WholeHogSports
THE RECRUITING GUY : Razorbacks’ Red-White game draws a number of prospects
Posted on Tuesday, April 29, 2008
URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/adg/224242/
Saturday’s Red-White game was a success in the stands, on the field and in the eyes of many of Arkansas’ recruits.
It was an especially good day for Hoxie defensive lineman Derek Johnson, who made his first trip to Fayetteville and was offered a scholarship in the office of Coach Bobby Petrino.
“He said he was been waiting on me to get down there,” Johnson said. “He said the scholarship was waiting on me and that he was just waiting for me to come see him. I was pretty excited about it.”
Fayetteville offensive lineman Colby Berna, who orally committed to the Hogs in February, was in attendance and did some recruiting for the Razorbacks.
“He was trying to get me to commit,” Johnson said.
Johnson, 6-3, 285 pounds, 5. 0-second speed in the 40-yard dash, said he likes the Razorbacks but he plans to wait before making his decision.
“I don’t want to commit just yet, but they’re at the top of my list.” Johnson said. “I’m going to wait until my senior year, after the football season.”
He said the facilities and the Razorbacks coaches were the most impressive things on the trip.
Johnson said he intends to make a few football camps this summer.
“I’ll go to camp at Fayetteville and Ole Miss and Mississippi State,” said Johnson, who made 89 tackles and five sacks last season. Johnson said he had offers from Arkansas, Arkansas State, Mississippi State and Ole Miss. He said an Oklahoma assistant coach was at his school late last week and indicated an offer might be on the way. “He said they were going to offer,” he said. “He just needed to go back and check with his head coach.”
ALABAMA’S JOHNSON Tight end Brooks Johnson of Decatur, Ala., visited Memphis on Friday before arriving in Fayetteville for the Red-White game. “I really liked the facilities and the campus,” Johnson said of Arkansas. “It was all top of the line. I like seeing them play. They throw the ball to the tight end a lot and I really like that.”
Johnson has also visited Kentucky, Auburn, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
“It’s at the top,” said Johnson, comparing Arkansas to his other visits.
No scholarship offers have come Johnson’s way just yet, but Razorbacks coaches plan to evaluate his video in the next few days.
“They told me they were going to look at it the next couple of days and give me feedback on it,” said Johnson, who reports a 4. 40-second pro-shuttle time.
Johnson 6-3, 230, 4. 78, caught 17 passes for 192 yards and 5 touchdowns last season.
Johnson said he doesn’t plan to make any other visits but hopes to attend camps at each school that’s showing him interest. PULASKI ACADEMY PROSPECT
Pulaski Academy receiver Neal Barlow, who has a scholarship offer from the Hogs, said he liked what he saw Saturday. “I was impressed with the turnout,” Barlow said. “I like how they were spreading the ball out a whole lot and they still ran the ball. So I like how there’s a nice mixture of that. Multiple receivers caught balls, so it’s obviously very attractive if you go up there. The ball is going to be spread around and thrown a lot, and then again it’s also going to be run some, too, so it keeps the defense honest.” Barlow said he hung out most of the time with Helena-West Helena Central’s Darius Winston and Turell Williams, who have orally committed to Arkansas. Barlow, 6-6, 195, 4. 6, said recruits met with the coaches after the game and discussed the game. He appreciated what offensive coordinator / wide receivers coach Paul Petrino had to say.
“He said he didn’t have any favorites,” Barlow said. “And if you work hard and perform in practice, you’re going to be able to get on the field. I love that because you control your own destiny.”
Barlow said Tulsa has offered him as a wide receiver. Barlow’s father, Jeb, played basketball with Michael Jordan at North Carolina; the Tar Heels and Ohio State are looking hard at Barlow.
“I talked to North Carolina on the phone,” said Barlow, who caught 81 passes for 1, 164 yards and 11 touchdowns last year. “They talked about how they were about to offer me and wanted to know if I would play tight end. Ohio State is talking about playing me as a tight end–wider receiver combo.”
He is also receiving interest from Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Michigan State and Notre Dame. Barlow said he’ll decide on a college before the start of 2008-2009 school year but a decision might come as early as this spring.
“I’ll probably see what happens during spring practice and see who comes and watches me and see what happens there,” Barlow said. SPRINGDALE’S RISING STAR Springdale wide receiver Ladarius Eckwood wasn’t able to make it to Junior Day because he was one of about 250 attendees at the Nike training camp held on the LSU campus over the weekend. “I came out with a lot of intensity and speed,” said Eckwood, who reports a 35-inch vertical jump. “I beat some d-backs on the go routes and there were some pretty good quarterbacks there and they hit me a couple of times when I was wide-open a couple of times.” Eckwood, 6-2, 170, 4. 6 is receiving interest from many schools, including Arkansas, Tennessee, Michigan, Texas, Florida and Tulsa.
He said he plans to attend camps at Arkansas, Michigan and Oklahoma State in the coming months.
Eckwood had 34 catches for 426 yards and 3 touchdowns last season despite playing through nagging injuries. E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline. com