HOG FUTURES: Britto Tutt took Ventura byway to UA

The sixth in a series profiling the newcomers to the 2016 Arkansas football team.

Britto Tutt had plenty of options coming out of Richmond County, Ga., last year.

A handful of NCAA Division II schools showed interest in Tutt, a defensive back. Then, as signing day neared, he had offers from Division I FCS schools Illinois State and Old Dominion.

But Tutt passed on all of them in February 2015, instead maintaining his belief that he could play for a Power Five school.

So, Tutt rolled the dice and headed west -- almost 2,400 miles from his east Georgia home to Ventura (Calif.) Community College.

Tutt qualified academically out of the Academy of Richmond County in Augusta, Ga., so he didn't go to a junior college to improve his grades.

He did it to improve his stock on the field.

"He actually felt in his heart of hearts, that he could do better than that," said Chris Hughes, who coached Tutt at Richmond County. "And we did, too."

Sure enough, one season at Ventura led to him becoming a March signee with Arkansas.

Tutt, 6-2, 184 pounds, who will play cornerback for the Razorbacks, can say now that the Ventura detour worked.

"I took my chances by coming here," Tutt said.

The story of why Tutt got a bit overlooked while in high school goes back to his slight frame, his high school needing him to play more than one position, and, to a lesser extent, his late focus on football.

Hughes said Tutt played varsity basketball in ninth and 10th grades He was never much of a scorer, but turned into a defensive stopper.

"Britto always thought that basketball was his ticket," Hughes said.

That changed during his junior season, and that's when Hughes saw him take his biggest steps. He played cornerback and safety as a junior, then Hughes said Tutt learned how to use film study to his benefit before his senior year.

But, because of what the team needed at the time, Hughes played Tutt mostly wide receiver as a senior. Tutt would find his way into the defense as a nickelback on key downs, but it wasn't very often.

"He was so good on the field that we couldn't take him off," Hughes said. "We don't have a bunch of kids who play two ways, but he did for us."

Tutt's recruiting attention heated up when it got closer to signing day, but it still didn't come from schools he desired. He said Georgia Tech was showing interest, but since he was a late qualifier, it never offered. So, Tutt went west to Ventura -- on the California coast about an hour north of Los Angeles and an hour south of Santa Barbara -- where Hughes had sent players in the past.

There, Tutt said his plan was to concentrate on his classes and maybe play two seasons with the Pirates.

He said he took 18 credit hours in the fall and 15 in the spring, but his timeline shortened when he came into his own while playing defense full-time again.

Tutt made 40 tackles, intercepted a team-high four passes and returned an interception and a fumble for a touchdown.

"He just wanted to go out there and see where it went," Hughes said. "He was willing to wait two years, but he got a lot stronger. He's always been fast. He had a fantastic year, and after this year he had a bunch of people calling and it kind of snowballed from there."

New secondary coach Paul Rhoads was the first to get in contact from Arkansas. Tutt said he arrived home for spring break in March when Hughes told him Rhoads, just hired by Bret Bielema three weeks after signing day, called.

"He said they didn't have any corners in this class and he wanted me on a visit," Tutt said. "I knew I wanted to go there, just because it's the biggest conference and I wanted to compete in it."

Tutt started receiving interest from Arizona State, Oregon State and South Carolina. But he committed to and then signed with Arkansas on March 29 -- not long after he and some teammates at Ventura were talking about Arkansas as a desired location for their careers.

"It was just a big coincidence," Tutt said. "We had just got done talking about them."

Tutt's fork-in-the-road recruiting process was complete with his June arrival in Fayetteville, where he wants to compete for a spot early.

Hughes, who is now the principal at Richmond County, is watching from afar pleased with how it turned out.

"I think it worked out for him, but it was strange," Hughes said. "We've kind of seen it all, but I've never seen anything like this."

Sports on 07/07/2016