THE RECRUITING GUY

Arizona junior-college pair zero in on Hogs

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema stands on the field prior to a Nov. 29, 2013 game against LSU at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

Arkansas will host two junior-college prospects later this week, receiver Cody Hollister and tight end Blake Whiteley of Arizona Western Community College, on official visits and Hollister could very well end up committing during the trip.

They will visit Fayetteville from Thursday to Saturday.

Coach Bret Bielema paved the way for their visit when he stopped by the Yuma, Ariz., college last Wednesday.

“Oh, I loved him,” Hollister said. “He seemed like an amazing guy. A guy you really take pride in playing for. I’ve known about him but haven’t really met him and when I met him he was just really a standup guy and he’s going to be honest with you. He talked to me and was just totally honest with me.”

Hollister, 6-4, 205, 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash, recorded 63 receptions for 877 yards and 5 touchdowns in 12games this season. He received a scholarship offer from the Hogs a day after Bielema’s visit when tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. told him.

Hollister, who also has offers from Wyoming and Troy, attended Mountain View High School in Bend, Ore., and was a preferred walk-on at Nevada in 2012 after some offers, including one from Idaho, fell through. He redshirted as a freshman at Nevada and then transferred to junior college.

He said he could see himself committing to the Razorbacks should things go well on the visit.

“Yeah, there’s definitely a chance just because of already loving the coach so much,” Hollister said.

Whiteley, 6-5, 240, 4.7, has made official visits to Purdue, Virginia and will visit Texas after leaving Fayetteville. He described Bielema and Lunney as really cool guys.

“I think it would be awesome to play for those coaches,” Whiteley said.

Whiteley, who is a midterm graduate as is Hollister, said he will be looking forward to seeing if Fayetteville will be his next stop.

Whiteley, who has three years college eligibility remaining, played high school football in Vancouver, British Columbia, and said he opted to attend junior college because he was looking to increase his options.

Arkansas appears to be a viable option.

“I like the way they use their tight ends,” Whiteley said. “They can use two or more in many different ways. Also, SEC ball is big time.”

REBELS PLEDGE LIKED VISIT

Highly recruited safety C.J.Hampton, who’s committed to Ole Miss, officially visited the Hogs Thursday to Saturday.

Hampton, 6-1, 198, 4.48, of Meridian, Miss., has more than 20 scholarship offers, including Arkansas, Ole Miss, Alabama, Miami, Georgia, Stanford and Tennessee. His father, Calvin Hampton, said he spoke to his son while on the trip.

“I know for a fact he enjoyed the trip,” the elder Hampton said. “The coaches were real informative and took care of him and he enjoyed it. He enjoyed being around his host and enjoyed being around some of the guys that play up there.”

Hampton has also visited Ole Miss, Florida State and Alabama, and is rated afour-star prospect by national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS Sports Network.

“He shows loose hips, reads offenses well, and shows great range,” Lemming said.

HIGH-RISING RECEIVER

Highly touted receiver Frank Iheanacho, 6-7, 220, of Houston Westside, said he will arrive in Fayetteville on Wednesday for the start of an official visit.

He didn’t play football as a junior and focused on basketball.

Iheanacho has seen his stock skyrocket, accumulating approximately 20 scholarship offers since the second game when Houston became the first school to offer.

Iheanacho has narrowed his list to Oregon, Arkansas, LSU, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Missouri, TCU and Florida State.

FRAZIER PONDERS UA VISIT

Springdale Har-Ber defensive lineman Josh Frazier, an Alabama commitment, said in a text message on Sunday that he might take an official visit to Arkansas instead of Nebraska.

Frazier, 6-4, 308, 5.1 seconds in the 40-yard dash, narrowed his list to Arkansas, Auburn, Southern Cal and Texas A&M before deciding on the Crimson Tide on Nov. 23.

E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.comRazorback commitment listPOS. PLAYER HT. WT. 40 HOMETOWNWR JARED CORNELIUS 6-1 190 4.48 Shreveport Evangel ChristianRB JUAN DAY 6-2 210 4.5 North Little RockLB DWAYNE EUGENE 6-1 215 4.5 Metairie,(La.) RummelLB KHALIA HACKETT 6-2 208 4.63 Douglasville (Ga.) S. PauldingDL JAKE HALL 6-5 230 - Springdale Har-BerK COLE HEDLUND 5-10 170 - Argyle,TexasDL BIJHON JACKSON 6-2 330 5.1 El DoradoTE JACK KRAUS 6-5 245 4.9 BentonvilleWR COREY MCBRIDE 6-2 180 4.34 Geismar (La.) DutchtownWR TORRANCE MOSLEY 5-10 175 4.4 Geismar (La.) DutchtownCB CHRIS MURPHY 5-10 180 4.4 Marietta (Ga.) LassiterQB RAFE PEAVEY 6-2 207 4.5 Bolivar, Mo.

TE RAVIAN PIERCE 6-4 230 4.53 Plantation, Fla.

CB SANTOS RAMIREZ 6-2 180 4.55 Shreveport EvangelCB HENRE’ TOLIVER 6-1 180 4.56 Metairie (La.) RummelDL ARMON WATTS 6-5 270 5.1 St. Louis Christian Brothers2015 COMMITMENTSOL COLTON JACKSON 6-6 291 - ConwayDT HJALTE FROHOLDT 6-5 275 - Warren (Ohio) HardingOL ZACH ROGERS 6-3 295 5.09 Carrollton (Texas) HebronQB TY STOREY 6-3 217 4.92 Charleston

Sports, Pages 19 on 12/10/2013