Razorbacks add safety from Florida

Safety Deon Edwards will arrive in Fayetteville on Friday for a visit.

Arkansas reached into Florida for its 12th commitment for the 2016 class with hard-hitting safety Deon Edwards of Clermont (Fla.) Lake Minneola orally committing to the Razorbacks.

Edwards, 6-1, 199 pounds, chose the Razorbacks over about 16 scholarship offers from schools that included South Carolina, Missouri, Louisville, Indiana North Carolina State and South Florida.

Edwards said he was struck by Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema's involvement in his players' academic progress.

"They have a great education system up there that actually works with the head coach," said Edwards, who visited Fayetteville in June. "That really caught my attention."

He said Bielema, defensive coordinator Robb Smith and defensive backs coach Clay Jennings showed they cared for the player's well-being.

"They all showed me attention throughout the whole recruiting process," Edwards said. "They showed me they wanted me more than any other school. They treat the players like their own child. I love everything about Arkansas."

Edwards could be the physical and rangy safety Arkansas has been missing and has a chance to follow in the footsteps of former standout safeties Steve Atwater, Kenoy Kennedy and Ken Hamlin.

He recorded 112 tackles, 8 interceptions, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble over the past two seasons.

Smith, Edwards' lead recruiter, was particularly convincing.

"He's not going to be more like a friend, he's going to me more like a dad," Edwards said. "He'll be there if I need him. If anything happens with my family, he's there."

Edwards noticed how Smith interacted with players who were far from home.

"The way he treated the players he knew was far away from home, like the Florida boys, he treated those boys real good," Edwards said. "He knew how far away they were away from home and he really tried to stay on their side."

Edwards, a vegetarian, said he wants to eat as healthy as possible.

"I want to be the best I can be," he said. "I don't want to put anything in my body that will slow me down."

Oral commitments are nonbinding.

Sports on 07/30/2015