The decommits list is growing and may soon be larger than the commit list. When they get a new coach he will have his work cut out to save the class and restore some of the decommits. I don’t know if other coachless programs are having the same problems.
Decommits during a coaching change is a normal process for players until the school makes its new hiring announcement.
At that point the players and new coach can touch base to see if the new system will be a fit for both and decisions will be made to either move on from the new coaching staff or in some circumstances the new coach will move on from the player once committed.
Having said that, it is important I believe to get the new coach in the fold ASAP so that not only the commits can make decisions, but the coach can reach out to key players that he has recruited at his current position to see if some will want to follow him to Arkansas.
Also, the new coach could possibly be appealing to some other recruits around the country that were not interested in playing at Arkansas under the former coach or system. So, with a good hire we could actually see a positive boost to what otherwise was not that deep of a recruiting class.
The sooner the better with the early signing period looming so that the new coach can set his staff and get on the phones to recruits and make some visits.
Dfarris is correct this is normal. Im suprised we only have Hanspard and Mcallister from the '18 class. We will see how it shakes out but if the new HC brings an exciting Offensive Scheme and a well thought of DC our recruiting could actually get a boost.
I’m not concerned about a few decommits. Our commits are ranked near the SEC anyway, so it is far more important to hire a good coach. The new coach will sign most of the commits and after the early signing date there will be a few good players the new coach can sign. And, if this class ends up shy of players, the coach can sign more next year.