Arkansas Razorbacks commit Grayson Wilson excited for junior season under new head coach

By Kyle Sutherland 

Grayson Wilson had a memorable sophomore year earning all-state honors in three sports - football, basketball, and baseball. 

The Central Arkansas Christian quarterback also did not waste any time figuring out his college plans as he became the first commit for the Arkansas Razorbacks' 2025 class on April 15. Wilson is still the Hogs' lone pledge for '25. 

Wilson, 6-3, 185, is a three-star prospect per 247Sports and the 30th signal caller in the country for 2025. He will take his fourth visit to Fayetteville this weekend. 

It was an easy decision when Arkansas offered in March.

"I have always lived [in Arkansas], and it has always been a dream of mine," Wilson said. "After going up there and talking to the coaches, seeing the people, it really just became clear."

Previous Arkansas offensive coordinator Kendal Briles initially showed interest in Wilson, but the offer came from Dan Enos, who replaced Briles in January. Enos had served in the same position for the Razorbacks from 2015-17. 

Wilson has 12 varsity starts on his resume. He took over full-time at quarterback last year as a sophomore after moving up and starting the final two games of his freshman season. In 2022, Wilson completed 143 of his 245 pass attempts for 1,737 yards and 19 touchdowns, while also adding 530 yards and seven scores on 84 carries. 

While Wilson has earned plenty of individual accolades, CAC has work to do to be competitive.. The Mustangs have won just four games in the past two seasons (2-8 both years) as they begin a new era under Ryan Howard, who takes over for longtime head coach Tommy Shoemaker. 

Howard may be a first-time head coach, but he as an extensive. background in the Division I college ranks working at Central Arkansas - his alma mater - and most recently as an offensive analyst at Missouri under Alma native Eli Drinkwitz for the past two seasons. 

"Everything is going pretty well, we are really throwing the ball and I like that, but we just have to get all of the pieces together," Wilson said. "We have to get all of our linemen and receivers on the same page. I have to get trust with them and I think we can all be on the same page."

One of Howard's top philosophies is an uptempo  scheme even coming up with the Twitter hashtag '#FastStangs' to describe his program. The goal is for the offense to run a play and immediately get back on the ball ready to go again, which all begins with proper conditioning. 

"I am not the coach that is going to have you run twenty 100's," Howard said. "That is just not football practical. We are going to condition football specific. I am a big guy on time, I hate wasting it. It is a 'go, go, go' mentality because we are going to get our conditioning in by moving fast, then we are going to get the work in that we need to and get out of here in a timely basis."

While depth on the offensive line may be limited, the Mustangs have a host of young, talented skill players starting with junior Renalson Sullivan, along with sophomores Jacob Henry and Kevin "Deuce" Williams. With those in the arsenal to go with Wilson, Howard plans to use multiple offensive looks.

"From studying the offenses of the (Los Angeles) Rams, (San Francisco) 49ers, to the 'Run N' Shoot' and just of those that I have been exposed to on my own, it is just about figuring out a mesh point of what works," Howard said. "You try to see what fits and what the guys can do and try to put them in great situations. 

"Football at the high school level is so matchup-based more than anything."

Due to CAC playing in May's 3A state baseball tournament Wilson missed out on the first week of spring practice but being able to catch the second week, as well as summer workouts, plus plenty of meetings with Howard has helped in grasping the offensive terminology.

"We have been having meetings since he got here," Wilson said. "We meet during lunch and I have really learned most of it that way."

CAC currently has just 31 players on its roster, but Wilson mentioned the positive in that is they have exactly the guys who have completely bought in. 

"It has really been just about getting them on board," Wilson said. "We do not have very many guys, but I think we have guys that trust the process and believe that we do the right things."

As a former quarterback himself, Howard knows the value of the position and acknowledged he has a special one to work with for the next two seasons. 

"Your team ticks as the quarterback ticks no matter what level of ball it is," Howard said. "For us to have one who can process things and get through reads is huge, as well as him being an athletic guy you have a lot of pieces to work with.