8/21/2018 football Edit

Texas Mid-Term Recruiting Report: Arkansas

Linebacker Zach Zimos is the Razorbacks' top commit from Texas so far in 2019 (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

Nick Krueger • Rivals.com

Recruiting Analyst

Nick Krueger joined Rivals.com as a multimedia producer in 2011 and has covered recruiting in the state of Texas since 2016. He also co-hosts and produces Rivals' weekly podcast, Commitment Issues.

Football prospects looking to make their college football commitments before the start of their senior season is nothing new in Texas. However, in the first full cycle of changes made to the NCAA football recruiting calendar, many players took advantage of the opportunity to knock out many - if not all - of their official visits from the end of spring through early summer. Many top programs in-state, as well as those out-of-state teams that frequently recruit Texas, have seen their classes fill at an advanced pace with a higher likelihood that products from the Lone Star State will remain committed with an eye on signing their letters of intent in December.

In 2016, 258 players from Texas ranked as 5.4 two-stars or higher signed with Power Five or Group of Five programs. In 2017, that number grew to 297 and again in 2018 to 334. Currently, 216 players in that demographic are committed to Power Five or Group of Five programs in the 2019 class. While the number of signees at the very top of the rankings has remained relatively consistent since 2016, the growth in total players signed during that time is an indicator that the overall quality of talent in the state has grown as well.

With that in mind, and the start of football season just around the corner, now is as good of a time as any to take stock of which teams have recruited Texas most successfully this year. Here is a look at the job Arkansas has done with the fall approaching.

PERFORMANCE TO-DATE

The Razorbacks have been one of the pleasant surprises on the recruiting trail so far in 2019. After wrapping up a big weekend at the end of July with a couple of big commitments, new head coach Chad Morris has found success in familiar territory in working to get his new team back on track. Arkansas has a top-20 class nationally heading into the fall and plucked one Texas’ precious few highly-ranked linebacker prospects from the Houston area in Zach Zimos.

Many of the Texas recruits that have committed to Arkansas had seemed to be leaning towards the Hogs down the stretch run prior to their announcements, but Zimos had been committed to Cal and took a number of official visits that put Missouri and Texas Tech in the picture for his commitment as well. Ultimately, landing him as their top commitment from the state over a couple of other programs was a big win for the staff.

With the most recent Rivals rankings update, none of the commits from Texas saw a change in their respective statuses since the end of spring, but several seem poised to make a move with strong performances this fall. Mansfield-Legacy defensive tackle Enoch Jackson would likely already be a four-star prospect if he was just a touch taller or longer. The skill and athleticism is there, and he very well could show this season that height isn’t an issue for him to take the next step in his ranking. T.Q. Jackson is a long wide receiver that seems to glide through his routes and catches. He has all the tools to put him in position to see boost in ranking this fall as well.

As football begins in Texas, Arkansas fans will be keeping a close eye on several of Jackson’s teammates at Legacy, starting with Rivals250 defensive back Jalen Catalon. Opinion about where his favor lies varies, as Texas and TCU also have felt good about their standing with him heading into this season. With another defensive lineman in Taurean Carter from the same school strongly considering the Razorbacks as well, the staff is hopeful an entire contingent from Legacy could be making the trek north to continue on playing together at the next level.

MID-TERM RECRUITING REPORT: B-

Even though Arkansas has plenty of reason to be happy with the haul that it’s pulled so far this summer from Texas, there are a couple of other highly-ranked prospects that for a time seemed to be seriously considering the Razorbacks before ultimately committing elsewhere. Landing Catalon in particular would go a long way in changing the complexion of how successful the staff was in Texas this year, but Rivals250 center Branson Bragg would have been a major piece in helping to rebuild the offensive line and four-star cornerback Bobby Wolfe chose Texas A&M over Arkansas at the end of June. Despite appearing to have a pretty good connection with Rivals250 wide receivers Dylan Wright and Elijah Higgins at this time or that, it seems those ships have sailed and Wright is a recent Aggies commit anyway.

While there is a lot to like about Zimos, his ranking is based primarily on his potential and versatility at this point. Morris has done a nice job convincing recruits that a change of fortune is coming in Fayetteville, but still looks like another year away from winning those bigger head-to-head recruiting battles in Texas more consistently.