While on a recent one-hour flight during the spring evaluation period, Arkansas offensive line coach Kurt Anderson jotted down a list of things he believes in professionally and personally. Then he posted them on Twitter.
Some of his thoughts focused on faith, family, football and philosophy on life.
Anderson's list caught the attention of Arkansas offensive tackle target Dalton Wagner, who retweeted the list.
"My family and I were actually talking about them over dinner," Wagner said. "It was very cool seeing that kind of stuff. Seeing his list of goals ... not really goals, but what's important to him. Those values he has, they're something."
"He put his family and faith first which I'm a heavy believer in. He does very well with that."
Wagner, 6-9, 300 pounds, of Richmond-Burton High School in Richmond, Ill., has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Illinois, California, Indiana, Louisville, Utah, Virginia and others.
Anderson mentioned several thoughts about his players, including, "Build a man off the field and he'll play like a man on the field."
"He wants them to be the best on and off the field, getting a degree because football has to end sometime and you have to do something when it does," said Wagner, who has a 3.0 grade point average while taking Advance Placement classes. "Having him show how he cares about all that is very cool to me."
Wagner and his father, Brad, visited Fayetteville in early March and hoped to return for a spring practice, but was unable to do so.
"I wish I was able to go and see a spring practice," Wagner said. "Seeing some videos of Coach Anderson and how practices are run was very impressive. I was excited. I was kind of all fired up."
He also said he plans to visit the Hogs in the near future.
"Sometime over the summer is my plan, if not the end of May, but probably over the summer," Wagner said.
Wagner said he has a tentative list of favorite schools that includes Arkansas, Indiana, California and Virginia. Any other school showing interest would get elevated if an offer comes.
"If I got an offer from Oklahoma, they would definitely wind up in there," said Wagner, who has also visited Indiana and Oklahoma.
Wagner said he plans to narrow his list of potential schools over the summer.
"I would like to be committed before the school year starts," he said.
Top 5
Arkansas hosted several top football prospects for the Red-White spring game and highly recruited running back Chase Hayden was one of them.
Hayden said he liked the visit so much, he put the Hogs in his top five.
Hayden, 5-11, 185 pounds, 4.47 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of Collierville (Tenn.) St. George's Independent School, reduced his list of more than 15 scholarship offers, in no particular order, to Arkansas, Illinois, Oklahoma State, South Carolina and Tennessee.
He said time spent with Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema and running backs coach Reggie Mitchell helped the Razorbacks make the cut.
"I had a good time talking to Coach B and developing a relationship with him and talking to Coach Mitchell," Hayden said. "That's really big and that's why they're in my top five."
Hayden, who rushed for 2,625 yards and 37 touchdowns last season, said he liked what Bielema had to say about his position.
"He told me about all of the success he's had with running backs and how it's a special position with him," Hayden said. "He told me how he runs an NFL offense and how he's going to play two backs, so the opportunity is there to come in."
Hayden also said he plans to visit the Hogs again during the summer to get a look at the dorms and learn more about academics at the school. He has previously visited Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Michigan and Memphis.
He called Arkansas' facilities "top-notch."
"They were some of the best I've seen," Hayden said.
If he signs with the Hogs, Hayden would work under Mitchell.
"He just seems like a guy that's going to get you better and seems like a guy you can talk to and has an open-door policy," Hayden said. "I like him a lot."
Hayden's father, Aaron Hayden, a running back at Tennessee in 1992-1994, was also impressed with Bielema and Mitchell.
"He really liked it," Hayden said. "He liked talking with Coach Mitchell, and he really liked Coach Bielema."
E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports on 05/10/2016