Four reach deals to recruit for UA

FAYETTEVILLE — Four former SMU football staff members have reached agreements to recruit for the Arkansas Razorbacks within the past week, according to documents obtained Thursday by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette through an open records request.

Joe Craddock, Justin Stepp, Dustin Fry and Mark Smith signed employment documents with the Razorbacks between Dec. 8-11, which allow them to recruit on Arkansas’ behalf. The Razorbacks have yet to announce any official hires to head coach Chad Morris’ first staff.

Craddock, Stepp and Fry were on-field assistant coaches under Morris at SMU, while Smith served as the Mustangs’ recruiting director.

Each of the men signed offer letters, which had been written and signed by senior associate Athletic Director Julie Cromer Peoples, with Arkansas through Dec. 31. All are expected to be hired to Morris’ staff in some capacity — as an on-field coach or support staff member — following the inaugural college football early signing period from Dec. 20-22, but their future positions have yet to be announced.

“This letter sets forth the

material terms of the University’s offer to you to be effective on your start date…and until the execution of your formal employee agreement with the University, which shall more fully set forth the terms and conditions of your employment beyond this period,” the documents read, in part.

Each new hire has a listed annual salary of $100,000, but that figure will change when they sign longer-term contracts, said a source inside the football program.

Morris was officially introduced as Arkansas’ head coach on Dec. 7, 13 days before the beginning of the early signing period. Prior to this year, high school seniors had a single signing period that began the first Wednesday of each February.

Morris, Craddock, Fry, Stepp and Smith have been visiting and calling Arkansas recruits the past week, along with Barry Lunney Jr. and Bobby Allen. Lunney, a former Arkansas quarterback, has spent the past five seasons as the Razorbacks’ tight ends coach, and was the only member of former head coach Bret Bielema’s on-field coaching staff who was not fired last week.

Allen spent 15 seasons as an on-field assistant coach under three Arkansas head coaches before being placed in a support staff role as director of high school and NFL relations by Bielema in 2013.

Those recruiting for Arkansas this month are not guaranteed on-field assistant coaching positions on Morris’ staff, a source said. Morris has not given any indication of when he hopes to have his full staff in place.

Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek shed some light on Morris’ thought process with the staff on Thursday.

Speaking on the radio show Sports Talk with Bo Mattingly, Yurachek said he thought Morris is comfortable with his offensive staff.

“I think he’s got a really good idea of who is going to be on the offensive side of the ball,” Yurachek said. “That’s the group he’s had out really recruiting right now and trying to shore up this class that will sign on Dec. 20.

“I think he wants to take his time on the defensive side of the ball and hire a great defensive coordinator and then work with that defensive coordinator to hire great position coaches.”

Morris is believed to have contacted Texas A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis and Washington State defensive coordinator Alex Grinch in his search.

The UA terminated the contracts of coordinators Dan Enos and Paul Rhoads and position coaches Kurt Anderson, Vernon Hargreaves, Reggie Mitchell, John Scott Jr., Michael Smith and Chad Walker last week.

Missouri announced Thursday that it had hired Hargreaves, the Razorbacks’ linebackers coach in 20152016 and inside linebackers coach this season, to handle the inside linebackers on third-year Coach Barry Odom’s staff.

“I’ve known Vernon for a number of years and have always respected the way his position plays the game,” Odom said in a university release. “He will be a great teacher and mentor for our student-athletes. His experience will be so valuable for our program.”

Mitchell, Bielema’s running backs coach the past two years, is expected to be hired for the same position at Texas-El Paso, SI.com has reported.

Mitchell’s hiring has not been made official by UTEP, which went 0-12 in 2017 before firing head coach Sean Kugler and replacing him with Dana Dimel, who had been offensive coordinator at his alma mater Kansas State for the past nine years.

On Wednesday, Rhoads was officially announced as defensive backs coach on Coach Chip Kelly’s staff at UCLA.

NWA Democrat-Gazette file photo Barry Lunney Jr., Arkansas’ tight ends coach the past five seasons under Bret Bielema, was the only member of Bielema’s on-field coaching staff who was not fired last week.