Ex-QB sizes up new role

Nate Dalton grew up playing quarterback and had his mind set being a signal caller in college.

Arkansas defensive backs coach Clay Jennings had other ideas.

While coaching at TCU, Jennings talked with Dalton, a sophomore at the time, about making a switch to the secondary but Dalton wasn't interested in that.

"He told me, 'I'm going to recruit you as a DB,' " said Dalton, who played at Houston (Texas) Cypress Falls and signed with the Razorbacks in February. "I'm like, 'I don't want to hear that.' Who wants to hear from a defensive coach when you've been playing on the offensive side of the ball all your life? Not me."

Eventually, he came around.

Dalton, 6-3, 195 pounds, ended up choosing the Hogs over scholarship offers from Michigan, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Utah, SMU, Washington State and others. But he's the first to admit that he was startled when it was suggested that he make the move from offense to defense.

"I was like, this dude has to be crazy because I would've never seen myself playing defense," Dalton said. "Not saying I was scared to make the transition, but all my life people have been telling me you're a quarterback. You can sling it. You're a dual-threat."

Jennings also recalls that first conversation about making a switch.

"I told him, 'You could be a heck of a corner,' " Jennings said. "He said, 'No, Coach, I'm a quarterback.' "

Dalton had three scholarship offers for three different positions going into his final year of high school. UNLV wanted him as a quarterback, Memphis was interested in him playing defensive back and Southeastern Louisiana wanted him as a receiver.

It wasn't until after his junior season that Dalton began to consider making a switch.

"My junior year didn't go so well at the quarterback position," said Dalton, who completed 48 of 100 passes for 600 yards and 8 touchdowns and rushed for 450 yards as a junior. "A lot of people were saying playing defense is where you get your offers from."

During the spring of his junior year, Cypress Falls Coach Kirk Eaton experimented with using Dalton at cornerback, quarterback and receiver.

"I tried it out to see if I would like it and I fell in love with it," Dalton said of playing cornerback.

He recorded 51 tackles, 6 interceptions and broke up 12 passes his senior season and realized making the move was the correct decision after seeing opponents avoid his side of the field.

"I bought into it when I started seeing the mismatches with 6-3 or 6-4 receivers going against like a 5-10 corner," Dalton said.

He also loved playing baseball. Dalton was an outfielder and batted .486 during his junior season but made the painful decision to bypass baseball this past spring to get ready for college football.

Dalton said his relationship with Jennings was a big part of why he signed with the Razorbacks.

"I would sit back and think, 'Could I see myself being around this guy, because I'm about to leave home and be around this person for a long time?' " Dalton said. "I was just sitting back and hearing him talk, and he was pretty much nailing everything.

"I could tell it wasn't a sales thing just to get you on the roster. Everything he said he meant."

Jennings said he likes Dalton's makeup as a person.

"He's a very humble kid," Jennings said. "He's easy to talk to now and he's mature for his age. One thing you really like about him is he has a perfectionist attitude. His best days as a defensive back are ahead of him."

Dalton, who reported June 22 to Fayetteville, took official visits to Oklahoma, Kentucky and Liberty. He took his official visit to Arkansas on Jan. 16-18, committed to the school a few days after the trip and cancelled a visit to Michigan.

"When I came to Arkansas, No. 1, I felt like I was pretty much at home because growing up I was always outside and Arkansas is pretty much like a nature state," he said. "If I were to find a job around here, it would pretty much fit my personality. No. 2, it's the fans. I could tell they're loyal and it's not for a show."

The third reason was seeing the relationship players had with with Jennings and defensive back graduate assistant Aaron Henry.

"I could tell it wasn't just for the official or the weekend," Dalton said. "I could tell that everything was pretty much real."

Defensive coordinator Robb Smith said Dalton's size and ability will be welcome additions to his unit.

"The way it's going now, some of those receivers out there look like linebackers," Smith said. "I think that's going to help us even up the playing field. A team like Auburn that's really big on the perimeter, that will really help us out from a matchup standpoint."

Sports on 07/17/2015