The importance of central Arkansas athletes has always been noted as one of the keys for the success of the Arkansas Razorbacks’ football program. The Hogs signed three prospects from the area in February. Arkansas is now looking at North Little Rock defensive end Anthony Rogers.

1 Rogers, 6-4 / 2, 229 pounds, 4. 9 seconds in the 40-yard dash, racked up some impressive statistics for the Charging Wildcats despite only playing in five games last season. He recorded 38 unassisted tackles, 52 assisted tackles, 4 quarterback sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 2 passes broken up, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.

Rogers participated at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes combine held March 15 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. He had a very good outing with a 31-inch vertical jump, a 4. 5-second time in the pro-shuttle, and benchpressed 225 pounds 13 times. His hamstring tightened up and kept him from running the 40-yard dash.

Several high profile schools are showing interest in the talented Rogers.

“I’m getting letters from Georgia Tech, Ohio State, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Arkansas and several other colleges,” Rogers said.

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Rogers plans to make an unofficial visit to Mississippi State this weekend.

“I really want to meet their faculty,” said Rogers, who reports a 325-pound bench press and squats 405 pounds, “and get to know their football coach and get the feeling of the school.”

Rogers said he and North Little Rock Coach Brad Bolding have talked about the possibility of taking a tour of colleges once the school year has ended. He said he’s excited about Arkansas ’ hiring of Coach Bobby Petrino and plans to attend an Arkansas camp during the summer.

Rogers said his ability along with a strong work ethic and the love of football are what makes him so productive on the field.

“On defense, I like to use my power and speed because I think those are my best attributes,” Rogers said. “I’m hard working and very enthusiastic. I just love playing football. I’ve been playing ever since little league.”

Bolding said Rogers can dominate a game and showed determination by playing after preseason surgery.

“Anthony is a big kid, dominant player, very strong,” Bolding said. “He runs well. He’ll be a force to be reckoned with at defensive end. He broke his hand and had to have surgery before the season. He actually played four games with a full cast all the way up past his elbow.” Character is another asset of Rogers, according to Bolding. “He’s great kid, too,” Bolding said. “His mother is a just a great lady. He’s a ‘yes sir’, ‘no sir’, kid, makes good grades. He’s a joy to coach.”

NORTH CAROLINA IMPORT The Razorbacks are also in the process of evaluating running back Arondi Smith, who moved to North Little Rock from North Carolina in December. Smith is receiving interest from North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida and others. “All I’ve done is evaluate film of him,” North Little Rock Coach Brad Bolding said. “He’s a stud. He came from Cummings [High School in Burlington, ] N. C., where they didn’t really lift weights. He came in here and benched like 315 [pounds ] and inclined 285. He’s getting over a knee surgery that happened about midway through his junior year and he’s about recovered from it. He’ll be back about full speed we feel in spring ball.”

Smith, 5-10, 230, 4. 7, had an excellent sophomore year in which he helped Cummings win the 2 A state championship and followed it up with good rushing totals last season before his injury. “His sophomore year he rushed for 1, 500, 1, 600 yards and like 26 touchdowns,” Bolding said. “His junior year he got hurt, but in five games he rushed for 700 or 800 yards.”

CALLING ON CRUMPTON An outstanding performance at the FCA combine is paying dividends for Hot Springs Lakeside receiver Ben Crumpton. The speedy wide receiver received a handwritten letter from Razorbacks recruiting coordinator Tim Horton on Saturday. Crumpton said he and his father were leaving the house when they drove past the mailman on their way to run an errand. They turned around to check out the mail. “I saw that it was a letter from Arkansas,” Crumpton said. “And usually on the front it will be a sticker with a printout name but the name was actually written on it. I read it and I was pretty excited when I read what it said. He [Horton ] said congratulations on a great combine and he said he hoped to see me at the junior day April 26 and wanted me to attend the camps this summer.” Crumpton, 5-10, 177, ran a 4. 47 40-yard dash despite a poor start at the combine. He also ran a 3. 95 pro-shuttle and a 7. 09 L-drill. Both were the best times of the day. Crumpton credited the exposure he received at the combine for Arkansas’ interest.

HARRIS VISITING TULSA Lonoke athlete Clarence Harris, 6-2, 175, 4. 5, will start an unofficial visit to Tulsa today. Harris was offered a scholarship by Ole Miss last week. He’s receiving interest from Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn, Colorado, Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Duke, LSU, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline. com