A Wisconsin offensive lineman already committed to his state university said he is giving Arkansas strong consideration after making an official visit to Fayetteville over the weekend.
Jaden Gault, 6-7, 304 pounds, of Monona Grove, Wis., said the opportunity to play for Arkansas offensive line coach Sam Pittman has him interested in Arkansas.
Gault gave his oral commitment to the Badgers when Coach Bret Bielema was in Madison. He’s rated a 4-star plus prospect by national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS Sports Network.
Gault’s hosts, freshman offensive linemen Dan Skipper and Reeve Koehler, along with senior center Travis Swanso, spoke well of Pittman.
“They just said Coach Pittman doesn’t change once you are there,” said Gault, who was one of five official visitors over the weekend. “They said he is a tremendous coach and they love playing for him.”
The praise came as no surprise to Gault, who recalls his one of his first conversations with Pittman.
“When I got off the phone with him and it said 30 minutes when I thought we only talked for 5 minutes,” Gault said.
Gault, who reports having a 3.2 GPA, used the word “insane” to describe Arkansas’ facilities.
“The fact that they have their own building right next to the stadium is awesome,” Gault said. “Academic center was cool too.”
Gault, who was accompanied by his parents, Kari and Matt, ate dinner at Bielema’s house Sunday night along with Skipper, Koehler and Swanson.
He said parents were pleasantly surprised by what they saw in Fayetteville.
“I think it was better than what they expected,” said Gault, who lives 15 minutes from the Wisconsin campus. “They want me to go to Wisconsin but after seeing Arkansas they would be OK with me going there.”
“My emotions are really high right now, but I’m interested for sure,” Gault said. “I really want to play for coach Pittman.”
Gault said he’ll take official visits to Michigan State, Miami, and Wisconsin with another visit a possibility.
“I’ll be positive after my last Wisconsin visit,” said Gault of his final decision.
MUSIC MEN
Arkansas football Coach Bret Bielema’s love of reggae music caught highly recruited safety Steven Parker II by surprise when he entered the head coach’s office during his official visit over the weekend.
Parker, 6-3, 195, 4.46 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of Jenks, Okla., is rated as a 4-star plus prospect by CBS Sports Network national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming. Parker reports having approximately 25 scholarship offers, including Arkansas, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ohio State Texas, Texas A&M and Tennessee.
“He said he was in tears when he talked to coach Bielema,” said Parker’s father Steven. “He walked into Bielema’s office and Bielema was listening to reggae. He got the a biggest kick out of that right there in the world.”
Parker said his son labeled the meeting one of the highlights of the trip.
“He really, really enjoyed the hell out of visiting with Coach Bielema and seeing a different side of him and didn’t realize there was a different side of him,” the elder Parker said.
Parker made an unofficial visit to Fayetteville for the Sept. 28 Texas A&M game. The return trip was Parker’s first official visit.
CLASS OF 2015
Arkansas extended its sixth in-state scholarship offer for the Class of 2015 to Fort Smith Northside defensive lineman Daytrieon Dean.
Dean, 6-3, 245 pounds, was told of the offer while attending Arkansas’ game against Auburn on Saturday. He impressed at Arkansas’ three day camp June 10-12.
“The upside to him is when he puts that weight on and gets stronger,” Northside Coach Mike Falleur said. “There’s no telling how good he’s going to be.”
Dean, who also has an offer from Ole Miss, has 43 tackles, 4 sacks and 2 tackles for loss while missing about a game and half because of an ankle injury.
E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports, Pages 21 on 11/05/2013