Razorbacks land two verbal commitments on Saturday

Arkansas’ 2016 recruiting class took two big steps forward on Saturday landing verbal commitments from running back/athlete T.J. Hammonds and defensive tackle Briston Guidry.

Hammonds is a two-way star on both offense and defense for Pulaski Robinson High School in Little Rock. The 5’11”, 192 pound, speedster had a standout junior season rushing for 852 yards on 58 carries with seven touchdowns but his 4.42 speed proved to be too much for the opposition in the passing game pulling down 41 passes for 1,172 yards with another 11 scores. On defense Hammonds forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, and finished with 19 solo stops.

Hammonds recruiting stock has soared since the 2015 National Signing Day with total offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Duke, Oklahoma State, TCU, Vanderbilt, Arkansas State, and Georgia (on Thursday). Hammonds had reported unofficial visits to Alabama, TCU, and Arkansas before verbally committing to the Hogs.

Guidry, a 4-star recruit from Archbishop Rummel High School in New Orleans, has been a consistent threat in the backfields of Louisiana high schools coming up with 76 stops, 20.5 tackles for a loss, and 9 sacks as a sophomore. During his junior season the 6’2”, 290 pounder, did much of the same finishing with a reported 77 tackles, 9.5 TFL, and 7.5 sacks.

Like Hammonds, Guidry has offers from top programs from around the nation including Alabama, Louisville, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee, and Texas A&M. Guidry also made the early rounds visiting LSU, and Arkansas before previously verbally committing to Mississippi State on June 4, 2014. The Aggies hosted Guidry for their Junior Day on January 25.

Arkansas now has two defensive linemen and two offensive playmakers committed to their 2016 class, DT Austin Capps and WR Jordan Jones to go along with Hammonds and Guidry.

 

Arkansas 2016 Verbal Commitment List

DT Austin Capps, 6’4”, 305 lbs, Star City HS, Star City, Arkansas

DT Briston Guidry, 6’2”, 290 lbs, Rummel HS, Metairie, Louisiana

RB/WR T.J. Hammonds, 5’11”, 192 lbs, Pulaski Robinson, Little Rock, Arkansas

WR Jordan Jones, 6’2”, 175 lbs, Smackover HS, Smackover, Arkansas

 

Written by Ryan Wright

Photo credit: 247sports.com; Pulaski Robinson athlete T.J. Hammonds