Razorbacks Officially Lose Top In-State Recruit to Mizzou

Courtney Crutchfield decides hometown four-win team was too much of a discount

Author:
Daniel Shi
Updated:
Dec 19, 2023 2:51 PM EST
Original:
Dec 19, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — After weeks of speculation, the final hammer came down in the commitment process of Pine Bluff native receiver Courtney Crutchfield. The consensus four-star recruit chose Missouri over Arkansas, Auburn and LSU in a dramatic two-minute reveal that featured plenty of milking the moment and drumming up plenty of suspense.

Crutchfield had been a Razorback commit until he decommitted after the Florida game and appeared to be a foregone conclusion that he would not be a Razorback in 2024, but it appeared that there was a last-minute effort to try and keep Crutchfield in his home state, but it was not to be as Crutchfield ultimately was lured out-of-state.

In an interview with Nate Olson of SBLive Arkansas after his commitment, Crutchfield said he wanted to "thank all of the Arkansas coaches" but needed to look at "the bigger picture and do what is best for you." Give this one a look because it was after the ceremony and got more in-depth than just all of the made-for-TV stuff done earlier.

The newly-minted Missouri Tiger caught 42 passes for 930 yards and 13 touchdowns during his senior season. With his commitment now in the books, only four of the top 10 recruits based out of Arkansas according to On3 are committed to the Razorbacks. The Razorbacks have lost the No, 2, 4 and 10 to its rival Mizzou, who handed the Razorbacks a 48-14 defeat this season. Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz took to the social interwebs to make sure the world knew of his pleasure.

Coach Sam Pittman and the Hogs will look to rebound from a tough miss and continue to work the transfer portal to try and improve the 2024 roster.