One of the biggest recruits for Bret Bielema and his staff has signed with the Hogs. Devwah Whaley committed to the Hogs at the Under Armour All-American game after decomitting from Georgia earlier. Whaley decomitted from the Bulldogs after Mark Richt was fired and Arkansas was able to hold off recruiting powerhouses like Texas and Oklahoma for Whaley's signature. In his senior season at Beaumont Central, Whaley ran for over 1,500 yards and 21 touchdowns.
For comparison, his composite rating his higher than Jonathan Williams' and slightly lower than what Alex Collins was rated. Whaley is a consensus 4-star recruit and 247Sports has him ranked as the third best running back in the nation. ESPN also has Whaley as a top-100 recruit so he his pretty highly thought of by all recruiting services.
Whaley could end up being one of the key pieces for the Hogs in the next couple of years. With the departure of Collins and Williams, the running back spot is up for grabs. Kody Walker coming back will certainly help, but Bielema has shown he likes to have multiple running backs to keep fresh. If Whaley develops like he could and Raleigh Williams gets healthy, the Hogs could be set at running back for some time.