Table Set for Huge 2026 Recruiting Class, but Can Pittman Afford the Bill?

Areas most open to being Razorbacks pack out ESPN Top 300, but Arkansas will need to rake in millions in NIL to compete

Kent Smith | May 4, 2024

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman watching the offense during Saturday's Red-White game at Razorbacks Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. / Michael Morrison-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas coach Sam Pittman has a difficult task ahead of him.

As he admitted during an appearance on "The Paul Finebaum Show," once he wraps a trip to the Kentucky Derby and finishes filling his roster from what's left in the transfer portal, he has to do a mad dash across the state to try to convince anyone who isn't spread thin investing in basketball and baseball to throw a little money in the direction of the football program.

"I'm gonna be out in May trying to talk to the state of Arkansas about why we need the money and how it would benefit us, how it would benefit our kids, the state, and obviously our record," Pittman said. "So that that would be probably the biggest thing going and I would assume all the coaches in SEC are very similar going out and trying to raise money for the NIL program. And so that's the next thing going on."

There's good reason for such emphasis. Recruiting has begun to ramp up for the 2026 class and there are a number of feasible targets in the ESPN Top 300 sprinkled across prime Razorbacks recruiting ground.

For those unaware, the three regions most open to considering Arkansas as an option are all of Arkansas, Eastern Oklahoma and the Collin/Denton County area of North Texas. Pittman knows if he can hold onto his job long enough and pool together enough cash, he has a legitimate chance of putting together one of the strongest and most soundly built recruiting classes of all time.

Arkansas currently trails only Florida State with the most ESPN Top 300 commits from the 2026 class, although it should be noted it's early and the Hogs only have two to the Seminoles' three, but it's a promising start when examining the rest of the list.

Currently Pittman has the pledges of Cartersville, Georgia offensive lineman Bear McWhorter and St. John's Bosco safety Tay Lockett out of California. However, there are currently five Arkansans in the ESPN 300, and not only is this a rare collection of elite talent, but Arkansas may have never produced this much talent that fell so in line with a Razorback head coach's philosophy on how a team should be built.

Keep in mind when looking at these impressive sizes that these young men are only sophomores in high school right now. There is still even more growing to do.

Landing those five would be a promising start. However, tapping into Collin and Denton Counties in North Texas will not only provide additional much needed talent, but it's complementary to what Pittman stands to pick up in Arkansas.

Lone Star is where current defensive back Jaylon Braxton graduated and his father often sets up training sessions that allow athletes from around the Frisco area to work alongside and sometimes against pro athletes in the offseason. Having two Rangers on this list is helpful, especially considering how quickly Braxton asserted himself into the Arkansas starting line-up when he arrived.

While there are three massive high schools in Prosper, all three linemen are from the original Prosper High School. Along with Lone Star and Denton Ryan, Prosper is one of those dominant large schools playing in giant mid-major sized stadiums packed to the gills each Friday night in the area.

If Pittman can convince all three offensive linemen to stick together to go with Evan Goodwin from Pulaski Academy and Drew Evers from Flower Mound, the Hogs would be set for multiple years with a unit that could grow together into an unstoppable force. Throw in wide receiver Jalen Lott from Lovejoy where the Hogs picked up Bumper Pool, and Pittman will have filled half his potential starting roster with elite talent without repeating a single position while having a pair of running backs to rotate through Petrino's offense.

The only fertile ground for Arkansas that appears to be a little down in 2026 is Eastern Oklahoma. The good news is the one player from that area is from Jenks, a school from which the Razorbacks have repeatedly drawn high quality talent.

No. 235
Kaydin Jones | RB | Jenks | 5-11, 175

Jones gives Arkansas a wider net to land the two running backs it will need in this recruiting class. If the Hogs can sign a pair of Top 300 players at running back, that bodes well for the future, especially with the line Pittman could theoretically put together for them to run behind.

Of course, pulling together so many high level athletes in a single recruiting class is not going to be cheap. Pittman is facing the reality that boosters understand it's much cheaper and more feasible to fund championship level baseball and basketball teams than football.

There is only so much money out there, so he has his work cut out for him. However, although he's admittedly uncomfortable with this part of the job, Pittman's already started working on pulling together the funds with the help of Petrino and the connections he made when head coach at Arkansas.

"It has been difficult for me to ask, but at the same time I know it's a necessity for kids to continue to maintain a good football team," Pittman said. "So, I'm certainly willing to do that, and it's a valid question. It's difficult, but I do think that if you can see the results on the field of us getting a Taylen Green, or getting a Ja'Quinden Jackson, or whoever it may be that the team gets better. And then once that happens, I think it'll be a little bit easier to continue to ask."

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Published May 4, 2024

KENT SMITH

Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments.