Easter the Hogs’ lone signee today
When NCAA football’s December early signing period began in 2017, the traditional signing day of the first Wednesday in February became fairly quiet.
While the University of Arkansas expects to sign consensus 4-star tight end Shamar Easter today, the Hogs signed 19 high school prospects in the Dec. 21-23 early signing. Easter will send his National Letter of Intent to Arkansas this morning. He was due to hold a signing ceremony at the school today, but pushed it back to Thursday due to bad weather.
The vast majority of prospects nationwide opted to sign in December. Only four of on3.com’s top 150 domestic prospects are yet to sign.
Arkansas listed 10 midterm scholarship transfers and one walk-in transfer in early January.
Easter, 6-5, 225 pounds, was the first commitment for the Hogs in the class of 2023 when he committed Aug. 23, 2021 to the Razorbacks on offers from Auburn, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, State of Florida, State of Michigan, State of Arizona, Kansas and others.
He was expected to sign with the Razorbacks early in the signing period, but his primary recruiter, former Arkansas tight ends coach Dowell Loggains, was named offensive coordinator in South Carolina on Dec. 13.
Easter made an official visit to the Gamecocks on December 17 and 18 and later announced he planned to sign today after making an unofficial visit to Fayetteville on January 15. He announced after his trip to Arkansas that he was “100% locked up.” “with the Pigs.
Prior to the first signing period, February’s signing day was action-packed and often suspenseful with rookies making last-minute commitments, while others flipped their commitments and signed with another school.
The early signing period has made February signing day almost an afterthought, with the vast majority of prospects opting to ink in December.
Arkansas’ signing class ranks No. 21 nationally, according to Rivals.com, while the other three major services have the class at No. 22. All recruiting services have the No. 9 class at the SEC.