Arkansas continues to make the cut for several top prospects, and one of the latest is highly regarded safety Mattrell McGraw.
McGraw, 6-0, 185, 4,52 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of River Ridge (La.) John Curtis, narrowed his list of approximately 36 scholarship offers to eight: Arkansas, Oregon, UCLA, Southern Cal, Alabama, Florida State, Arizona State and Ohio State.
“First off, Arkansas is a great program and they have new coaching staff,” McGraw said. “Coach [Bret] Bielema was a winner at Wisconsin and took Wisconsin to the Rose Bowl several times.”
McGraw recorded 49 tackles, including 1 tackle for loss, 2 quarterback hurries, 3 interceptions, 6 pass deflections and 1 forced fumble as a junior. Receivers Coach Michael Smith is McGraw’s lead recruiter.
“He’s a very cool guy and tells me things about Arkansas,” McGraw said. “Arkansas has been recruiting me hard. They’ve been down on several occasions to see me. Theyactually sent Chris Ash, the defensive coordinator, down to see me about a week ago.”
McGraw’s best friend is highly recruited John Curtis receiver Malachi Dupre, who is a second cousin to Smith. McGraw and Dupre are planning to visit Arkansas this summer along with highly sought linebacker Kenny Young and cornerback Terrence Alexander.
“That’s the plan for all of us to make it at the same time,” said McGraw, who has a 3.3 grade-point average and is considering physical therapy, computers or business management as possible majors. “But if not, I know for sure that me and Malachi will be up there at the same time.”
CBS Sports Network national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming rates McGraw a four-star recruit and likes his physical style of play and said he believes he’s one of the nation’s best safeties.
“Their defense was fantastic last year, and he was one of the big-time guys,” Lemming said. “He can fill gaps as a DB and can play corner and safety. He has a solid build and will probably end up being a safety. He’s very fluid, which means he could play corner but it looks like he’ll weigh about 210 when he gets to college. I like him a lot and think he’s probably one of the best in the country.”
SHANNON CONNECTION
Arkansas looks to be in good shape with cornerback Cornelius Floyd after becoming his latest scholarship offer.
Floyd, 6-0, 170, 4.49, of Miami Gulliver Prep, reports the Hogs offering him on Wednesday, the 11th offer he has received. He also has offers from West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Central Florida.
“It’s a great school, I like it,” Floyd said of Arkansas. “They have a lot of great history and some great players have come out of the school .”
The Razorbacks are trying to take advantage of linebacker coach Randy Shannon’s good name and ties in the Miami.
“Coach Shannon is a big name down in Miami,” Floyd said. “He’s a good coach, and I would love to go up there and play for him and be a part of Arkansas.”
A trip to Fayetteville is probable.
“I would love to take a visit, most likely an official visit,” Floyd said.
Lemming rates Floyd as a three-plus recruit.
“He’s very good cover corner, has good grade,” Lemming said. “He’s a legitimate 6-footer, he’s a big-time ball player. I think he’s one of the top cover corners in south Florida.”
WORD OF MOUTH
A teammate’s recent visit and subsequent glowing report on Arkansas has defensive end Gerri Green considering a visit to the Hogs.
Green, 6-4, 215, 4.56 seconds, of Greenville (Miss.) Weston, reports scholarship offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Auburn, Tennessee and Louisiana-Lafayette while drawing strong interest from the Razorbacks.
Linebacker Traver Jung, a 2013 graduate of Weston, visited Fayetteville on Tuesday and his rave review of the Hogs has Green interested.
“It gets me wondering about what he saw up there and what’s really going on at Arkansas,” Green said. “It makes me want to go ahead and make this trip.”
Weston offensive coordinator Greg Hendrix, a native of Glen Rose, was a graduate assistant at Arkansas in 2008 and 2009.
“He’s a very smart kid and a very smart football player,”Hendrix said of Green. “He’s a kid with a huge upside.”
Green, who has been communicating with defensive line coach Charlie Partridge and defensive quality control coach Brian Early, has scored a 23 on his ACT and reports a 3.79 grade-point average.
“I think they want to see me in camp or see how much interest I have in Arkansas before they as a staff offer me,” he said.
E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports, Pages 25 on 05/31/2013