Safety J'Marick Woods, a major Arkansas recruiting target, made his way to Fayetteville for an official visit over the weekend and he said he's glad he did.
"Overall, it was probably one of the nicest visits I have been on," said Woods, who was one of five players making official visits to Arkansas over the weekend. "They're real nice, the atmosphere is nice and I got to tour the campus."
Woods, of Florence, Ala., 6-4, 205 pounds, 4.6 seconds for the 40-yard dash, committed to Michigan in March, but the Hogs have worked relentlessly to get him on campus.
"From when I first got here, they treated me like family," Woods said. "They want me, and it was a great feeling."
He has approximately 16 scholarship offers, including ones from Arkansas, Michigan, Florida, Tennessee, LSU, Vanderbilt, Duke and Penn State. National recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS Sports Network rates Woods as a four-star prospect.
"He runs the alley like he owns it, takes few missteps and is a sure tackler in space," Lemming said. "He seems to have a real good feel in zone coverage and has the suddenness to play man. His ball skills are top-notch."
The trip helped the Hogs' efforts to land Woods, he said.
"Definitely, they proved to me why they've been recruiting me and what they have been talking to me about," Woods said.
Woods, who was hosted by junior cornerback Kevin Richardson, said he also plans to take official visits to Michigan and Duke.
"I'm still giving all the colleges a chance," Woods said. "I'm still committed to Michigan, but I'm not going to keep any college out right now."
His parents, sister and brother accompanied Woods on the visit, and he said they were also impressed.
"They fell in love," Woods said. "They loved the atmosphere, the school and everything like that."
Woods said the Hogs' 49-30 loss to No. 1 Alabama on Saturday night will have no impact on his thinking of Arkansas. He also said he believes he would have an opportunity to see the field as a freshman should he chose the Razorbacks.
"It's just about the hard work you put in," Woods said. "It's not about how big the school is, it's just about the hard work you put in and what you bring to the field."
Nice trip
Kansas defensive line commitment Troy James, who also took an official visit to Arkansas for the weekend, said he liked how the Arkansas fans supported the Hogs during the game against Alabama on Saturday night .
"I loved the atmosphere of the game," James said. "The fans were really into it. It was just a great weekend and a great experience meeting with all of the coaches."
James, 6-3, 276, of Baton Rouge Madison Prep Academy, has approximately 20 scholarship offers, including ones from Arkansas, Kansas, North Carolina State, Wake Forest, SMU and Colorado State.
He and teammate Bryan Jones, an Ole Miss defensive end commitment, visited Fayetteville during the summer. He brought his parents this time.
"My mom said she loved everything that she saw," James said. "She was able to see everything that I told her and she said she really loves it and she wants to come back.
"The visit really opened up my eyes to a lot of different new things. The visit did a lot for Arkansas."
James, who said Kansas remains his top school, plans to also officially visit the Jayhawks and North Carolina State.
He was hosted by longtime friend and Arkansas defensive back Nate Dalton, who's from Baton Rouge.
"He's like my blood brother," James said. "With him being able to take me out and show me around, it was really good because I haven't seen him in a long time. We just bonded and talked about all the old times."
The chance to play in the SEC has major appeal, James said.
"In the SEC, you're basically one of the top dogs to be chosen to play in the [NFL]," he said.
Standing firm
Arkansas linebacker commitment Josh Paul said life as a Razorback is more than football after he took an official visit to Fayetteville over the weekend.
"It's more about family than football and they really care about you," Paul said. "They look after you after football. It's not just about football over here."
Paul, 6-2, 205, 4.76, of New Orleans De La Salle, picked the Hogs in June over scholarship offers from Ole Miss, Purdue, Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech, Tulane and numerous others.
He said his parents were just as impressed.
"They love it [Arkansas] more than me," Paul said.
Paul has recorded 49 tackles, a sack, 5 tackles for loss, an interception, a blocked punt and 2 forced fumbles with one returned for a score this season. During his visit, he was hosted by two Louisiana products, freshman linebacker De'jon Harris and defensive lineman Briston Guidry.
"I had a lot of fun with those guys," Harris said. "They told me I have to work hard and good things are going to happen."
E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports on 10/11/2016