Sam Pittman-South Carolina — Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman on the field at Razorback Stadium before his team played the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

On Big Commitment Day, What Hog Fans Need to Remember

Too many people consider these things binding, but at times they mean nothing

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Jul 14, 2023 3:11 PM EDT
Original:
Jul 14, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas fans are all squirming right now over commitment decisions by some 2024 players. Sam Pittman knows otherwise because once a recruit pledges to a particular school, that's when the real recruiting begins.

That's for other teams, too. You can jump up and down and holler about that not being fair until your legs wear out, but that's the cold, hard truth. Pittman and his staff will probably increase the frequency of their message or whatever contact they can have just to make sure they are staying firm with those who are in the fold.

Until recruits sign on the line in December you can't exactly start building a roster off a verbal commitment. These guys are still high school seniors, remember, and if you remember back to your days, then it's pretty easy to follow what it means. Sometimes young people change their minds on life changing decisions.

Ignore the rankings. While there is a method you can do to equate it to winning, but the Razorbacks have never been at the top of those things, even after re-ranking everything. The Hogs have won with a few talented players mixed in with a bunch of over-achieving guys and great coaching.

Recruiting is a game that never stops. It's also a game where nobody expects a 100% retention rate, especially in this day and age with the transfer portal. I won't even go into the money involved these days. Probably the only time they don't recruit is while they are coaching a game. Former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer did call Billy Sims at halftime once, though. That's what you do with a running back everybody saw had the talent to win a Heisman Trophy and come away with a second one.

With all the rules they have these days, there's probably one against that, too. What has become a game within a game has turned into a never-ending cycle of chasing teenagers all over the place more than actually coaching.

The fact the Hogs are in the running on a lot of these commitments says something for what Pittman has managed to put together with this staff. They all have to recruit heavily or they don't get hired around here. And don't stop ... ever. Or they won't be with the Hogs long.