The Recruiting Guy

Receiver likes what he's seen from UA

Junior receiver Isaiah Graham is an elusive playmaker the Hogs hope to sign.

Receiver Isaiah Graham, a major recruiting target for Arkansas from Bastrop High School in Louisiana, has visited Fayetteville numerous times and has developed a tight-knit relationship with Coach Bret Bielema.

His latest trip to Arkansas was for Saturday's spring game.

"He sat down and talked to me like I was his son like last time," Graham said of Bielema. "He doesn't talk around things. He's straightforward, which is what I like about Coach B, and I feel like Arkansas could be a great fit."

Graham, 6-1, 175 pounds, 4.53 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has 17 scholarship offers from schools that include Arkansas, Miami, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Nebraska and California. Arkansas was the first school to offer.

Graham has talked about the possibility of committing to Arkansas but would like to see a little more of offensive coordinator Dan Enos' offense.

"Offense-wise is really the only thing that's holding me back, because first I really want to see what he brings to the table," Graham said. "The spring game they threw the ball a lot, and hopefully they keep throwing it around. So basically that's really what I'm just waiting on, seeing what their offense does."

Graham has recorded times of 10.65 seconds in the 100 meters and 22.00 seconds in the 200 this spring. He had 48 receptions for 1,138 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior and is rated a four-star recruit, the No. 15 receiver and the No. 99th overall prospect in the nation by ESPN.

He spent time with Enos during his recent visit and was encouraged by what he heard.

"I feel like he's a great coach," he said. "My first impression is I feel like he's a great guy and I feel like he'll be able to get the the job done."

Graham's parents, Willie and Angela, appear to be on the same page with Bielema.

"They sat down and they were talking and agreed on a lot of things," Graham said. "Matter of fact, there's not one thing they disagreed on."

The 41,000-plus fans on hand for the spring game also impressed Graham.

"It was kind of amazing because I've never seen that many people at the spring game," said Graham, whose father is from Arkansas and has family in Little Rock and Conway. "That was inspiring."

SAFETY IMPRESSED

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema gave safety Dillon Stoner of Jenks Okla., and his family a heads-up on the trick play that involved offensive lineman Sebastian Tretola throwing a pass to SEC Network sideline reporter Laura Rutledge during the spring game Saturday.

"We went into Coach B's office before and he showed us the practice film of that," Stoner said. "My sisters were fired up because they thought they learned something top-secret. I thought it was funny.

"He can throw. The big guy can throw for sure."

Stoner, 6-1, 180, 4.45, has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Washington State, Kansas, Rice, Arkansas State and Wyoming. He said his mother came away from the visit impressed with Arkansas.

"I think she was really impressed with everything, the facilities especially," Stoner said. "I think she really enjoyed talking to the coaches and watching some football as well."

Stoner recorded 48 tackles and five interceptions as a junior, returning one for a score. On offense, he had 35 receptions for 597 yards and 6 touchdowns and 10 carries for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Saturday's visit was Stoner's second to Arkansas and it allowed him to see more.

"That was the first time I got to go inside the stadium, so I was pretty pumped up to watch football," he said. "The crowd was great. Even though it was a spring game I think there was 40,000 or 41,000, so that was awesome."

He said committing to Arkansas during the visit crossed his mind.

"I thought about it, but I kind of knew I wasn't going to," Stoner said. "Hopefully, I can sit down with my family and make a decision pretty soon."

It appears to be a three-team race between Arkansas, Kansas and Washington State.

"They're definitely top three for sure, in no particular order," Stoner said of Arkansas. "They're definitely one of my top schools."

E-mail Richard Davenport at

rdavenport@arkansasonline.com

Sports on 05/01/2015