The Recruiting Guy

Hogs try to flip 3 while hosting 10

An Arkansas Razorback helmet at Chad Morris introductory press conference Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017.

Ten football prospects, including three recruits committed elsewhere, will wrap up their official visits to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville today.

Oklahoma athlete commitment Jaquayln Crawford, 5-10, 161 pounds, 4.55 seconds in the 40-yard dash of Rockdale, Texas; North Carolina defensive end commitment Nick Fulwider, 6-7, 245, 4.79 of Tyrone (Ga.) Sandy Creek; and Mississippi State safety pledge Myles Mason, 6-2, 205, 4.4 of Hewitt-Trussville in Trussville, Ala., are prospects Coach Chad Morris is hoping to flip to the Hogs.

Crawford has scholarship offers from Oklahoma, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M, Tennessee and numerous others. Justin Stepp, who was the receivers coach At SMU, is the lead recruiter of Crawford.

Fulwider has more than 20 offers from schools such as Arkansas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Louisville, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee and others.

He was a target of the Hogs under former coach Bret Bielema and was recruited by former defensive line coach John Scott. He, his mother and grandmother made an unofficial visit to Fayetteville in June.

Fulwider was one of several Georgia prospects, including defensive line commitment John Mincey, who Scott was able to get to visit Fayetteville over the summer. Bobby Allen, who was the director of high school and NFL relations under Bielema, has taken over Fulwider and Mincey's recruitment.

Mason was one of five prospects at his school to receive scholarship offers from the Hogs on Thursday. Former Shiloh Christian coach Josh Floyd is now the coach at Mason's school. Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Louisville and Tennessee are just some of his other offers.

Five in-state commitments also made visits this weekend, including athlete Sean Michael Flanagan, 6-1, 191, 4.47 of Charleston; defensive lineman Isaiah Nichols, 6-3, 265, of Springdale; defensive back Ladarrius Bishop, 6-1, 190, 4.35 of Ashdown; offensive lineman Noah Gatlin, 6-7, 300, 5.18 of Jonesboro; and offensive lineman Luke Jones, 6-5, 290, 5.1 of Pulaski Academy.

Receiver Mike Woods, 6-2, 190 pounds, 4.43 of Magnolia, Texas, became Morris' first commitment at Arkansas last Sunday. He also made the trip to Fayetteville and was able to see his future home for the first time.

Fordyce defensive lineman Billy Ferrell, 6-3, 330, visited with his parents. He received an offer from Morris on Dec. 7. He's also recently received offers from Alabama, Louisville and Wisconsin to go along with others from Colorado State, Memphis, Arkansas State University and others.

Model Pool

Arkansas Razorbacks linebacker commitment Bumper Pool is highly regarded on the football field, but he's equally respected off the field and for his work in the classroom.

Pool, 6-2, 220, 4.79 of Lucas (Texas) Lovejoy had more than 20 scholarship offers from schools such as Alabama, Michigan, Southern Cal and others before fulfilling his childhood dream and pledging to the Hogs about a year ago.

Lovejoy school district Superintendent Ted Moore said Pool stands out among the 1,300 students at the high school.

"I describe Bumper as a model kid," Moore said. "Even if he wasn't an outstanding athlete, he would standout in any high school. He's a 'Yes sir, No sir' type of kid. He's nice to all students, whether they're athletes or not."

The future Razorback participates in Reading to the Leopards, a program where football players read to elementary students in the school district.

"He's great at that," Moore said.

Michele Riddle was Pool's sophomore English teacher before being promoted to work as the secondary English curriculum coordinator.

"His maturity is what I remember most about Bumper," Riddle said. "Even as a sophomore, he didn't get caught up in those small details of high school life that we, as adults, all know don't matter later on down the road. He was extremely focused on his goals."

Pool has a 3.75 grade-point average.

"We're pretty serious around here about academics, and he works in the classroom like he works on the field, which is really going to set him up when he goes to college," Moore said.

Email Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com

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Sports on 12/17/2017