Missing on key in-state football recruits has bitten Arkansas program

Sam Pittman’s recent woes are highlighted by two missed recruits

Oct 14, 2023; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban greets Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman midfield following their 24-21 win against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bryant-Denny Stadium. / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Former University of Arkansas head football coach Houston Nutt always believed that in-state recruits made his teams better.

As he said, he tried “to build a fence” around the state.

For the most part, Nutt got the high-profile players he couldn’t afford to miss. Players such as quarterback Matt Jones and running backs Darren McFadden and Peyton Hillis became Razorbacks stars and played on successful teams.

When Nutt lost out to Tennessee on Warren receiver Bret Smith and Clarendon’s Cedric Houston, fans were upset. Still, the key to Nutt’s success was he landed most of the ‘must-have’ recruits.  

That in-state focus set the tone for fans’ expectations as four other coaches have followed the Little Rock native. Bobby Petrino cashed in and took the Razorbacks to new heights with Warren receivers Chris Gragg, Greg Childs and Jarius Wright, along with Central Arkansas Christian receiver Joe Adams.

Bret Bielema did OK. Nabbing Greenwood diamond-in-the-rough receiver Drew Morgan was one of the few highlights of his tenure. Nothing was good about Chad Morris’ historically bad run with the Razorbacks.

So, what about current Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman, who is limping into his fifth year after a 4-8 campaign last fall?

Not so good, and after Pittman has swung and missed on 247Sports’ top three in-state recruits, Arkansas fans are piling on Pittman, who appears to be facing a make-or-break season, and Arkansas talking heads weighed in last week on why Pittman has failed at landing the big fish in the state.

Best of Arkansas sports managing editor Andrew Hutchinson chronicled Pittman’s woes in a story this week. With Little Rock Parkview safety Omarion Robinson committing to the University of Oklahoma, the Razorbacks lost out on another big-time in-state recruit.

Hutchinson pointed out that Arkansas has now lost out on the 247Sports top three recruits for just the second time in the 25-year history of the rankings.

Robinson, who was ranked No. 2, joined No. 3-ranked Marcus Wimberly of Bauxite in committing to the Sooners, and No. 1-ranked Marion offensive lineman Carius Curne chose LSU last month after initially committing to Arkansas. Wimberly also flipped his commitment.

The last time that happened was in 2007, when Rogers offensive lineman Lee Ziemba and Fort Smith Northside receiver Kodi Burns inked with Auburn and Pulaski Academy running back Broderick Green signed with USC, although he eventually transferred to play for Petrino at Arkansas.

Hutchinson also reports that Arkansas signed only three in-staters in the 2023 class and five of the 14 Division I in-staters the following season. According to Hutchinson, that is 35.7%, and both of those figures are all-time lows based on his research. I would bank on that accuracy based on Hutchinson’s top-notch reporting over recent years.

Those numbers only cement what Arkansas fans knew – Pittman hasn’t done well inside the state.

Almost as soon as Robinson committed to OU and his diminutive teammate Monterrio Elston, a running back, committed to Kansas State, media types started trying to diagnose why Pittman has failed — he doesn’t have an Arkansas native on his staff to relate to players and high school coaches, he doesn’t have the NIL budget, he hasn’t won enough, and the list goes on.

As Arkansas fans became restless last season and called for Pittman’s firing, I defended the former Razorbacks offensive line coach. One of my main points was how well he had done with the 2024 recruiting class that at the time included 247Sports' No. 2-ranked recruit Courtney Crutchfield, a Pine Bluff receiver, and cousin of highly touted Mills defensive lineman Charlie Collins.

At that time, Arkansas had Nos. 2, 3, 7 and 9 in a class that frankly wasn’t stellar. Benton star running back Braylen Russell, who should get significant playing time this fall, was one of those key signees.

Crutchfield decommitted in November, however, and signed with Missouri. That gave the Tigers and head coach Eli Drinkwitz, a native Arkansan, three Top 10 Arkansas prep players with Crutchfield’s defensive back teammate Austyn Dendy and Valley View linebacker Brian Huff.

Talk about a gut punch.

Crutchfield’s four-star status would have helped Arkansas’ national and conference ranks, and he might have been an instant contributor. Instead, he went to a conference foe which has dominated Arkansas.

Some speculated Missouri won an NIL bidding war and others wondered if Crutchfield thought Pittman could be fired, but he still didn’t choose the Razorbacks even after it was revealed Pittman was safe for another season. In either case, Crutchfield’s defection might have set a trend with recruits who were watching the star receiver, who once was fully entrenched in his commitment with Collins, his cousin.

Wimberly also decommitted during that timeframe and chose OU in the spring — another prospect who was absolutely enamored with Pittman and the Razorbacks who abruptly changed his mind. Arkansas loses a safety that the Michigan staff had as the No. 1 safety on their board out of a group of almost 30.

To make things worse, he, too, goes to a conference rival as the Sooners start their first season in the SEC — and even worse, when Arkansas appears to have some chance of redeeming itself and securing Robinson, another stellar safety, Wimberly, is knocking on Robinson’s door waving an OU flag.

“He was talking to me every day,” Robinson said after his public announcement in which Wimberly was in attendance.

So, what happens if Wimberly sticks to his Arkansas commitment? Does Robinson stay and Arkansas lands two of the state’s best and its future secondary? While Wimberly could have influenced the decision, Robinson’s new teammate at Parkview, quarterback Quentin Murphy, committed to Arkansas last month. The three-star athlete was also lobbying Robinson.

It's pretty apparent that NIL and Pittman’s lack of job security colored both of those decisions. And if he landed all three of those players, he’d make a case to keep him. That doesn’t account for previous classes, but the past two classes could have possibly righted the ship.

Also, while many made a big deal about Elston heading to Kansas State, his teammate Cameron Settles is predicted by some recruiting experts to commit to Arkansas on Aug. 3, when he makes his announcement. Settles has a bigger frame and is probably a better get anyway for the Razorbacks than Elston, whose small stature is similar to former Kansas State star backs in Darren Sproles and Deuce Vaughn.

In addition, highly recruited Newport running back Kiandrea Barker, who is committed to Penn State, told SBLive last weekend that even though he said last month his recruiting process is over, he’d be open to hearing from Arkansas since he is playing his senior season in his home state after transferring to The Woodlands, Texas, last fall from Bebee. He never played for the Texas school because the UIL ruled him ineligible, causing his recruiting ranking to slip, but he and Settles both would revive the situation.

Either way, whoever the coach is next year, in-state recruiting better be an emphasis, and more resources need to be allocated. Nutt and Petrino, the last two coaches to have success on The Hill, proved how valuable that is.

-- Nate Olson | nate@scorebooklive.com | @ndosports