Offensive lineman Eli Johnson, who will be a sophomore in the fall, liked what he saw of Arkansas during a visit on Wednesday and is hoping to see a scholarship offer come his way.
Johnson, 6-2 1/2, 290, of Oxford (Miss.) Lafayette, has three scholarship offers from Mississippi State, Akron and Southeastern Louisiana. He said offensive line coach Sam Pittman likes his talent.
"It went great," said Johnson, whose mother, Ashley is a Lake Village native. "Coach Pittman wants to offer me but he has to sit down with coach (Bret) Bielema and see if he wants to pull the trigger or not. I should find something on that in the next week or so, hopefully sooner. Overall, it was great, awesome."
He had the opportunity to spend time with Bielema.
"He's a real cool guy," Johnson said. "I like his personality. He just seems like a really cool guy to be around. I really enjoyed talking to him and seems like a great guy to be around. He was giving me tips on keeping my head on straight."
Johnson said he also enjoyed spending time with Pittman and offensive line graduate assistant Eric Mateos. Arkansas' facilities received a first class rating.
"They're just spectacular," said Johnson. who arrived around 10 in the morning and left about 1:15. "They have the new facilities coming. They're already great. I got to walk around all the construction and everything. That was awesome too. The weight room was huge. The indoor practice facility was great. They have a bunch of good resources."
Johnson owns excellent strength and has recorded 19 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press and five reps of 440 on the squat. An offer from the Hogs would be welcomed with open arms.
"It would be just incredible to get an offer from them," said Johnson, who has numerous family members on his mother's side living in Arkansas "I hope it comes through I really do. That would be awesome if I got that offer. It would be one of those offers you always wanted to have."