Sting Factor: Braylen Russell's decommitment from Arkansas
When a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals100
TRANSFER PORTAL: Stories/coverage | Message board
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THE STORYLINE
Braylen Russell is one of the top prospects in the state of Arkansas’ 2024 class and he made an early pledge to the Razorbacks last November. It was a big win for Arkansas to land an early 2024 pledge especially at the running back position and the Benton, Ark., standout looked locked in.
His commitment would last nearly a year but no longer as Russell decommitted from Arkansas in recent days.
Tennessee and Ole Miss have ramped it up with the 2024 four-star and Russell is back on the market, but the expectation is that many other programs could get involved with the 6-foot-2, 225-pound running back as well.
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LOCAL REACTION
The Razorbacks’ quick close to the 2023 class paired with the early addition of an in-state standout running back seemingly had the Hogs poised to make the jump into the nation’s elite on the recruiting trail.
Russell’s decommitment makes the key to that goal - locking down an extraordinary group of in-state talent - that much harder for this Arkansas staff. If there’s one position that Arkansas can stomach the loss of a Rivals250 player though, it’s at running back, which helps keep hope alive for a Razorback fanbase that’s been so resourceful in holding on to it. - Alex Trader, HawgBeat.com
Sting factor: 7
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NATIONAL REACTION
Losing Russell definitely hurts Arkansas because he’s an in-state prospect and it looked like his recruitment was going to be drama-free. But that will not be the case as Russell is open again and Tennessee, Ole Miss and many others will be involved in his recruitment.
I do not think this is a lost cause though. Arkansas has a bunch of young, talented running backs and then Isaiah Augustave is committed in the 2023 class. The Razorbacks will be just fine. I still think Arkansas won’t be counted out of this recruitment and while the Vols and the Rebels are intriguing, the Hogs cannot be counted out of this one so early. - Adam Gorney, National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 6