COLLEGE FOOTBALL EARLY SIGNING PERIOD BEGINS

20-member December: Razorbacks' Morris gets better jump during second year

Arkansas coach Chad Morris speaks Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, during a press conference to announce the players who signed to play for Arkansas.
Arkansas coach Chad Morris speaks Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, during a press conference to announce the players who signed to play for Arkansas.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Chad Morris' second December signing period promises to be more transformative than his first as the University of Arkansas football coach.

Morris and his staff welcomed a group of 20 new players who signed national letters of intent Wednesday on the first day of the early signing period, which lasts through Friday. The Razorbacks might add another couple of players in this period, and expect to have 29 signees by the end of the February signing period.

While the bottom-line improvements in Arkansas football will be best judged next fall when the Razorbacks try to rebound from a 2-10 season, Wednesday's talent haul was an important step in the recovery through relentless recruiting.

The signing class is stocked with 13 four-star recruits according to Rivals.com, which ranks Arkansas No. 12 nationally. The class is ranked No. 18 by ESPN and No. 20 by 247Sports.

"We got a lot better today as a football team and as a program," Morris said. "We addressed a lot of needs that needed to be addressed.

"We're not done. We've got a lot of work left, but this was definitely a start in this early signing period. We are faster. We're a better football team right now than we were when we woke up this morning. By signing these 20 guys, it made us better."

Arkansas signed three wide receivers -- T.Q. Jackson, Trey Knox and Shamar Nash -- as well as seven defensive linemen and six offensive linemen.

"Speed and size at wide receiver," Morris said. "Depth in both the offensive and defensive lines. Guys that could immediately come in here and make an impact."

Arkansas' recruiting ranking, which includes commitments who haven't yet signed, is the highest since Rivals started its system in 2002, and the Razorbacks are in the top 20 for the second time. The previous best ranking was No. 16 in 2009.

The Razorbacks' class got a boost Wednesday when cornerback Greg Brooks, an ESPN four-star recruit from Harvey (La.) West Jefferson, signed with Arkansas over offers from Mississippi State, Kansas State, Kansas and Southern Mississippi. He had been committed to Mississippi State.

"Recruiting is never ending," Morris said. "We've been talking to Greg for quite some time ... trying to build that relationship to be strong.

"I think he saw the needs that would impact him to come here. The opportunity to play. Just a fabulous football player. It was huge for us out of Louisiana."

Also, offensive lineman Ricky Stromberg of Tulsa Union flipped to the Razorbacks on Monday after being pledged to Tulsa.

"We were very aware of Ricky," Morris said. "We just wanted to make sure our numbers lined up to present itself.

"Going over there and talking to all the coaches in that area and listening to them talk about the caliber of player Ricky is, we had to find a way. So that's what I did."

KJ Jefferson from Sardis, Miss., is the Razorbacks' lone quarterback signee, but Morris said Arkansas could add another, and possibly a graduate transfer.

"Absolutely we're still exploring options to bring an older quarterback in," Morris said. "We love the guys that we have, but in the same sense, I don't want to get into a position where we don't have enough, where you get injury-prone, and all of a sudden you're in a bind.

"I anticipate bringing someone in, whether that be January, whether that be early summer or whenever that may be. But we'll see. We want the right fit."

Morris credited the recruiting job offensive coordinator Joe Craddock did with Jefferson, who committed last summer.

"We started watching him early, started building a relationship," Morris said. "We knew this was the guy, and all we needed was his word."

The Razorbacks are expected to add to the class in February, when five-star tight end Hudson Henry of Pulaski Academy, four-star receiver Treylon Burks of Warren and several other commitments are scheduled to sign letters of intent.

"We're anticipating signing eight to nine between now and Feb. 6," Morris said. "I assure you in that eight to nine, we'll address the speed and areas of emphasis that we've already hit on."

Morris landed eight signees last December in the first-ever early signing period about two weeks after his hiring. This time, he and his staff attracted a major load of talent, tapping into their recruiting bases inside the state and in neighboring areas such as eastern Texas and Oklahoma, as well as Louisiana and Mississippi.

"When you look into the previous places that we've been and the players that have played for us, it's a big deal," Morris said. "And we knew the short period of time we had last year it was hard to build essentially a year's relationship in 14 days.

"But with us being able to spend an entire year, it definitely has made a huge impact in signing 20. And I fully anticipate that number to be like that every year."

Arkansas kicked off the day at 6:05 a.m. by adding a legacy signee in defensive end Mataio Soli, the son of former Razorback Junior Soli, a standout defensive lineman in the early 1990s who played in the NFL. Mataio Soli is a 6-3, 227-pound defensive end from Douglasville, Ga., in suburban Atlanta.

About 90 minutes later, another legacy jumped on board as defensive end Zach Williams of Joe T. Robinson inked his letter of intent. The No. 5 prospect in Arkansas, Williams is the son of former Razorback standout linebacker Rickey Williams.

Arkansas' seven defensive line signees featured three four-star prospects.

The group includes Williams, tackle Marcus Miller, a 300-pounder from Warren, as well as Collin Clay of Oklahoma City, who became an avid pitchman for the Hogs' recruiting efforts via social media after committing in July.

The six-man offensive line class includes junior-college prospects Myron Cunningham of Iowa Central Community College and Chibueze Nwanna of Lackawanna (Pa.) College, a pair of tackles who are expected to compete for playing time immediately.

Cunningham and Nwanna are expected to be among eight scholarship early enrollees along with Brooks, Knox, Nash, Soli, Williams and defensive lineman Eric Gregory.

Offensive lineman Drew Vest of Searcy, a preferred walk-on, also plans to enroll early.

Morris said this second class is another step in transitioning to his style.

"We're not anywhere near where we need to be, but we're faster than what we were," he said. "We're going to continue to address that."

Sports on 12/20/2018

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