Among those in the crowd for last year’s Arkansas vs Texas A&M game were 10 players from McKinney High School who got tickets from the UA as recruits.
They were accompanied by their head coach, Marcus Shavers, who played for the Razorbacks from 2005-07 before beginning a coaching career that has since taken him to North Forney High.
That foot in the door of a premier NFL venue exemplified what has long been viewed as the biggest benefit of the Southwest Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, which is in the heart of arguably the most talent-rich area in the country when it comes to college football recruits.
“I think it just gives Arkansas an opportunity and kids an opportunity to see the Razorbacks play a football game and see a SEC football game in Dallas,” Shavers said. “That’s a cool experience from a coach’s standpoint and from a kid’s standpoint. That’s high quality football right there. … There ain’t no SEC football teams in Dallas, so you don’t have an opportunity to see that kind of pageantry, that kind of football.”
Texas has long been a major recruiting territory for the Arkansas football program, dating back to its time as the only Southwest Conference member located outside of the Lone Star State.
Given Texas natives like Bill Montgomery, Loyd Phillips and Ronnie Caveness in the 1960s and the current trio of Taylen Green, Ja’Quinden Jackson and Andrew Armstrong, the Lone Star State is an extremely important pipeline to the Razorbacks.
Five players from Texas are currently committed to Arkansas football in the 2025 class, which would give head coach Sam Pittman a total of 14 Texans in the span of three cycles — and that doesn’t include transfers like the aforementioned trio and Landon Jackson.
“Texas has so many athletes that I think there’s a lot of programs that rely on Texas football players,” Pittman said. “We happen to be one of them. A lot of ours is east Texas (and) the Dallas area where we’re going back to. … Texas is very vital for us in recruiting.”
Exactly how much playing the annual Arkansas vs Texas A&M game at JerryWorld has impacted the Razorbacks’ recruiting efforts in the DFW area since the Southwest Classic’s 2009 inception, though, is up for debate.
With so many different factors at play, it’d be difficult to quantify such a thing. However, considering Saturday’s game (2:30 p.m. CT, ESPN) is the final edition of the event, Best of Arkansas Sports decided to explore the topic in case the UA ever opts to return to AT&T Stadium
Arkansas, Texas A&M Coaches Weigh In
Both sides have made it abundantly clear that this will be the last Arkansas vs Texas A&M game played at a neutral site. They are ready for the series to be played in Fayetteville and College Station.
There really isn’t any concern about a negative impact on recruiting in the DFW area without the game being played in Arlington.
In fact, Sam Pittman – who coached in the game as an offensive line coach from 2013-15 before becoming the head coach in 2020 – believes the opposite will be true because of the extra SEC home game they’ll get.
“I actually think it’s going to be better because we’ll be able to bring our recruits (to Fayetteville) next year to play A&M in here and you can’t tell me it’s not going to be sold out and crazy in here,” Pittman said. “How it would affect recruiting? We’ll have to wait and see.
“The long history of Arkansas football before they played in that game, they had some pretty darn good Texas players as well, so hopefully that will be the situation. I think recruiting is a lot about working and about what’s your record, needs and now it becomes money.”
While all of those factors are certainly important, Texas A&M football coach Mike Elko – who is in his first season as the Aggies’ head man, but coached in the game as their defensive coordinator from 2018-21 – indicated playing in AT&T Stadium was at least a carrot they can dangle in front of players from the area.
“I don’t know that there’s a ton of recruiting benefits,” Elko said. “I think it’s just a really fun and cool game for our kids. The chance to go up there and play in Cowboys Stadium, not a lot of kids get to do that.”
Native Texan Aggies “grow up on one side of that pendulum — either they love the Cowboys or they hate the Cowboys,” Elko added. “Either way, it’s a great opportunity for them to get into an amazing stadium, great environment and play a really good football game.”
Arkansas Football: Arlington vs. On Campus
Those feelings are mostly reflected by others involved in recruiting.
Former Arkansas defensive lineman Marcus Shavers, who coached current Arkansas defensive back Christian Ford at McKinney, acknowledged that the game in Arlington gives players in the area easier access to a taste of the “Razorback spirit,” but it pales in comparison to what they’d get on campus.
“It’s not as good as going to Fayetteville,” Shavers said. “It doesn’t do it justice. … I wish the game was in Fayetteville just because I believe that seeing the Hogs play is one thing, but seeing them play on the Hill is a whole ‘nother.”
Playing the game at a neutral site means the players don’t get to see the facilities they’d have if they choose Arkansas, but that’s not the only downside. Perhaps more importantly, coaches are restricted from talking to recruits who come to the game, just like games at War Memorial Stadium.
The only thing they can do is give them a ticket to watch from the stands like a fan. That perk isn’t as important as hosting the recruit on campus, according to former Rivals recruiting analyst Nick Harris, who used to cover the area.
“It was always a good recruiting tool for both schools to play at AT&T Stadium and get those kids in the building, but it was very rarely used as an opportunity to truly recruit, if that makes sense,” said Harris, who now covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Having the on-campus visit is what matters so much more. I guess I can compare it to Texas/OU in the same sense — more of like a, ‘Hey, here’s a free ticket to the game for you and your mom, come up to Norman/Austin sometime and we’ll show you around’ type thing.”
National recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman, who has worked for On3 in the past and now writes for Rivals, said that home games provide more access to prospects, but mentioned there can be some benefit to neutral site games in recruiting hotbeds – especially a game like Arkansas vs Texas A&M.
“Marquee games bring eyeballs,” Spiegelman said. “But I can’t recall one game being the difference in a recruitment. LSU playing in Houston and Miami in Tampa is just helpful in top recruiting areas.”
A Counterpoint for the Southwest Classic
Most people Best of Arkansas Sports spoke to about the topic – and our own Nate Olson in this column – were in agreement: There is much more recruiting value in true home games than those played off campus.
However, we did get a dissenting argument from Cole Patterson, another former Rivals analyst who extensively covered recruiting in the DFW area.
He said the Arkansas vs Texas A&M game at AT&T Stadium almost always came up when talking to prospects considering those schools.
“While on-campus games are typically preferred by fans, the game in Arlington provided the Razorbacks with a platform to show off its program in one of the most talent-rich recruiting hotbeds in the nation,” Patterson said. “When covering the area, it was evident that prospects enjoyed the neutral-site game between the Razorbacks and Aggies.”
Citing the “big-game environment” of the SEC matchup and a “unique environment” created by a close to 50/50 split between fans from both schools, Patterson said it was an easy sell for recruits in the area.
It just so happens that the area includes some powerhouse programs like Allen, Duncanville and DeSoto, giving those kids an easy drive to see the Razorbacks play in person, opposed to driving 5-plus hours to Northwest Arkansas.
“Prospects were treated to the Razorbacks in a setting that was close to home without even needing to make a trek out to Fayetteville,” Patterson said. “It was almost like a free opportunity for Arkansas to turn heads.”
All of those factors led to Patterson developing the admittedly “controversial” opinion that the neutral site matchup was worth losing out on a home game.
Of course, the Arkansas vs Texas A&M game is returning to campus sites beginning next year. However, Patterson’s take at least gives some credence to the idea that it might benefit the Razorbacks to eventually return to AT&T Stadium for a non-conference game sometime down the road.
Texas Football Recruiting Under Sam Pittman
Here’s a look at every high school recruit from Texas that Sam Pittman has landed while leading the Arkansas football program…
2025
- DB Nigel Pringle — Houston
- ATH Keiundre Johnson — Terrell
- OL Kash Courtney — Carthage
- LB Jayden Shelton — Dallas
- ATH Markeylin Batton — Atlanta
2024
- WR Zach Taylor — Yoakum
- DB Ahkhari Johnson — Texarkana
- DB Selman Bridges — Temple
- DB Jaden Allen — Aledo
2023
- DB Christian Ford — McKinney
- DE Kaleb James — Mansfield
- LB Brad Spence — Klein
- DB Jaylon Braxton — Frisco
- LB Carson Dean — Carrollton
2022
- LB Jordan Crook — Duncanville
2021
- QB Lucas Coley — San Antonio
- WR Ketron Jackson — Royse City
- DB Chase Lowery — Frisco
- WR Jaedon Wilson — DeSoto
- OL Cole Carson — Bogata
2020
- QB Malik Hornsby — Missouri City
- TE Collin Sutherland — Flower Mound
- RB Dominique Johnson — Crowley
Arkansas Football Recruits from Texas
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