Arkansas Football: Razorbacks’ recruiting continues to impress

Arkansas football started slowly under Chad Morris in 2018, but their new head coach’s recruiting prowess could start to pay dividends soon.

Former Arkansas football coach Bret Bielema had mixed success in Fayetteville but his achievements weren’t born out of tremendous recruiting classes. The Razorbacks have never been a big player on the recruiting scene, but that could be changing soon. Chad Morris, hired to replace Bielema following the 2017 season, is working to rewrite Arkansas history.

The Razorbacks recently picked up a commitment from 4-star safety Jalen Catalon from Texas, their 28th commitment of the 2019 recruiting class. Catalon’s commitment alone isn’t anything too surprising, but it’s the aggregate effect of the Razorbacks’ ninth blue-chip recruit which pushed Arkansas’ 2019 class to No. 21 in the nation.

A Top 25 class, although a home run for most programs, gives Arkansas the eighth best class in the SEC and the fifth best in the West. The Razorbacks lead both Mississippi schools by a decent margin and should finish above both by the time National Signing Day arrives. It’s not the most incredible finish Arkansas fans could have dreamed of, but it’s an extremely encouraging start in the first full recruiting cycle under Morris.

Time will tell whether or not Morris is able to turn that talent into wins. Winning in the same division which contains Alabama, Auburn and LSU is challenging enough, especially considering Arkansas has yet to beat Texas A&M since they joined the conference in 2012. But winning gets easier when you have more talent at your disposal. The talent is coming.

Arkansas is quietly piecing together a strong 2019 class. If Morris can build on this group, bringing in a few more Top 25 classes over the next two to three years the Razorbacks could become key players on the gridiron soon. If not, he’ll probably be another casualty of the unforgiving SEC West.