FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas has been riding a hot streak when it comes to football recruiting and that continued on Saturday when they landed all four recruits who made commitments that day.
The headliner came from Durant (Okla.) when the state's No. 1 prospect chose Arkansas over a long list of other schools including Georgia and LSU. Class of 2026 four-star edge Colton Yarbrough, 6-6, 242, committed to Arkansas in front of a good crowd at C4 in Durant. Yarbrough talked about the decision and playing for Deke Adams, defensive line coach, and Coach Sam Pittman.
"They have been consistent since I was in eighth grade," Yarbrough said. "They produce defensive ends like Landon Jackson. Coach (Sam) Pittman is a really good head coach and guy."
Yarbrough had a funny explanation of what both Adams and Pittman did when he told them about ready to commit.
"Coach Adams he was like what, really, what do you mean?," Yarbrough said with wide smile. "I'm coming. He was excited.
"Coach Pittman was like no, you are kidding."
Was choosing Arkansas over Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma State and 21 other offers hard?
"It was easy," Yarbrough said. "There was no doubt about it honestly. I wanted to wait and see how the season went, but I had to get it over with honestly. There's only one place I can go."
As far as his decision to choose Arkansas Yarbrough talked about when he first knew he would be a Razorback.
"Went to Georgia, I liked Georgia, but it wasn't Arkansas," Yarbrough said of trips to Athens and Fayetteville last week. "Arkansas kept it real. Arkansas is a 3 1/2-hour easy drive and that was a factor too."
Lawton (Okla.) MacArthur Class of 2026 high three-star safety Adam Auston also committed to Arkansas on Saturday.
Auston, 6-2, 212, chose Arkansas over finalists Missouri, Oklahoma State and Baylor. He’s the No. 1 defensive back in Oklahoma for 2026.
“I chose Arkansas because they were just amazing to my family while we were down there,” Auston said. “The place is just amazing. I don’t know, it was like family there. It just felt great there.”
As a sophomore, Auston had 92 tackles, five for loss, four pass breakups, one forced fumble, a pair of recovered fumbles and two interceptions returning both for touchdowns. He talked about what he feels he does well on the field.
“I feel like I’m a great leader out on the field,” Auston said. “I feel like I can make really hard tackles when we need it.”
Arkansas also landed Class of 2025 running back Cameron Settles from Little Rock Parkview.
Settles, 5-11, 195, chose the Hogs on Saturday evening over Missouri, Yale, Memphis and Tulsa. He joins teammate, athlete Quentin Murphy, choosing the Hogs from Parkview. He visited Arkansas the June 14 weekend and was impressed with everything the Hogs had to offer. He also visited for the Hogwild Hangout this past Saturday.
“It was amazing,” Settles said. “They showed lots of love and it just felt like a place I could stay and call home. It was an amazing atmosphere. I loved it.”
Arkansas continued its hot streak in recruiting landing East Mississippi Community College defensive back Shannon Blair.
Blair, 6-1, 190, played his high school football at Knoxville (Tenn.) West. In 2023 at junior college, he had 25 tackles and four interceptions.
He is the 20th pledge for Arkansas in his class. He chose the Hogs over Memphis, Liberty and others. He was at the Hogwild Hangout last Saturday. Blair is a December graduate.
Photos by Otis Kirk
