The Recruiting Guy

Recruiting guru talks up 4-star St. Louis lineman set to visit UA this weekend

Arkansas football helmets sit atop storage bins during a game against Mississippi State on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017, in Fayetteville.

Offensive lineman Jack Buford has 29 scholarship offers and numerous invites to visit schools, but the Arkansas Razorbacks will get his first official visit this weekend.

Coach Chad Morris and offensive line coach Dustin Fry are big reasons why he's traveling to Fayetteville.

"They've earned an official visit because they've been recruiting me and I haven't been down there yet, and another thing is Coach Fry and Coach Morris have been doing a good job of recruiting me," Buford said. "Coach Morris is always fired up when he talks to me. I feel the love from him."

Buford, 6-5, 325 pounds, of St. Louis Lutheran North holds scholarship offers from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Auburn, Oklahoma, Missouri, Florida, Michigan, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and others.

He likes the Razorbacks being the only Power 5 team in the state.

"They're like the professional team and college team," Buford said. "There's nothing like college towns. You can be in big cities, but it isn't like a college town where everyone knows you."

CBS Sports national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming rates Buford a 4-star prospect.

"He is the best offensive lineman I had seen in the state of Missouri," Lemming said. "Big, strong agile, very active and aggressive. A terrific talent. I was very impressed with his size and overall skill set."

Fry's consistent message to Buford is probably the biggest factor in his interest in the Hogs.

"He's really been doing what he's been doing from day one," Buford said. "That's what I like. He really hasn't switched up the way he acts or how he talks. That's a big key for me."

His father Tony Buford also attended Lutheran North before playing linebacker at Tulsa and one season with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1987. His father has been friends for years with several high school teammates, including former Razorback and NFL return man Bobby Joe Edmonds.

"They all went to Lutheran North and they all grew up together and they were all like close friends," Buford said. "So growing up, I always referred to Bobby Joe as my uncle."

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Buford said he and his father will spend time with Edmonds, who lives in Fayetteville.

"He's fired up in the inside, but he's so laid-back back you can't really tell," Buford said. "I can tell he's fired up because he's talking about it."

The only other official visit he has planned is one to Oklahoma, but will take his other three before making his college decision this summer.

"I really don't know after that," Buford said. "I'm just going to have to break down which schools I actually want to visit."

Buford enjoys interacting with fans on Twitter and said the Razorbacks fans along with Oklahoma and Nebraska fans are the best on the social media site.

"I see a lot of people from Fayetteville being fired up," Buford said. "I'm getting a lot of Twitter DMs just saying 'Woo Pig. Can't wait for you to come down'."

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Fort Smith Northside sophomore center Jaylin Williams became the fifth in-state sophomore to receive a scholarship offer from Razorback Coach Mike Anderson on Tuesday.

Williams, 6-9, 215 pounds, averaged 7.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots this past season for the Class 7A state runner-up Grizzlies. Lamar extended an offer to him a few hours after the Hogs.

North Little Rock guard Moses Moody, 6-5, 185; forward Chris Moore, 6-6, 210, of West Memphis; guard Davonte Davis, 6-4, 175, of Jacksonville Lighthouse; and guard Gerald Doakes, 6-1, 160, of Jacksonville are others with offers from the Razorbacks.

future150.com rates Moody the No. 27 prospect in the nation for the 2020 class.

Williams plays for the 15-under Joe Johnson Arkansas Hawks. Hawks founder and chairman Bill Ingram is high on his ability.

"He probably has the biggest ceiling of any of the players in that class probably with the exception of Moody," Ingram said. "His ceiling is unbelievable. He's already skilled for a big kid. He's a pretty good athlete and on top of that he's academically ready right now."

Oklahoma State, Stanford, Auburn, Georgia, LSU and others are showing interest in Williams. Ingram said he's capable of playing for the 17-under Hawks.

"We may play him up this summer," Ingram said.

E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com

Sports on 05/04/2018