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Arkansas football gains 4 commitments on busy Saturday | Whole Hog Sports

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Arkansas football gains 4 commitments on busy Saturday | Whole Hog Sports


The University of Arkansas football program had a successful Saturday recruiting with two commitments from the 2025 class and two for the 2026 class.

Junior college defensive back Shannon Blair kicked off the day as the first prospect to pledge.

Blair, 6-1 and 190 pounds, of East Mississippi Community College also had scholarship offers from Memphis, Liberty, Western Kentucky, Charlotte, Texas-San Antonio and others. He visited Arkansas for the Hogwild Hangout on July 27. 

“I chose Arkansas because how genuine and real the coaching staff is. Also another reason was because it’s in the SEC, the closest conference to the NFL, and I wanted to come back to the SEC and show my talent,” he said.

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He was recruited by co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson.

He was a 3-star prospect out of Knoxville [Tenn.] West High School and committed to Tennessee as a preferred walk-on after missing his senior season after suffering a torn ACL in the first game of the season.

He committed to Michigan State and had offers from Duke, Virginia, Purdue and others, but his lead recruiter left the Spartans for another job and he eventually committed to Tennessee.

Blair had 23 tackles and 4 interceptions as a freshman at East Mississippi after spending a year at Tennessee. He plans to enroll at Arkansas in January as a member of the 2025 class.

One week after visiting Arkansas, 4-star junior defensive end Colton Yarbrough verbally committed.

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Yarbrough, 6-5 and 240 pounds, of Durant, Okla., named Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma State, LSU and Colorado as his top five on Wednesday before choosing the Razorbacks.

He visited Arkansas for the Hogwild Hangout. He previously visited Fayetteville for the Liberty game in 2022, last year’s Hogwild Hangout and a Junior Day in January.

Yarbrough, who has an 82-inch wingspan, was recruited by Arkansas defensive line coach Deke Adams, quality control analyst Kelvin Green and graduate assistant Tyrone Hopper.

He credited Adams and Coach Sam Pittman for his decision.

“They’ve been really consistent with me. … Coach Adams, he’s a really legendary coach, honestly,” he said. “Coach Sam Pittman is an electric guy. He’s from Oklahoma.”

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Adams thinks Yarbrough can develop and be similar to Arkansas defensive end Landon Jackson.

“When I get there, they want be to be the next Landon Jackson,” Yarbrough said.

He also had offers from Oregon, Michigan State, Penn State, Miami, Washington State, Tennessee and others.

Rivals and 247Sports rate him a 4-star prospect, with Rivals rating him as the No. 9 edge rusher in his class.

Class of 2026 safety Adam Auston announced his decision about 30 minutes after Yarbrough.

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Auston, 6-2 and 212 pounds, of Lawton (Okla.) MacArthur chose the Razorbacks over Missouri, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Kansas State. He visited Arkansas for the first time during the Hogwild Hangout.

He also had offers from TCU, Colorado, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Iowa State, Washington State, UNLV and Houston. He broke down his reasons for choosing the Razorbacks.

“They’ve been consistent the whole time since they offered me, even before they offered me,” Auston said during a live interview with Rivals. “They were always texting me seeing how I was doing and everything like that and then when I went up there for the visit it just sealed the deal. They were great to my mom, my sister. It was just a great thing.”

Arkansas co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson, who was his lead recruiter, stayed in contact with Auston.

“Calling me, texting me how I was doing, everything like that,” Auston said. “Little things like that led to the decision.”

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Auston recorded 92 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 4 pass breakups, 2 recovered fumbles, 1 forced fumble and returned 2 interceptions for touchdowns as a sophomore.

On3.com rates him a 3-star recruit and the No. 36 safety in the 2026 class. Yarbrough and Auston are the fourth and fifth commitments for the 2026 class.

Little Rock Parkview running back Cameron Settles also verbally committed to Arkansas’ 2025 class Saturday.

Settles, 6-0 and 198 pounds, had scholarship offers from Oregon State, SMU, Memphis, Tulsa, Arkansas State and others.

He had 96 carries for 979 yards and 20 touchdowns last year for the Class 5A state champions and recorded 33 tackles, 10 pass breakups and 2 interceptions.

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Settles, who was recruited by Arkansas running backs coach Kolby Smith, made an official visit to Fayetteville on June 14-16. He also officially visited Yale.

He has recorded a 315-pound bench press, 505-pound squat and 315-pound power clean. He has been clocked at 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash and has a 36-inch vertical jump.

Parkview Coach Brad Bolding, who coached the late North Little Rock and Alabama running back Altee Tenpenny, said Settles is an outstanding prospect.

“He’s another one of those players that can do it all,” Bolding said. “He’s one of the best corners we’ve had. I’ve coached running backs for 20 years and Cameron is in that upper echelon of great backs I’ve been blessed to coach.”

Settles and Blair are the 20th and 21st commitments for the 2025 class.

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Arkansas

Arkansas' official depth chart for Missouri game

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Arkansas' official depth chart for Missouri game


FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks (6-4, 3-4 SEC) have released the depth chart for Saturday’s regular season finale against the No. 24 Missouri Tigers (8-3, 4-3 SEC) at Razorback Stadium.

Arkansas recovered from a slow start to take down Louisiana Tech, 35-14, over the weekend in Fayetteville. Missouri bounced back from a loss to South Carolina on Sept. 16 with a 39-20 win at Mississippi State on Saturday.

A few changes were made to this week’s depth chart, most notably the absence of junior defensive end Nico Davillier at the defensive end position. The pass-rusher did not play against Louisiana Tech on Saturday due to a knee injury, and senior Anton Juncaj is the lone listed starter in Davillier’s place. Backing up Juncaj is freshman Charlie Collins.

At safety, sophomore TJ Metcalf and junior Miguel Mitchell no longer have an “or” listed between them. Metcalf is the starter with Mitchell backing him up. Finally, redshirt sophomore Brooks Edmonson is listed as the backup center behind Addison Nichols instead of redshirt sophomore Amaury Wiggins, who is no longer listed on the depth chart.

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Here is the full Arkansas depth chart ahead of Saturday’s game against Missouri, which is set to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network at Memorial Stadium.



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Higginbottom key in win vs. old team | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

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Higginbottom key in win vs. old team | Arkansas Democrat Gazette


FAYETTEVILLE — Izzy Higginbottom sent a text message to her teammates on the University of Arkansas women’s basketball team Saturday night.

The note contained a list of things she felt the team needed to work on from its 94-71 loss Thursday night to Oral Roberts. First on the list was better energy.

Her message resonated.

Higginbottom played with passion and excelled against her former team as Arkansas found its defense in the second half to defeat Arkansas State 76-60 on Sunday afternoon at Walton Arena.

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“I personally knew how much this game meant to her,” Arkansas forward Jenna Lawrence said of Higginbottom. “Obviously, you want to beat the team that you’ve recently been on, so I just think she was really amped up — the most amped I’ve seen her for a game.

“I’m just really proud of how she performed and how she was a leader on and off the court.”

Higginbottom, a 5-7 transfer guard who played two seasons with the Red Wolves, filled the stat sheet with 15 points, a career-high 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

“When the other team shoots threes, they become speed rebounds,” Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said. “I thought she dug a bunch of those out, and then that got us going on transition, too. She was out in front of the break leading it, getting to the foul line and created a couple of good catch and shoot looks for (teammates).”

The Razorbacks (4-3) snapped a two-game losing streak and won their second game against an in-state opponent this year. Arkansas won 71-60 in overtime at Arkansas-Little Rock on Nov. 11.

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“It stinks to lose any day,” Neighbors said, “but especially if you get on a little bit of a streak, it’s easy to get (down). So, I thought it was important for us to stay above .500. You feel different when you win. I don’t know if we played any better yet. I’ll have to go home and watch, but I think we did.”

After giving up 38 points before halftime, the Razorbacks held the Red Wolves to 22 points on 8-of-36 (22%) shooting in the second half.

Arkansas State (2-3) went seven-plus minutes without a field goal between the third and fourth quarters. That stretch proved decisive as a 38-35 halftime deficit for Arkansas turned into a double-digit lead for most of the final quarter.

“We started getting all the 50-50 balls,” Neighbors said. “Before that, it was about (half). I think it was like 90-10 in that third quarter. The effort was much better. I thought our focus was a lot better.”

Arkansas State entered on a two-game win streak, which included a 100-96 victory at Arizona State. The Red Wolves fell to 3-9 all-time against the Razorbacks, last winning in the 2005 Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

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A fast-paced, back-and-forth first quarter saw two lead changes and runs of 6-0 and 5-0 that helped Arkansas State take a 23-19 lead into the second quarter. The Razorbacks committed six turnovers in the period that resulted in 10 points for the Red Wolves.

Arkansas took a 33-27 with 3:32 remaining in the first half before Arkansas State closed with an 11-2 run. Kennedie Montue beat the shot clock with a three-pointer to give Arkansas State a 38-35 lead just before halftime.

Fatigue appeared to play a factor in the first half, in which Arkansas was outscored 26-2 in bench points. Arkansas State Coach Destinee Rogers made mass substitutions throughout the game and had 10 players log minutes.

Arkansas forward Vera Ojenuwa, who put up a double-double with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, scored 12 points before halftime.

The Razorbacks took a 39-38 lead early in the third quarter on a jumper by Kiki Smith, who finished with 15 points. The teams went back and forth for a while before Lawrence connected on her first three-pointer of the game to put Arkansas up for good at 46-43 with 4:01 remaining in the third. Lawrence finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.

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Arkansas State ran a full-court press for most of the game and Arkansas fared better against it as time went on. The Razorbacks found Ojenuwa alone under the basket on multiple press breaks.

“For two days straight, we worked on just breaking their press and making sure we see Vera wide open,” Lawrence said. “Because the way their press was, they put all of their players in front and left Vera wide open in the back.”

As the Razorbacks built their double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, Higginbottom drove past defenders for three fast-break layups.

Arkansas finished the game on a 12-4 run, including six unanswered, to close the door.

The Razorbacks shot 30 of 67 (45%), including 7 of 27 (26%) from three-point range, and 9 of 12 (75%) from the free-throw line.

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Arkansas State went 23 of 74 (31%), 9 of 35 (26%) and 5 of 7 (71%) in those categories, respectively.

Anna Griffin led the Red Wolves with 16 points and 8 rebounds, followed by Montue, who made 3 three-pointers and scored 13 points. Both Griffin and Montue played off the bench, while Wynter Rogers was Arkansas State’s highest-scoring starter with 8 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Arkansas State’s starters outside of Rogers — Crislyn Rose, Zyion Shannon, Kyanna Morgan and Shaunae Brown — combined to go 4 of 36 from the field and scored eight points. Bella Weary and Mimi McCollister provided 7 and 6 points, respectively, off the bench for the Red Wolves.

Arkansas won the rebound battle 48-42 and had a season-high 16 assists.

Six Razorbacks scored at least eight points: Ojenuwa (20), Higginbottom (15), Smith (15), Lawrence (8), Carly Keats (8) and Danika Galea (8). Karley Johnson and Lawrence led the Razorbacks with three steals apiece.

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Hogs Add Another Major Playmaker to Talented 2026 Class

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Hogs Add Another Major Playmaker to Talented 2026 Class


FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Razorbacks received good news on the recruiting front with the addition of four-star wide receiver Dequane Prevo, he announced Sunday night on Instagram.

The 5-foot-10, 160 pound speedster committed to Arkansas over offers from Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Oregon and many others. Prevo is the No. 292 ranked prospect in the class of 2026, No. 47 receiver and No. 40 player in the state of Texas.

He ran a 22-second 200-meter dash as a freshman at the football factory known as Liberty-Euylau in Texarkana, Texas. Prevo has shown to be a playmaker at wideout catching 62 passes for 1,355 yards and 20 touchdown receptions.

Arkansas’ current 2026 class is off to an exceptional start ranked in the top ten nationally with four 4-star prospects headlined by Durant, Oklahoma defensive end Colton Yarbrough. 4-star passer Jayvon Gilmore, 4-star safety Adam Auston and 4-star safety and two-time MaxPreps all-American Tay Lockett are also notable commitments for the cycle.

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With the addition of Prevo, Arkansas’ 2026 class keeps the Razorbacks firmly in the top 10 of 247sports composite recruiting rankings for next year’s cycle. The Hogs’ 2023 class soared as high as No. 3 early on during the 2023 class but after a few evaluation periods its class ended up a respectable No. 22 including a No. 11 ranked transfer portal haul.

• Razorbacks avoid third straight loss, beat Arkansas State

• Russell’s disappearing act must come to end against Missouri

• Calipari’s success best highlighted when compared to Arkansas

• Fans thought this coach was next in line for Arkansas job

• Special teams, turnovers kept Hogs’ game interesting

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