FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas four-star cornerback commit Byron Hanspard, Jr. and his Desoto, Texas, squad picked up their 23rd straight win on Thursday.
Hanspard (6-0, 170 pounds) had 10 catches for 78 yards in Desoto’s 28-0 win over Irving. Desoto is the defending state champion after going 16-0 last year.
“The year is going by very fast and we are definitely grateful that the season has been as successful as it has been so far,” Hanspard said.
Hanspard, who will take his official visit to Fayetteville on Nov. 4, committed to Arkansas on March 15. He chose the Razorbacks over Oregon, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Vanderbilt and others.
He did so after taking an unofficial visit to Fayetteville and meeting with Arkansas coach Bret Bielema, defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, wide receivers coach Michael Smith and recruiting coordinator E.K. Franks.
“Taking the unofficial visit to Arkansas was truly a wonderful experience, talking with Coach Bielema, talking with Coach Paul Rhoads, talking E.K. Franks and Coach Smith and all those wonderful guys that have definitely had a tremendous part in the role of me coming to Arkansas,” Hanspard said.
“It was a wonderful, phenomenal experience we had on the unofficial visit and I can’t wait to get down there on Nov. 4 for the official visit.”
Hanspard is joined in the Desoto secondary by twins Gemon and German Green, who both are Michigan commits.
“We’ve all been playing really well,” Hanspard said.
Hanspard has been named an Under Armor All-American and will play in that game on Jan. 4 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
He has watched several Arkansas games on TV this season.
“One of the main things that I see for Arkansas is that we have a lot of injury problems,” Hanspard said. “ We lost one of our main receivers in Jared Cornelius, we lost one of best defensive backs in Ryan Pulley and we are dealing with a new offensive line.
“A lot of this is just a lot of change that is going on, not necessarily that the coaching might be bad or the effort we are giving might not be enough, it is simply that we are adjusting.”
Hanspard, whose dad is former Doak Walker Award winner, Texas Tech and NFL running Byron Hanspard, Sr., believes his future college team is in an adjustment period.
“The main thing about being an athlete is you have to know how to adjust and dealing with change,” Hanspard said. “Right now we are going through a phase that almost every college goes through and that is just with new people coming in, they have to learn the schemes, they have to get the reps that they need to better prepare for the next level.
“They have to continue to give effort because you can control your attitude and you can control your effort on and off the field and that is definitely is what Arkansas is doing. They are controlling their effort every play and their attitude through the storms that they are going through right now.
“They are still coming to work each and every day and giving great effort in practice, giving great effort in the film room, in the weight room. They have to continue to be interactive in to be able to have a successful season.
“So far we are not having the season we thought we should have, but of course everything has its process.
“So the main thing I see here is that we have to trust the process and it is going to work out for the good. Everything is going to be revealed and we just need to continue to trust the process and keep grinding and it will take care of itself.”