The Arkansas 2018 recruiting class is vital for Chad Morris to have success in Fayetteville.

Of all the new coaching hires in the SEC, Morris has the toughest task in completely changing philosophies from the previous tenure. There will be some growing pains as players must change how they play. Speeding up the tempo and going five-wide is a whole lot different than pounding the football with a two-tight end set.

Morris faces a myriad of difficult challenges, but brings a number of positives attributes. Former Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, who played for Morris, praised Arkansas for the hire. It always helps recruiting when former players voice positive opinions about coaches, especially players of Watson’s caliber.

These commitments are not official. The early signing period begins Wednesday, giving players and schools a new 72-hour window to sign. Many coaches and teams will take advantage of this new feature.

Here’s a quick recap of what has happened in Arkansas recruiting lately.

Decommitted

Jeremy Gibson

So far, Jeremy Gibson is the only player to decommit from Arkansas since the coaching staff changed. He had 20 rushing touchdowns and over 1,300 yards in 2016 at Riverside Academy High School in Reserve, La.. Gibson is a 3-star running back and 247Sports.com rates him as the 40th-best player in Louisiana in the 2018 class.

https://twitter.com/_j_ay_/status/940691582105382912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2F247sports.com%2Fplayer%2Fjeremy-gibson-46039123

Recent commits

LaDarrius Bishop

The Razorbacks got some good news on Dec. 10 when LaDarrius Bishop decommitted from Mississippi State and verbally committed to the Razorbacks. This decision came after Dan Mullen bolted for Florida and Arkansas hired Morris. Bishop took his official visit to Arkansas on Dec. 15.

https://twitter.com/ladarrius_09/status/940059900800933889

He is rated the fifth-best player in Arkansas and the Razorbacks can always use elite defensive backs. Time will tell if he can succeed in college. Bishop had offers from Florida, Oklahoma State and other competitive Power-5 schools.

Michael Woods

Michael Woods originally committed to SMU when Morris was the head coach. He decided to stick with Morris after the coach’s change in scenery. Like Bishop, Woods committed to Arkansas on Dec. 10.

He had a few offers from passing offenses like Houston and Texas Tech. Woods was the District 20-5A Offensive MVP as a junior at Magnolia (Texas) High. His senior year, Woods had more than 1,000 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns.

Woods visited Arkansas the same time Bishop did. The wide receiver is excited about the food selection around him in Fayetteville.

https://twitter.com/TheMikeWoods/status/940075432048594945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2F247sports.com%2Fplayer%2Fmichael-woods-46035753

Silas Robinson

Morris also brought Silas Robinson with him from SMU. The 3-star offensive and defensive lineman from Yoakum (Texas) High committed to the Razorbacks the same day as Woods and Bishop. Robinson had 10 scholarship offers and has yet to take a visit.

Robinson was first-team all-district his junior year. The Texas native isn’t waiting for Morris to recruit one of his teammates. He’s doing his best to recruit on his own.

Billy Ferrell

Morris has made a point to reel in talent from inside the state. Fordyce High defensive lineman Billy Ferrell was going to visit UCLA this past weekend. Instead, Morris convinced him through an in-house visit to spend the weekend in Fayetteville. Ferrell committed after the visit, a great sign for Arkansas fans regarding in-state recruits.

The Fordyce lineman had 63 tackles his senior year. He is a big presence at 6 feet 3, 331 pounds. Ferrell is rated the ninth-best player in Arkansas in the 2018 class.

https://twitter.com/7_Bjferrell/status/942531605733789697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2F247sports.com%2Fplayer%2Fbilly-ferrell-93508

Quick analysis

Bret Bielema failed to recruit enough offensive and defensive linemen in his time at Arkansas. Morris needs to continue to grind in that area, or he will fail just as Bielema did. As of Sunday the Razorbacks had four offensive line commits and three defensive linemen.

Offensive line commit Luke Jones played in a similar offense at Pulaski Academy High in Little Rock. Others players will have to decide if they like coach Morris and his new system. Former Razorbacks players seem to think Morris is doing a fine job so far.

There is a lot of time before national signing day, and the Razorbacks have some work to do. They rank 13th in the SEC and no. 61 in the country. There is a lot of room for more players with only 12 hard commits.

Morris is an offensive guy and will focus on that area in recruiting. The Razorbacks have yet to hire a defensive coordinator, which could hinder their recruiting on that unit.

Morris has a long background in Texas, with 16 years of high school coaching experience. He also was the offensive coordinator at Tulsa for a year. Those parts have been reemphasized as areas where Arkansas needs to exert a lot of energy in recruiting.

The class is pretty even with six offensive players, five defensive recruits and one athlete. When this cycle of recruiting ends, expect more offensive signings than defensive ones.