Slim picking for Hogs: 7 sign on first day

To no surprise, the first day of the early national signing period produced little fanfare at the University of Arkansas.

The Razorbacks signed a Southeastern Conference-low seven players Wednesday. Four players were from out of state, including cornerback Myles Slusher of Broken Arrow, Okla., an ESPN 4-star prospect previously committed to Oregon. Offensive lineman Ray Curry of Memphis and running back Dominique Johnson of Crowley, Texas, flipped from Missouri, while linebacker Kelin Burrie signed out of Harvey, La.

“We had seven sign today, and all seven we’re really excited about,” said Arkansas coach Sam Pittman. “We signed three from Arkansas, and they were all committed here when we arrived. We were excited to keep them in our program and grateful for their loyalty to the program.

“Greatest thing about it,” he said, “is we have at least 10 committed to a visit in the first week in January. We knew it was going to be difficult to sign a number of players, but we wanted to sign the ones who fit into our program.”

Arkansas’ three in-state signees were Bryant linebacker Catrell Wallace, Jonesboro linebacker Jashaud Stewart and Hazen defensive lineman Blayne Toll. The 6-foot, 5-inch Toll quarterbacked the Hazen Hornets to the 2018 Class 2A championship.

Arkansas had only six players verbally committed when Pittman was hired as head coach 10 days ago. The Razorbacks come off consecutive 2-10 seasons and have lost 19 consecutive SEC games. That slide cost head coach Chad Morris his job after 24 games, resulting in a coaching search that landed Pittman, a former Razorback aide to Bret Bielema, off Kirby Smart’s staff at Georgia.

Three players verbally committed to Arkansas

— linebacker Drew Francis and defensive end Tyrece Edwards of Knoxville, Tenn., and safety Mike Harris of Phenix City, Ala. — will not sign until February. Arkansas could sign up to 18 more players in the 2020 class.

Slusher, 5-11 and 175, chose Arkansas over Oregon, Nebraska and UCLA. Being close to home helped, he said, as did a desire to play for UA defensive coordinator Barry Odom, one of Pittman’s first staff hires.

“I think he’s a stand-up person, too,” Slusher said of Odom in an interview with Arkansas Democrat-Gazette writer Richard Davenport. “I think he definitely cares about the players, and I think he has the right mentality coming in here.”

Slusher plans to enroll in January and major in business. “They have a good business school, and that’s what I want to major in, so that’s a big factor,” he said.

Pittman said Slusher committed to Arkansas late Tuesday night.

“His decision was weighing on him. I’d been recruiting him when I was at Georgia, and there’s a lot of excitement about him,” the coach said. “There were some good teams on his list. I’m glad his parents will get to see him being less than two hours away. Those days are awesome when you win a battle for a guy like that.”

Pittman’s in-home visit to Toll in Hazen included “some of the best barbecue I’ve ever had at their place. He’ll be in here in January, and we’re looking at him to play several positions. He was committed to us and stayed with us.”

Wallace comes off back-to-back Class 7A championship teams at Bryant under coach Buck James. “This guy here is a really good player,” Pittman said. “I think you can do a lot of things with him. … I’m not positive where we’ll play him, but we’re positive we’re excited about him being with us.”

As of Stewart, “Jonesboro, I was told, had to slow down practice because he was always so full throttle. To me, this guy is an Arkansas Razorback. He’s what we want motor-wise, physically.”

On a down note for the Razorbacks, Arkansas could not persuade Morrilton dual-threat quarterback Jacolby Criswell to flip his commitment to North Carolina.

Though visited by Pittman Dec. 10, Criswell signed a national letter of intent with the Tar Heels on Wednesday.

“I have to stay loyal to was loyal to me,” Criswell said in a ceremony inside Morrilton High’s Devil Dog Arena.

Leading Morrilton to the Class 5A semifinals for the second-straight year, Criswell passed for 2,869 yards with 27 touchdowns and 5 interceptions this season. He also ran for 1,282 yards and 24 scores.

* Off the field, Razorback receiver Jordan Jones, a redshirt junior from Smackover, announced that he will transer from UA’s football program.