
(READ NEXT: Get caught up with all of the rumors rounding Arkansas football here)
What it’d Mean for Arkansas Football
It goes without saying that landing any four-star recruit would be good news for Arkansas, but that’s especially true on the offensive line.
Even with a switch from Cody Kennedy to Eric Mateos as the position coach and the addition of several transfers, the unit still struggled mightily in 2024.
The Razorbacks gave up 34 sacks in 12 games this season. At 2.83 per game, that’s better than last year when they ranked 129th with 3.92 sacks allowed per game, but the 2024 mark is still tied for 110th out of 134 FBS teams.
According to Pro Football Focus, Arkansas ranks 10th in the SEC in pass blocking (69.4) and seventh in run blocking (64.8).
Those numbers are shocking to see considering Sam Pittman’s background as one of the best offensive line coaches and recruiters in the country. Fans saw first-hand what he was capable of building when he was here from 2013-15 as a position coach.
The Razorbacks were solid-to-good up front the first few years, but those units were built almost entirely of players Pittman inherited. Things fell apart last season and this year, in Pittman’s fifth season, they started four transfers.
All six Razorbacks who started games on the offensive line this season are eligible to return in 2025, but Arkansas could certainly use an infusion of young talent to develop behind those players for the future.
Brown as Part of Domino Effect
The Razorbacks have several offensive linemen committed in the 2025 class, but none are as heralded as Connor Howes.
A four-star recruit out of Osceola High School in Kissimmee, Fla., he is the third-highest rated prospect in Arkansas’ entire class, according to the 247Sports Composite.
Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, he is one of two players on “flip watch” after visiting other schools last weekend. Howes was in Oxford, Miss., for the Egg Bowl and apparently had an “amazing” visit at Ole Miss.
Losing Howes to an SEC rival would be far from ideal and Arkansas would love to hang on to him, but if he flips, being able to reel in Chastan Brown would take off some of the sting of the loss. Of course, the Razorbacks would probably love to sign both of them.
At the same time, Missouri is also trying to find a replacement on the offensive line after seeing top-100 recruit Lamont Rogers flip to Texas A&M on Tuesday.
The urgency may be a little bit different for the Tigers, though, because they do have a trio of other four-star offensive linemen still committed.
2025 Arkansas Football Commits
Below is a rundown of all 22 players committed to the Razorbacks ahead of the early signing period, which begins Wednesday.
Not included is three-star defensive tackle JaQuentin Madison, who flipped his commitment to Memphis on Monday. However, it was an expected move and has been described as a “mutual decision.” JUCO cornerback commit Shannon Blair also backed off his pledge to Arkansas on Tuesday.
In addition to Howes, the other player Arkansas is trying to keep on board is four-star linebacker Tavion Wallace. He is the top-rated player in the class, but visited Florida State the last two weekends.
(UPDATE: Wallace stuck with his pledge to Arkansas.)
As it currently stands, the group is ranked No. 31 nationally and 15th out of 16 SEC teams, ahead of only Vanderbilt.
- LB Tavion Wallace — Baxley (Ga.) Appling County
- DL Kevin Oatis — Hattiesburg (Miss.)
- QB Grayson Wilson — Conway (Ark.)
- DL Reginald Vaughn — Flowood (Miss.) Hartfield Academy
- OT Connor Howes — Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola
- OT Blake Cherry — Owasso (Okla.)
- DL Caleb Bell — Alpharetta (Ga.) Milton
- EDGE Keiundre Johnson — Terrell (Texas)
- OT Kash Courtney — Carthage (Texas)
- IOL Lionel Prudhomme — Shreveport (La.) Captain Shreve
- ATH Quentin Murphy — Little Rock (Ark.) Parkview
- LB Jayden Shelton — Dallas (Texas) South Oak Cliff
- WR Antonio Jordan — Warren (Ark.)
- S Taijh Overton — Mobile (Ala.) Williamson
- RB Cameron Settles — Little Rock (Ark.) Parkview
- WR Kamare Williams — West Palm Beach (Fla.) Palm Beach Central
- RB Markeylin Batton — Atlanta (Texas)
- ATH Nigel Pringle — Houston (Texas) North Shore
- EDGE Trent Sellers — Mobile (Ala.) Faith Academy
- TE Gavin Garretson — Chico (Calif.) Pleasant Valley
- OL Bubba Craig — Hutchinson C.C.
- K Scott Starzyk — The Woodlands (Texas)
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