SEC Football: Two Recruits Commit Giving Arkansas an Early Christmas Gift

Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino received an early Christmas gift when Austin Flynn became the first official recruit for the 2012 class to sign a letter of intent with the Razorbacks on Wednesday.

Flynn, 6’4”, 250 pounds, with 4.55 forty-yard speed is listed as a three-star defensive end (Rivals.com). Flynn, from Wilmington, California, played at Los Angles Harbor Community College the past two seasons.

Petrino received another verbal commitment on Wednesday from three-star Manvel, Texas defensive end Taiwan Johnson. Johnson is listed at 6’3”, 240 pounds, and runs a reported 4.8 forty-yard dash.

Johnson recorded 86 total tackles this season with 11 sacks and 1 fumble recovery. In 2010 he had 61 total tackles, 7 sacks, with 1 fumble recovery.

The addition of Flynn and Johnson should help offset the loss of senior defensive end Jake Bequette to graduation.

More Arkansas Recruiting News

Arkansas lost out on one of the top rated junior college cornerbacks when Mo Seisay verbally committed to Nebraska on Tuesday after visiting Arkansas over the weekend of December 17.

The Hogs are now in the running for tailback Greg Garmon from Erie, Pennsylvania. Garmon is ranked the No. 26 prospect in the nation. He is listed at 6’1”, 200 pounds with 4.36 forty-yard dash.

Garmon was recruited by new offensive coordinator Paul Petrino while he was at Illinois and Arkansas’ new defensive coordinator Paul Haynes while he was at Ohio State.

If Garmon were to commit he would join running backs Donovan Roberts of Norman, Oklahoma and Jonathan Williams of Allen, Texas.

Roberts was recently offered by University of Oklahoma. Roberts kept his verbal commitment to Arkansas despite being offered by one of the top colleges in the nation that happens to reside in his hometown.

Garmon reports over 40 scholarship offers.

Arkansas’ football team is currently ranked No. 25 in the nation in recruiting by Rivals.com, No. 17 by Scout.com, and moved up three spots to No. 26 by ESPN.com.

Here’s a list of the 22 Razorbacks recruits:

1. OG Cordale Boyd, Memphis, TN
2. CB Ray Buchanan Jr., Suwanee, GA
3. WR Jalen Cobb, Warren, AR
4. CB Jared Collins, Tulsa, OK
5. WR D’Arthur Cowan, Olive Branch, MS
6. DE Austin Flynn, Wilmington, CA
7. WR Courtney Gardner, Roseville, CA
8. CB John Gibson, Missouri City, TX
9. WR Keon Hatcher, Owasso, OK
10. WR Eric Hawkins, Longview, TX
11. DE Taiwan Johnson, Manvel, TX
12. DE Brandon Lewis, Memphis, TN
13. DB Defonta Lowe, Bearden, AR
14. ATH Nathan Holems, Port Arthur, TX
15. RB Donovan Roberts, Norman, OK
16. TE Jeremy Sprinkle, White Hall, AR
17. LB Jakarri Thomas, Tallahassee, FL
18. LB A.J. Turner, Lepanto, AR
19. OG Jeremy Ward, Pottsville, AR
20. DE JaMichael Winston, Prichard, AL
21. RB Jonathan Williams, Allen, TX
22. DE Deatrich Wise Jr., Carrolton, TX

Position by position breakdown of Arkansas 2012 verbal commitments:

Offensive line: Two

Tight ends: One

Defensive line: Five

Linebackers: Two

Secondary: Four

Running backs: Two

Wide receivers: Five

Quarterbacks: Zero

Athletes: One

Kickers: Zero

All verbal commitments are non-binding until a letter of intent is signed. 

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