FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas coach Houston Nutt had a rather long grocery list of players that he needed to pick up on National Signing Day.

After losing the last three games of this past season in part because of missed field goals, Nutt wanted to find a reliable kicker. So he signed former Springdale High star Alex Tejada.

Nutt also was in desperate need of some linemen after losing three starters on the offensive side and another two starters on the defensive line. So nine of the 27 prospects who signed letters of intent with the Razorbacks on Wednesday are linemen.

And after granting freshman Mitch Mustain -- the star of last year's recruiting class -- a release from his scholarship early last month, Nutt had to pick up another quarterback. So he got two, including Nathan Dick, the younger brother of current starter Casey Dick.

For the Razorbacks, this year's recruiting class was all about filling needs and plugging holes.

"We needed these two quarterbacks. You've got to have two more on your campus by fall," Nutt said following his news conference Wednesday afternoon. "You needed a kicker. You needed a deep snapper. All these are very important pieces of the puzzle."

Last year, Arkansas assembled a recruiting class that was filled with skill players, including seven wide receivers. But the Razorbacks took a different approach this year, instead making it a priority to sign offensive and defensive linemen.

It was a less sexy approach to recruiting. As a result, Scout.com ranked Arkansas' recruiting class 10th in the Southeastern Conference, ahead of only Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Overall, the Razorbacks finished with a class that ranked No. 33 by Scout.com.

"You've kind of got to alternate years -- skill (players), linemen, skill, linemen -- (to) kind of keep everything even," Arkansas recruiting coordinator Chris Vaughn said. "But we were just blessed to have a pretty good linemen class here in the state. That's where everything starts."

But the Razorbacks missed out on one of the nation's best offensive line prospects in former Rogers High star Lee Ziemba. He signed with Auburn despite playing only a short drive from Arkansas' campus.

Arkansas was unable to sign some of the state's top recruits, and Nutt and his coaching staff had to combat the negative press that the football program received after former offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn left last month for a job at the University of Tulsa.

"Recruiting gets so vicious, and when you go in the living room and (the family has) got the (newspaper) articles laminated, you know the other school has been there," Nutt said. "When it's on the coffee table, when it's in the middle of the living room, you know that you've got to go in and defend.

"You can't go there on the offense; you've got to go defend. That's tough."

Nutt said of the 18 recruits who had committed to Arkansas before the turmoil unfolded, only one signed with another school. That came as a relief for Arkansas' coaches as they hit the recruiting trail.

"If I had one theme song of this class, (it's) the solid 17," Nutt said. "(They) never wavered."

After winning 10 games and finishing last season ranked 15th -- Arkansas' highest since 1989 -- Nutt and his assistants made a conscious effort to fill some of the holes that were noticeable in the team's four losses.

The Razorbacks picked up three linebackers, including Jermaine Love of Garland, Texas -- to add some depth to a position that was depleted by injuries last season.

In addition, Arkansas signed five defensive backs in the hope of bolstering an area that has struggled. Nutt said he would have liked to have signed more cornerbacks, especially after Chris Houston decided to leave school early for the NFL. But Nutt still picked up at least two cornerbacks.

"When you lose guys, you've got to replace them," Vaughn said. "If you don't, you end up in a situation where you can only do so many things on defense because you don't have enough defensive backs. Or you can only do so many things offensively because you don't have a tight end."

Arkansas 2007 Signings

Damario Ambrose

Davidson (Ala.) High School

Defensive End 6-5 250 4.75

Recorded 69 tackles, three sacks and four forced fumbles despite being injured during senior season.

Brandon Barnett

Arkansas High School/Butler County Comm. College

Running Back 5-10 190 4.3

Rushed for 1,056 yards and 14 touchdowns after redshirting his first year at the community college.

Jake Bequette

Catholic High School

Tight End 6-5 252 4.76

Becomes the fourth member of his family to play football at Arkansas after recording six sacks as a senior.

Freddy Burton

Morrilton High School

Linebacker 6-2 190 4.49

Played strong safety, wide receiver, punter, punt returner, kicker and kick returner in high school.

Adrian Campbell

Berkner (Texas) High School

Defensive End 6-5 250 4.8

Recorded 202 tackles, including 13 tackles for loss and 11 sacks, during his prep career.

Joe Chaisson

West Brook (Texas) High School

Quarterback 6-3 185 4.5

Passed for 1,859 yards and 15 touchdowns during his senior year, as well as rush for 726 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Grant Cook

Jonesboro High School

Offensive Lineman 6-6 310 4.9

A big lineman who was ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 42 offensive tackle in the nation.

Kareem Crowell

Godby (Fla.) High School/Hargrave Academy

Offensive Lineman 6-4 315 5.1

A big-time recruit who moved from defensive tackle to offensive guard two games into his sophomore season at Hargrave.

Tim Dial

Jenks (Okla.) High School

Linebacker 6-3 215 4.4

Recorded more than 100 tackles while spending time at defensive end, linebacker and safety.

Nathan Dick

Allen (Texas) High School

Quarterback 6-4 210 4.8

The younger brother of Arkansas starting quarterback Casey Dick, Nathan passed for 3,622 and 23 touchdowns with three interceptions as a senior.

Juwan Franklin

Dunnellon (Fla.) High School

Running Back 6-1 210 4.4

Rushed for 1,667 yards and 28 touchdowns as a senior.

Grant Freeman

Paris High School

Offensive Lineman/Tight End 6-7 250 4.9

Caught passes for more than 350 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior, as well as tallied nine pancake blocks.

Greg Gatson

Germantown (Tenn.) High School

Defensive Back 5-11 170 4.3

A dual threat who recorded 43 tackles and four interceptions to go along with 31 catches for 593 yards and seven touchdowns.

Wade Grayson

Harrison High School

Offensive Guard 6-4 280 5.1

A three-year starter who has a bench press of 330 pounds and a squat lift of 510 pounds.

Bret Harris

MacArthur (Texas) High School

Safety 6-0 205 4.4

A two-way standout who finished his prep career with 180 tackles, eight tackles for loss and five fumble recoveries.

Michael Harris

Booker T. Washington (Okla.) High School

Running Back 5-9 190 4.4

After replacing Felix Jones as the starter, Harris rushed for 1,934 and 31 touchdowns during the regular season as a senior.

Patrick Jones

Lovejoy (Ga.) High School

Defensive Tackle 6-2 280 4.7

Led his team in tackles for three seasons, recording 105 tackles and 12 sacks as a senior.

Brandon Lampkin

Tucker (Ga.) High School

Defensive Tackle 6-5 255 4.7

Played tight end and defensive end during his senior season.

Walner Leandre

Plant (Fla.) High School/ Blinn Junior College

Strong Safety 6-2 215 4.4

Had 70 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions and eight pass breakups for a team that went 12-0 and won the junior college national championship.

Jermaine Love

North Garland (Texas) High School

Linebacker 5-11 220 4.5

Set a school record with 135 tackles while playing in only seven games as a senior.

Issac Madison

Carter (Texas) High School

Cornerback 6-0 180 4.3

A two-year starter who rushed 31 times for 331 yards in his senior season, and recorded 25 tackles before being sidelined by an injury as a junior.

Seth Oxner

Monticello High School

Center 6-4 280 5.1

A track and field standout, led his football team with 100 pancake blocks.

Rhett Richardson

Rockwall (Tex.) High School

Deep Snapper 6-1 215 4.8

Played tight end before moving to deep snapper as a senior.

Alex Tejada

Springdale High School

Kicker 6-1 200 4.8

Known for his strong leg, Tejeda holds the state record with 164 extra points and he landed 80 percent of his kickoffs in the end zone.

Crosby Tuck

Shiloh Christian

Wide Receiver 6-1 185 4.4

Caught 78 passes for 1,640 yards and 21 touchdowns as a senior, averaging more than 100 yards per game.

D.J. Williams

Central Arkansas Christian

Halfback 6-2 240 4.6

Tallied 103 tackles, eight sacks and two forced fumbles despite playing in only eight games as a senior because of an injury.