Deke Adams talks reasons for success on recruiting trail

FAYETTEVILLE — Deke Adams coaches the defensive line at Arkansas and the past two Saturdays have been sweet to him as the Hogs have landed a four-star lineman each of those pair of days.

The Hogs added Flowood (Miss.) Hartfield Academy Class of 2025 four-star defensive lineman Reginald Vaughn, 6-2, 265, on Saturday, July 27. Then this past Saturday Adams and the Razorbacks added Class of 2026 four-star edge Colton Yarbrough, 6-6, 242, to the fold. Yarbrough is the No. 1 recruit in Oklahoma in 2026.

That isn’t all that Adams has done. He has four other defensive linemen committed for 2025. He was asked on Wednesday what has led to his success on the recruiting trail?

“Just being yourself,” Adams said. “I kind of went through this process, and I talked to parents about it. I went through this process with my own son, and I sat in rooms where I listened to coaches talk to my own kid and I’m like, ‘No, that’s not real right there.’ It’s about being real and being honest with the kids and being honest in the whole situation.

“We understand what we are as a program, we understand what we have to do. So, nothing any other university tells a kid, they won’t tell them anything that I haven’t already told them. So, just being straight up with them and being honest. Tell them where we are and being somewhere being who the parents will want to drop their kid off with and it’s just been fun. It’s been a great group of kids.”

Sources indicate that Adams may not finished adding four-star linemen. Time will tell on that, but if he pulls off one more standout everyone will really take notice of the job he’s doing.