The Recruiting Guy

JUCO cornerback looking at Fayetteville visit

Chad Morris, Arkansas head coach, Saturday, April 7, 2018, during the Arkansas Red versus White Game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

The Arkansas Razorbacks are making highly recruited junior college cornerback Elijah Blades a priority and there's a good chance he visits Fayetteville.

"They want me to come in, they want me to be their guy," Blades said. "They have a want and a need for a corner right now. I love the way the way they're handling my recruiting right now."

Blades, 6-2, 175 pounds of Arizona Western College, has 20 scholarship offers from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, Oregon, Texas and others.

"I really don't have a favorite," Blades said. "I'm just going through the process right now."

Cornerbacks coach Mark Smith visited Arizona Western College on April 19 to watch Blades and offensive line target Desmond Bland during practice. Offensive coordinator Joe Craddock and offensive line coach Dustin Fry visited the school April 24.

Blades made an unofficial visit to LSU on April 24 and had plans to visit Oregon over the weekend. He's also expected to visit Tennessee this weekend, Ole Miss on May 31 and South Carolina on June 2.

A trip to Fayetteville looks promising.

"There's a good possibility," he said. "Actually we've been talking about it, we just haven't set a date yet."

ESPN rated Blades a 4-star recruit and the No. 265 overall prospect in the nation in the 2017 class out of John Muir High School in Pasadena, Calif. He signed with Nebraska, but fell short academically and enrolled in junior college.

Blades recorded 22 tackles, 4 pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble as a freshman. He's in no hurry to make a decision.

"Right now, I'm just going about it trying to take all of my visits, just going through the recruiting process to see who really wants me," he said.