Arkansas football has been in a rough spot for more than a decade, with its last season of 10-plus wins coming in 2011. Since then, it’s been seven losing campaigns in 13 years, including a 32-34 mark in five-plus seasons under the leadership of Sam Pittman, who was fired after Saturday’s 56-13 loss to Notre Dame.
The lopsided loss to the Irish dropped the Razorbacks to 2-3 this season, and the dismissal of Pittman opened a 30-day window for players to enter the transfer portal. However, recruits can decommit at any time.
That was the case for three-star safety Adam Auston, who decommitted from Arkansas on Tuesday, via Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett. He is the fourth recruit to decommit from the 2026 class following Pittman’s departure.
Auston had been pledged to Arkansas since August and is a native of Lawton, Oklahoma. He holds offers from programs like Oklahoma State, North Texas, TCU, SMU, Texas Tech and Baylor.
He joins four-star linebacker JJ Bush, three-star linebacker Caleb Gordon and three-star receiver Keymian Henderson.
Arkansas’ 2026 class is still highlighted by four-star receiver Dequane Prevo, four-star edge rusher Colton Yarbrough and three-star corner Victor Lincoln.
With Pittman gone, Bobby Petrino was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Petrino was previously head coach of the Razorbacks from 2008-11, which included back-to-back seasons of 10-plus wins in 2010 (10-3) and 2011 (11-2). He took the Razorbacks to three bowl games in four seasons.
Pittman led the program to three bowl games and won all of them. His second season in 2021 was his best by far, as Arkansas finished with a 9-4 record.
The following year, the Razorbacks were 7-6 but then they missed a bowl game in 2023 after a 4-8 season.
It appeared that things would be different in 2024 after a promising 4-2 start, which included a massive 19-14 win over No. 4 Tennessee. However, Arkansas went 2-4 in its last six games and finished the regular season with a 6-6 record.
Arkansas’ first game under Petrino as interim head coach will be against No. 15 Tennessee on Oct. 11. Kickoff is at 4:15 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
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Grant Bricker
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Grant Bricker
Trending News Writer, Athlon Sports