The buddy system could give Arkansas an advantage in landing an official visit from highly recruited defensive end / tight end Sheldon Richardson, of St. Louis.

Running back Ronnie Wingo Jr., who is also from St. Louis, is scheduled to make an official visit to Arkansas and is close friends with Richardson.

Richardson, 6-4, 270 pounds, 4. 69 seconds in the 40-yard dash, plays for Gateway High School. He has orally committed to Missouri, where he will visit Dec. 13-14, but also has set up a trip to Miami for Sept. 27-28. Richardson plans to visit Oklahoma and Kansas State as well, and he’s considering Arkansas, Iowa and Illinois for his fifth visit.

Arkansas recruiting coordinator Tim Horton contacted Richardson on Sunday night and tried to convince him to take a visit to Fayetteville.

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“I told him I was considering Arkansas for my fifth visit,” said Richardson, who is rated the No. 4 tight end in the nation by ESPN. “He was like, ‘Well, let’s just start off and make Arkansas that fifth visit.’ He then asked me who else I was considering for the fifth visit. I told him Iowa and Illinois. I was like, I’ll probably make an official visit with Ronnie.”

Richardson told Horton he wanted to major in criminal justice or motorcycle engineering.

“He said, ‘First things first, don’t come to Arkansas if you don’t plan on getting a degree,’” Richardson said. “I said, ‘All right, I understand that.’ He let me know more about the school and [that ] they had a great criminal justice program and said nobody had a better mechanical engineering program.”

Richardson is gifted athletically, with a reported 365-pound bench press, a 695-pound squat and an impressive 32-inch vertical leap. While he could play inside, he said he prefers to play outside on either side of the ball.

“I play tight end and defensive end. When I go to college, those are the two positions I want to play” Richardson said.

Horton also told Richardson about Jerry Jones, a former Razorback who is owner of the Dallas Cowboys and a well-known Razorbacks supporter, and discussed the SEC’s reputation.

“He was talking about how the Dallas Cowboys owner is a big Arkansas fan, and every year they’ll be playing in the new stadium,” Richardson said, referring to a new Cowboys stadium being built in Arlington, Texas. Arkansas has signed a deal to play a game in the stadium for 10 years, beginning with Texas A&M in 2009. “He [Horton ] said if you come to Arkansas, you’re going to play in the second-best league in the country, because he said the NFL is the first.”

CBS College Sports national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming has seen Richardson twice this year and rates him as the No. 106 player in the country. “He’s the best defensive lineman in Missouri,” Lemming said. “He’s very quick, very active, and has great potential with a body that could carry well over 300 pounds and still move well. He has a very aggressive nature.”

PROSPECTS VISITING Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey and his basketball staff will host two junior college prospects on official visits this weekend. Cipola (Fla. ) Junior College power forward Jeremy Jacob, 6-8, 230, and guard Jemal Farmer, 6-5, 213, of Cloud Community College in Concordia, Kan., are scheduled to be in Fayetteville. Farmer earned first-team allconference honors as a freshman in the Jayhawk Western Division, averaging 16. 1 points and 5. 4 rebounds per game last season. “He’s a very, very athletic kid, a big-time jumper, plays above the rim,” Cloud Coach Kevin Muff said. “He’s done a very good job developing his perimeter game. He was primarily a post player in high school. I think after one year he’s really taken strides to become more of a [small forward / shooting guard ] that can face up and handle it on the perimeter as well as shoot it from the three.”

Farmer took an official visit to Alabama-Birmingham last weekend and plans to visit Nebraska on Sept. 27-28. All three schools have offered scholarships.

Muff said Farmer also had an offer from Iowa State, but the Cyclones wanted a quick answer and decided to move on. He said Kansas State is on the verge of offering. Farmer said he has been impressed with Pelphrey and assistant coach Isaac Brown and is excited about taking a visit to Arkansas. “I know they have a big football game, and I look forward to meeting the guys on the team,” said Farmer, who played at Bloom Township High School in Chicago. Farmer is looking for immediate playing time and an uptempo style of play. “The most important thing is going somewhere I can make a difference, being comfortable with the head coach and going somewhere I think I have a chance to start,” said Farmer, who has a 40-inch vertical leap. “I like to get up and down, and that’s what Arkansas does. From that standpoint, it’s good fit.” Jacob signed with Georgia in 2006 and averaged 5. 2 points and 3. 3 rebounds during the 2007-2008 season, but was sidelined after six games because of a stress fracture in his left foot. He quit the team in July and enrolled at Chipola.

E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline. com