Guessing the Final Five Arkansas Commitments to the 2016 Recruiting Class
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
Over the weekend the Arkansas Razorbacks added verbal commitment No. 13 with Texas wide receiver Kofi Boateng. Due to scholarship restrictions, the Hogs are reportedly only going to take 18 players in the 2016 recruiting class instead of a full haul of 25 leaving five key spots left to fill.
The big question is what spots are left to be filled and more importantly by who? The who is too big of a guessing game that can twist and turn at a moments notice but a pretty good guess can be had about which spots the Razorbacks will accept verbal commitments going forward.
Offense
Running Back – 1 possibly 2
The reported top two running backs on Arkansas’ board are North Webster’s (Springhill, LA) 4-star do-everything running back Devin White and Central Senior’s Devwah Whaley. If both backs wanted to come to Arkansas easy to believe room would be found for each somehow and someway.
The Razorbacks are thin at depth in the backfield now and especially heading into the 2016 season. Senior running back Jonathan Williams is lost for the year due to a foot injury leaving juniors Alex Collins and Kody Walker to carry the load. True freshman Rawleigh Williams is doing well in fall camp. Expect him to get a lot of touches here and there to develop some experience for a difficult stretch run through the SEC West schedule and more importantly for next season when the backfield will consist of just Williams and Walker and some unknown tailback.
Skill Positions – 0 possibly 1
The Hogs appear to be full with Teurlings Catholic quarterback Cole Kelley holding his commitment after incoming Class of 2015 transfer Ricky Town (USC) picked the Hogs along with another top 2015 QB recruit Ty Storey. Arkansas has three different wide receivers in the 2016 class, Boateng, T.J. Hammonds, and Jordan Jones.
Hammonds is an all-purpose back for Little Rock Robinson. If the running back situation is not taken care of adequately in the 2016 class expect to see Robinson utilizing his blazing speed and great hands out of the backfield in the passing attack in 2016.
The two possible exceptions in the wide receiver corps could be Bastrop (Louisiana) 4-star wide receiver Isaiah Graham or Lancaster (Texas) athlete Tyrell Alexander.
Tight end – 0
Arkansas easily had the best tight end haul of the 2015 recruiting class with three stud recruits; Austin Cantrell, Will Gragg, and C.J. O’Grady. The Hogs have rolled the dice on 2-star Madison Central star Grayson Gunter in the 2016 class filling this spot until 2017.
Offensive Line – 2 possibly 3
Head coach Bret Bielema cannot play “Big Boy Football” without the big boys up front. Arkansas stands to lose two starting offensive linemen to graduation, LG Sebastian Tretola and OC Mitch Smothers. The Hogs could lose two more starters as early NFL entries, LT Denver Kirkland and RT Dan Skipper. Best case scenario is Skipper and Kirkland come back… but the draw to the NFL might be too much.
Arkansas has two offensive line commitments to the 2016 class Kellen Diesch and Jake Heinrich. The Hogs signed just three to the 2015 class, Colton Jackson, Jalen Merrick, and Zach Rogers. If four offensive linemen can be brought onto campus in 2016, that would be ideal but three might work.
Defense
Defensive End – 1
One spot Arkansas is filled up on is at defensive tackle. Unless an unforeseen top recruit comes out of nowhere scratching that spot off the list. One spot that remains open though is at defensive end.
There is no secret that Arkansas is holding a spot at defensive end for 6’3”, 270 pound, Hope High School end McTelvin Agim. The in-state talent is a 5- or 4-star, depending on the recruiting service, and one of the top players regardless of position in the nation.
Arkansas signed four ends in the 2015 class and have depth on the current roster that should be back in 2016; JaMichael Winston, Deatrich Wise, Jeremiah Ledbetter, and Tevin Beanum.
Linebackers – 1 possibly 2
Bielema and second year defensive coordinator Robb Smith have been slowly restocking the shelf at linebacker. The Hogs took two in the 2015 class and have outside linebacker Alexy Jean-Baptiste, who could also play safety, and inside linebacker Dejon Harris.
If Arkansas could land 4-star Houston area talent Dontavious Jackson (ILB) or another pair of Texas recruits at outside linebacker, Jordan Carmouche (Manvel) or Jeffery McCulloch, spots would open up. Keep an eye on John Ehret’s Michael Divinity as well.
Cornerbacks – 1 possibly 2
By now it is easy to tell the numbers are not adding up to five but there are holes to fill, especially at cornerback. The Hogs are kind of young in the secondary in 2015 with two juniors expected to start, Jared Collins and D.J. Dean, so landing two more corners would be ideal.
There are four top cornerbacks the Hogs have offered that remain uncommitted, Archbishop Rummel’s Kristian Fulton, Waco High School’s Eric Cuffee, Southlake Carroll’s Obi Eboh, and Coconut Creek’s Trayvon Mullen. Perhaps Alexy Jean-Baptiste can bring Mullen along with him? Or Kofi Boateng can talk his friend Obi Eboh into joining him in Fayetteville?
Safety – 0
The Hogs already have one safety coming in, Lake Minneola’s Deon Edwards, and Jean-Baptiste depending on where he ends up. If big recruits like Nacogdoches’ Brandon Jones, Manvel’s Deontay Anderson, Santa Fe’s (Oklahoma) Calvin Bundage, or Colquitt County’s (Georgia) Rakeem Hightower wanted a spot more room might be made available. Chances are a big enough safety like Bundage at 6’3”, 200 pounds, would be worked in at outside linebacker if needed.
As the season progresses some of the scholarship spots on the Arkansas roster could come up for grabs giving room for the Razorbacks to sign as many as 21 or 22 recruits as natural attrition on the roster takes its course.
Arkansas Razorbacks 2016 Verbal Commitment List
SS Deon Edwards, 6’0”, 195 lbs, Lake Minneola HS, Minneola, FL
SS Alexy Jean-Baptiste, 6’3”, 205 lbs, Coconut Creek HS, Coconut Creek, FL
DT Austin Capps, 6’4”, 306 lbs, Star City HS, Star City, AR
DT Briston Guidry, 6’3”, 275 lbs, Rummel HS, Metairie, LA
LB Dejon Harris, 5’11”, 235 lbs, John Ehret HS, Marrero, LA
OT Kellen Diesch, 6’7”, 272 lbs, Byron Nelson HS, Trophy Club, TX
OT Jake Heinrich, 6’5, 290 lbs, Urbandale HS, Urbandale, IA
QB Cole Kelley, 6’7”, 235 lbs, Teurlings Catholic HS, Lafayette, LA
RB T.J. Hammonds, 5’11”, 196 lbs, Robinson HS, Little Rock, AR
FB Hayden Johnson, 6’3”, 252 lbs, Rock Bridge HS, Columbia, MO
TE Grayson Gunter, 6’6”, 230 lbs, Madison Central HS, Madison, MS
WR Kofi Boateng, 6’1”, 175 lbs, Arlington Lamar HS, Arlington, TX
WR Jordan Jones, 6’2”, 175 lbs, Smackover HS, Smackover, AR
Photo credit: scout.com; No. 33 McTelvin Agim.