Visit puts Arkansas in hunt for Safety

Safety Kirk Tucker has Arkansas high on his list.

Arkansas scored points with safety Kirk Tucker when they were one of the first schools to offer a scholarship. The Hogs scored even more when he and his parents visited Fayetteville for the spring game on Saturday.

Tucker, 6-2, 187, 4.5 seconds in the 40 yard dash, of Tucker, Georgia left Fayetteville with the Hogs in his top five after spending time with Coach Bret Bielema and seeing the campus.

"We got a quick tour before we went and talked to the coaches and Coach B," Tucker said. "The facilities are great. The campus life is great. I see that everybody loves being a Razorback so that what I really like to see."

Tucker has about 13 scholarship offers, including Arkansas, Stanford, North Carolina State and Louisville. He's also visited Auburn, Georgia, Vanderbilt, North Carolina and North Carolina State.

"After Stanford, they were either the second or third school to offer me." said Tucker of Arkansas.

He said cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson has been recruiting him hard and that helped get the Hogs a visit. The trip pushed the Hogs into third on his list behind Stanford and North Carolina and in front of North Carolina State and Louisville.

"They're a family oriented team and coaching staff and to see they had the to offer it made me put them higher," Tucker said.

After the Red-White game, Bielema and his staff ate with several of the recruits. Johnson impressed Tucker by staying long after most had left to spend about an hour with him and cornerback Chris Murphy.

"Not just about football but life and what you can do to make yourself successful before you come to college," Tucker said. "He was really keeping it open. It kept Arkansas at the top of our minds but he just kept it realistic saying wherever you go you have to be ready to where you are in the world. I really appreciate him taking the time out because I know he has family and he wants to spend time with his family after a long day of coaching football. That really meant a lot. "

Bielema spent time with Tucker and his parents during the meal.

"He's a very family oriented type of guy," Tucker said. "That was what he was mostly talking about when he was talking to us. He said coach Johnson has been bragging about me a lot and he watched my film and he said he really enjoyed watching me."

Tucker said equally good against the run and the pass.

"I like being a head hunter when people aren't expecting me," he said. "Just come up and smack them in the mouth and lay them out on the ground. That's what I like to do."

He brings the same intensity to the classroom and has a 3.5 grade point average to show for it. His parents enjoyed the trip too.

"My parents and I were talking about coming down for one of the camps," said Tucker, who plans to major in nursing.

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