Arkansas defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, who graduated from Plantation High School in south Florida, has continued to maintain strong ties in the area and has a reputation of being a straight shooter when it comes to recruiting.
Highly sought defensive end Kevin Bronson of Delray Beach (Fla.) Village Academy said Partridge has been up front and has shown him that he is wanted at Arkansas.
“He doesn’t pull your leg or anything,” Bronson said. “He keeps it honest with you.”
Bronson, 6-3, 245 pounds, 4.77 seconds in the 40-yard dash, reports having approximately 21 scholarship offers but lists Arkansas, Miami, South Florida, Central Florida and Rutgers as his top five. He is planning to make an official visit to Fayetteville after talking to Partridge.
“He told me it’s a great place out there and when I come up for a visit that I’ll like it,” he said.
The communication between Arkansas and Bronson isn’t limited to phone conversations.
“They’re sending me a whole bunch of mail,” said Bronson, who is rated the No. 122 prospect in Florida by Florida High School Football. “I have like at least 20 letters in the mail in two days wanting me to come up.”
Bronson also said he is familiar with the three other players from south Florida who are playing for the Razorbacks, offensive lineman Denver Kirkland, defensive tackle Ke’tyrus Mark and running back Alex Collins.
“He’s extremely athletic,” Village Academy Coach Donald Hanna said. “He allows us to do so many different things with him. He can pretty much line up and play any position on the defensive line. He can even stand up and play a little outside backer.
“He’s an extremely athletic young man for the size he is.”
ALABAMA END INTERESTED
With a limited number of spots remaining for the 2014 class, Arkansas will have more time to focus on the junior and sophomore classes.
Junior defensive end Anfernee Jennings of Dadeville, Ala., visited Arkansas last year for a game, and that piqued his interest in the Razorbacks.
Jennings, 6-3, 245 pounds, 4.7, has scholarship offers from Arkansas and Mississippi State and is drawing interest from Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Clemson, Ole Miss and others.
“We’re going to try and get back up there,” Dadeville defensive line coach Matt Harrison said. “He’s definitely interested in Arkansas. He likes them a lot. He had a good time when he went up there.”
Jennings, who is rated the No. 256 prospect in ESPN’s Junior 300, had 96 tackles, 7 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 interception, 1 recovered fumble for a touchdown and 22 quarterback hurries as a sophomore.
RECEIVER WIDE OPEN
Houston Cypress Ridge receiver Kemah Siverand is one of the top junior prospects in Texas, but he has ties to Arkansas.
His mother, Lisa, is from Little Rock and he still has family in the area.
Siverand, 6-1, 183 pounds, 4.43 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has scholarship offers from Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State and is drawing interest from Arkansas and numerous others.
Beginning Sept. 1, junior prospects can start receiving mail other than just questionnaires and camp information from schools and are allowed to have communication with coaches through email and social networks.
“I’m pretty much open to all universities right now because I really haven’t gotten into any deep relationships with any coaches yet,” Siverand said.
Siverand, the No. 206 prospect in ESPN’s Junior 300, received invitations to attend one of Arkansas’ summer camps but was unable to attend.
“They’re in the SEC, pretty much the hardest conference,” said Siverand, who has a 3.23 grade-point average and is looking to major in petroleum engineering. “I’ve watched a lot of their games. Their schedule is pretty tough.”
E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports, Pages 19 on 08/20/2013