Arkansas will be hosting one of the nation’s most highly sought running backs on an official visit this weekend.

Aundre Dean visited Tuesday with Arkansas defensive line coach Bobby Allen at his school in Katy, Texas. Dean, 6-1, 205 pounds, 4. 48 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has the speed and power to dominate a game.

“It went good,” Dean said of his visit with Allen. “He told me how much I would fit in the offense and told about the opportunities they have with Felix Jones and Darren McFadden going to the draft. It sounded good.”

Dean said Arkansas’ new staff made contact with him for the first time last week.

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“[Assistant ] Coach [Tim ] Horton contacted me last Wednesday or Thursday,” Dean said. “He told me that both running backs were declaring for the draft and they needed some good ones to come in and make a difference early.”

Dean liked what Horton and Allen had to say and that there is an opportunity to play early at Arkansas.

“It’s good,” said Dean, who rushed for 2, 111 yards on 309 carries his junior year. “It means the door’s wide open and the opportunity is there. I’m excited about it. It could be a great place for me. I know they’re going to run the ball. I’m looking forward to meeting the coaching staff this weekend.”

Dean has taken official visits to Louisville and Alabama and will travel to UCLA after visiting Arkansas and Texas A&M.

“I’m going up to A&M this Thursday for a couple of days and watch some video,” he said. “[Coach ] Mike Sherman is going to tell me what he wants to do with the offense and show me how I would fit in.

“ That would be my five schools that I’m really considering, but I’m just narrowing it down every weekend.”

Dean rushed for 2, 498 yards and 26 touchdowns on 336 carries this past season while leading Katy to a 16-0 record and the 5 A Division II Texas state championship. He finished his career with close to 5, 500 yards rushing and played in the Under Armour All-America Game on Jan. 5 in Orlando, Fla.

“I have family that lives in Little Rock, but I’ve never been to where the school is,” Dean said. “I don’t know what to expect. I know it gets real cold up there, and I don’t like that too much. I’m not a big fan of the cold weather.

“ I would imagine they have an indoor practice facility. If that’s where I’m supposed to be, it will all work out and I’ll know.”

Dean’s mother attended Arkansas for a year and is thrilled her son is going for a visit.

“My grandparents still live in Arkansas and we go down every Christmas and every Thanksgiving because they’re getting older,” Dean said. “It’s kind of home for her. She’s kind of jacked up about it. She’s excited about me going up because she thinks it’s really good school. She’s been there. She knows it’s a really good football program.”

Dean said former Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt started to recruit him shortly before he left for Ole Miss. “They were recruiting me, but I didn’t talk to them,” Dean said. “They recruited me and it was good, but they never really contacted me on the phone because when they were really trying to recruit me Coach Nutt left. They started recruiting me at Ole Miss a little bit and started sending me letters, but I really wasn’t interested in playing there.”

MILLER VISITS OLE MISS Sylvan Hills quarterback / athlete Hunter Miller took an official visit to Ole Miss over the weekend. He said his visit went well but he still plans to visit Arkansas State on Jan. 18 and Arkansas on Jan. 25. Ole Miss has offered Miller a scholarship.

VISIT PUSHED BACK Wayne Valley Forge Military College quarterback / athlete Clement Johnson, who is being recruited by Arkansas as a cornerback, was scheduled to make an official visit to Arkansas this weekend but said he’ll probably visit Jan. 25.

Johnson said he and assistant coach Lorenzo Ward are trying to work out details. E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arka nsasonline. com