The Recruiting Guy

Georgia DE excited about Hogs' defensive switch

Arkansas assistant coach John Scott Jr. directs his players Tuesday, March 28, 2017, during spring practice at the UA practice facility in Fayetteville.

Arkansas Razorbacks defensive line coach John Scott has defensive end Nick Fulwider ready to visit Fayetteville in the very near future.

"Coach Scott kind of told me a little bit about Arkansas and the defensive scheme I would be in, and so far it sounds really nice," Fulwider said.

Fulwider, 6-7, 245 pounds, 4.79 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of Tyrone (Ga.) Sandy Creek, said he plans to visit the the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville for the Hogs' spring game on April 29.

He estimates having 26 scholarship offers, including ones from Arkansas, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Louisville, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee and others. He also admits he's not sure of his total offers.

"I started losing count after the 15th," he said.

Fulwider also said Scott is in constant contact with him.

"Almost every day. If not, it's every other day," said Fulwider, who has a 33-inch vertical jump. "He's real cool and laid-back. He keeps it real."

Fulwider said some coaches seem to be giving him a sales pitch, but that's not the case with Scott.

"With Coach Scott, everything is kind of genuine," Fulwider said. "He'll talk to you like you've been friends for years."

The Hogs have moved away from the 4-3 scheme on defense to the 3-4. That's music to Fulwider's ears, he said.

"He said they're running the three-man [front] and that's the same thing we run at my school," Fulwider said. "So that would be pretty easy to come into right out of high school."

Fulwider, who has a 3.4 grade-point average, said he likes what he hears about the educational opportunities in Fayetteville.

"Academic wise, they have a good engineering program, which I plan on majoring in." Fulwider said.

Education and maintaining his grades are stressed at Fulwider's home.

"My mom is a teacher at my school," Fulwider said.

Still likes Baylor

Baylor offensive line commitment Jackson Kimble visited Fayetteville on Friday and Saturday and said he came away impressed with Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema and offensive line coach Kurt Anderson.

"I really liked Coach Anderson," Kimble said. "I liked his coaching -- the way he thinks coaching works. He goes through like three phases. It was visual learning and learning from demonstrating and learning from just hearing it. So he teaches three ways so everyone knows what they're doing by the time they're out there. There aren't too many questions because you've been taught three different ways. I thought he was a great guy."

Kimble, 6-5, 270, of Southlake (Texas) Carroll, has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Arizona State, Minnesota, Texas Tech and others. He said Bielema kept him laughing.

"Coach Bielema was a pretty funny dude," Kimble said. "I like his philosophies and the way he likes to coach."

He was able to take a tour of Arkansas' facilities Friday.

"The facilities in general were incredibly impressive," Kimble said.

He said the Razorbacks players made him feel at home.

"I met a couple players during the day and I was really surprised by how cool they were about coming up to me and saying, 'Hey, what's up?' " Kimble said. "I was just overall impressed with the school. I think it's beautiful place."

Kimble, whose father stands 6-8, said he remains solid to the Bears.

"I'm pretty solid with my commitment to Baylor, but Arkansas is a great school and anyone that has the opportunity to play at Arkansas is a very lucky person," he said.

Kimble was noncommittable about another visit to Fayetteville.

"We'll have to see," he said.

Hogs make cut

Offensive line target Blaine Scott cut his list of more than 30 scholarship offers down to five, and Arkansas made the cut.

Scott, 6-4, 300, of Portsmouth (Ohio) Sciotoville East, had more than 30 offers and cut the list to Arkansas, Ole Miss, Michigan State, Rutgers and Duke. He said his relationship with Coach Bret Bielema and offensive line coach Kurt Anderson have the Razorbacks in the running for his signature.

"I love what Coach Anderson and Coach B is all about," he said. "I love the town of Fayetteville and the people in it. The academics are great and so are the people."

He had plans to visit Fayetteville over the weekend, but his father had knee surgery and was unable to travel. He plans to announce his college decision on his birthday May 5.

E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com

Sports on 04/18/2017