The Recruiting Guy

Family atmosphere at Arkansas makes strong impression on Catalon

2019 safety Jalen Catalon.

Arkansas hosted highly recruited safety Jalen Catalon and his family for the Wooo Pig Nic on Friday, and the Hogs made a strong impression.

Catalon, 5-10, 180 pounds, of Mansfield (Texas) Legacy, narrowed the list to Clemson, Alabama, Texas, TCU, Ohio State, Nebraska and the Razorbacks. ESPN rates him a 4-star recruit, the No. 11 safety and the No. 211 overall prospect in the nation for the 2019 class.

“The trip was great,” Catalon said of the Arkansas visit. ”It was a good drive up there, and when I got there just seeing the campus and meeting the coaches and getting to hang out with the coaches and seeing their true colors and ... what they’re like. The campus itself is beautiful. It’s a great town. It’s a great college atmosphere. I had a good vibe there, so I definitely enjoyed my visit.”

He said he will probably narrow his list of schools down to four later in the season, and he expects the Hogs to make the cut. The visit was Catalon’s first trip in Fayetteville.

“It met my expectations,” Catalon said. “Everything I wanted in a school, it had to provide, just like the three other schools I’m looking at. I’m going to evaluate it and then narrow my list down. I think Arkansas will make that list for sure when it comes to my top schools. I’ll narrow down to a top four and from there look at my schools and see which best fits me. But Arkansas did check my box for everything I was looking for.”

Catalon took part in The Opening at the Dallas Cowboys headquarters at The Star in early July.

As a junior, Catalon recorded 93 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, 3 pass deflections, 4 recovered fumbles and a forced fumble while completing 61 of 116 passes for 1,120 yards and 15 touchdowns.

He was glad his parents, brother and sister were able to make the visit.

“I thought it was great for all of them to come down so they could all see what it was like and get a feel for it and get their own opinions on what it was like, and they all said they loved it,” Catalon said. ”They all thought it was a great visit.”

Catalon said the family atmosphere at Arkansas was the highlight of trip.

“You leave the atmosphere there with a great vibe,” Catalon said. “You kind of go to a place and you kind of get the vibe of the way it is. Just the family vibe that was there.”

He was impressed with how the staff and many of the prospects and family members felt comfortable with one another.

“Some people probably just met there, but they felt like they had known each other since they were little,” Catalon said. “Everybody was just hanging out with each other without really knowing each other, and it was really like a family-type deal, and I think that’s what really stood out to me. And I really looked at it like, ‘Man, this is a really neat deal to see a family atmosphere of people that just met each other.' That tells you what it’s like here in Arkansas, and they’ll support you.”

The next trip to Fayetteville will likely be for the Alabama game Oct. 6.

“That’s probably going to be the deal when I take my official visit,” Catalon said.