It's camp week at the University of Arkansas, and junior quarterback Will Crowder earned his first Power 5 scholarship offer after working out for Coach Chad Morris and offensive coordinator Joe Craddock.
Crowder, 6-3, 187 pounds of Gardendale, Ala., came into Arkansas' two-day high school camp with offers from Southern Mississippi, Eastern Kentucky, Valdosta State and Campbell University. He threw for the Arkansas coaches Tuesday afternoon.
Will Crowder highlights
"Well I couldn't believe it at first and I'm just extremely blessed to have the opportunity," said Crowder of the Arkansas offer.
The Razorbacks coaches started the week with a youth camp on Monday morning before welcoming athletes for the high school camp in the afternoon. The junior high camp was Wednesday and Thursday.
The high school offensive and defensive line padded camp starts this morning and will be followed this afternoon by the Razorbacks elite passing academy for quarterbacks, receivers, tight ends and defensive backs.
The Hog Wild Elite high school prospect camp will wrap up the on-campus summer camps Saturday afternoon.
Crowder completed 148 of 215 passes for 1,932 yards, 17 touchdowns, while having 758 rushing yards for the Class 6A Rockets. Morris, Craddock and other coaches impressed him along with the facilities.
"I really liked the coaching staff," Crowder said. "They were very friendly and made me feel very comfortable. And they had a beautiful campus with great facilities."
Crowder is ready to see Arkansas again.
"Now I can't wait to get back," he said.
His mother accompanied him on the trip and liked what she saw.
"She loved the school and the educational opportunities," Crowder said.
While early offers don't guarantee a college landing a prospect, it does keep the school in the mind of the recruit going forward.
"To have my first Power 5 offer means a lot to me, just the fact to have set a goal early in my life and working towards that goal with a purpose and seeing the hard work pay off is really amazing," Crowder said. "It definitely means a great deal to me. They had faith in me and believe in me."
Official visits for three
Three official visitors will wrap up their official visits to Arkansas today.
Razorbacks receiver commitment Mason Mangum, along with defensive end Blayne Toll (Hazen) and running back John Gentry arrived Wednesday for the start of the visits.
Mangum, 5-11, 171 pounds, of Austin (Texas) Westlake, picked the Razorbacks on April 6 over scholarship offers from Illinois, Boston College, Tulane, Furman, Columbia and Louisiana-Lafayette. He has since added offers from Vanderbilt, Colorado and SMU.
He recorded the sixth fastest time of 4.45 seconds in the 40-yard dash out of the 14 athletes The Opening Regionals hosted throughout the nation this spring.
Toll, 6-6, 244 pounds, announced Arkansas, Oklahoma, Memphis, Tennessee and Ole Miss as his top five on May 2.
ESPN rates Toll a four-star, the No. 23 athlete and the No. 268 overall prospect in the nation for the 2020 class. The Hogs will be his first official visit followed by Tennessee next weekend.
Gentry, 5-11, 180 pounds of Houston North Shore narrowed his list of schools to Arkansas, UNLV, Houston, Utah State and Wyoming earlier in June.
He has a bests of 10.72 seconds in the 100 meters and 21.6 seconds in the 200 while also running runs a leg on the 400- and 800-meter relay teams. He has a 295-pound bench press, 595 squat and 315 squat.
Gentry had 1,300 all-purpose yards and more than 20 touchdowns as a junior to help lead the Mustangs to a 16-0 record and the Class 6A Division I state championship.
Another Catalon to UA
Former Southern University receiver and team captain Kendall Catalon, the older brother of Arkansas safety Jalen Catalon, has joined his brother in Fayetteville and is expected to sit out next season and have two years of eligibility.
Catalon, 5-9, 180 pounds, caught 33 passes for 424 yards and 5 touchdowns last season to help the Jaguars to a 7-4 record and a SWAC Western Division title as a sophomore. He also had 8 carries for 69 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Email Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports on 06/14/2019