Goodnews; Arkansas sign in a five-star WR from Florida in a blockbuster deal ..read more.
On Tuesday, the Razorbacks added their sixth verbal commitment for the class of 2025.
Tuesday saw the public announcement of wide receiver Kamare Williams of Palm Beach Central in Delray Beach, Florida, which led to Arkansas receiving their sixth commitment for the Class of 2025. Choosing the Razorbacks over a final group that included Ole Miss, Florida, Florida State, Pittsburgh, Indiana, and Louisville, Williams, 6-1, 175, made his selection.
Williams has a big list of offers from LSU, Texas A&M, Michigan, Penn State, Auburn, Oregon, and other schools.
On January 30, the Hogs made Williams an offer under running backs coach Jimmy Smith. After visiting the receiver’s school last week, Ronnie Fouch, the wide receivers coach, will now be given the go-ahead to secure Williams’ vow.
Williams is a three-star recruit, ranked No. 62 nationally among wide receivers, and the 61st recruit in Florida overall, according to 247Sports. Williams has 49 catches for 695 yards and 6 touchdowns in the previous campaign. At Delray Beach Atlantic High School, he recorded 35 receptions for 916 yards and 11 touchdowns in his sophomore year.
Williams is scheduled to make his official visit to Fayetteville in June, but he has not yet taken it.
With five verbal commitments at Maumelle, Arkansas (Central Arkansas), Arkansas began the day as the country’s 57th-ranked recruiting class for the 2025 cycle. Grayson Wilson, a Christian quarterback; Markeylin Batton, a running back from Atlanta; Jayden Shelton, a linebacker from South Oak Cliff, Texas; Taijh Overton, a safety from Mobile, Alabama; and Evan Noel, a kicker from Bay St. Louis, Miss.
Williams’ arrival propels the Hogs up to 14th in the Southeastern Conference and 50th nationwide in the recruiting rankings.
As we approach the 2024 season, the following represents Arkansas’ wide receiver scholarship depth situation:
LARGE RECEIVER (13)
Broden Tyrone (RS-SSR)
RS-SSR Andrew Armstrong
NEW Brown Khafre (RS-SSR)
TeSlaa Isaac (SSR)
Wilson Jaedon (RS-JR)
Stephen Bryce (RS-JR)
Sategna, Isaiah (RS-SO)
NEW Anthony Jordan (RS-SO)
Dozier Davion (RS-FR)
James Dazmin (RS_FR)
NEW Johnson Krosse (FR)
NEW CJ Brown (FR) NEW Taylor Zachary (FR)
TRANSFERRING
Mbake Samuel (RS-SO)
READ MORE:
JUCO OL target Kellen Francis discusses his visit to Arkansas and his future plans.
After his official visit to Fayetteville, this JUCO prospect is definitely someone to monitor, as Eric Mateos and the Hogs need more depth on the offensive line.
Prior to the 2024 campaign, Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks still need to fill two scholarships, thus they’re in need of additional offensive line support. The Hogs may use additional depth at the tackle positions, as they presently have 13 offensive linemen on scholarship (15–17 being the typical number).
Potential candidate tackle Kellen Francis of Bulter (Kan.) Community College, a 6-6, 310-pound JUCO target who is also getting late attention from South Carolina, Illinois, Houston, and other schools, was welcomed to Arkansas on Monday. The resident of Princeville, Illinois, completed his formal visit on Tuesday afternoon, and he is almost done making a choice.
“It was great, this is my first official visit and I was definitely blown away of with the facilities being in the SEC,” said Francis. “The personnel was my favorite aspect. I simply thought it was great how Coach Pittman and Coach Mateos handled everything and how they treated me.”
After sharing his spring highlight tape, Francis, a freshman in 2023, attracted additional attention but was not given an offer to graduate from high school. Pittman and Mateos, who have been looking for JUCO assistance for a while, got involved right away and set up a formal visit date.
“Coach Pittman, just giving me general advice in recruiting and with him being so understanding how quickly this kind of happened for me in the past two weeks, I just really appreciated that and how he handled that,” Francis stated.
“After releasing my spring highlight tape, I received no proposals from high school or before. It began modestly in Eastern Illinois, moved on to Marshall and Ohio, and then just went crazier and crazier.”
The Fighting Illini, who are scheduled to host Francis this week, and former head coach Bret Bielema are among Arkansas’ rivals for his signature.
“There are some other SEC schools trying to get involved,” added Francis. “Right now, I’m going on a visit to Illinois later this week.”
Despite having very little time to plan his next destination, Francis stated he would prefer to make a decision “this weekend”.
“Coach Pittman kind of mentioned that you won’t know the actual staff and program you’re going to commit to, and he mentioned Arkansas in particular. It’s been difficult because of how quickly things are moving and the possibility that some people are lying to me. stuff has been difficult because stuff is moving so quickly, but I will simply trust my instincts.”
Here’s a current analysis by Trey Biddy on Arkansas’ offensive line scholarship distribution:
SUBTLE LINE (13)
NEW Joe More (RS-SSR)
Crawford, Ty’Kieast (SSR)
Braun, Joshua (RS-SR)
NEW The new Fernando Carmona (RS-JR) Blackstock Keyshawn (RS-JR)
Wiggins, Amaury (RS-JR)
Josh Street (RS-JR)
John Patrick Kutas
Addison Nichols (RS-SO) is new.
The RS-SO E’Marion Harris
Luke Brown (FR-RS)
NEW New Zuri Madison (FR) Branham Kobe (FR)
TRANSFERRING
Manuel Devon (RS-JR)
Joey Su (RS-FR)
Patterson, Paris (RS-FR)
NFL ROUGHT
Limmer Beaux (RS-SSR)
NOT ENGAGING IN SSR YEAR
Latham, Brady (RS-SSR)
MEDICAL DIFFICULTIES
Terry Wells (JR-RS)
Henderson Eli (RS-SO)
EARLY GRADUATION
Cole Carson (JR-RS)
QUITTING FOOTBALL
The RS-SO Andrew Chamblee
Normally, college football teams have between 15 and 17 offensive lineman, so Arkansas’s 13 offensive linemen are a little undermanned. Brady Latham signed a free agent contract and did not return as a super senior. Beaux Limmer did not return as a super senior, and he was selected in the NFL Draft. Eli Henderson and Terry Wells are on medical leave, and Cole Carson is graduating early. After quitting the team, Andrew Chamblee accessed the portal. Kai Greer de-committed, and redshirt junior Devon Manuel, Joey Su’a, and Paris Patterson also logged into the transfer site. The Razorbacks will probably try to add another player after adding four through the transfer portal.
