Arkansas remained at the top of highly recruited linebacker Sharieff Rhaheed’s list of schools after he officially visited the Hogs over the weekend.
Rhaheed, 6-4, 212 pounds, 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of Fort Pierce (Fla.) Central, has more than 20 scholarship offers, including ones from Arkansas, Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Louisville and Ole Miss. He visited the Razorbacks in July along with his teammate, defensive end Rashawn Shaw, who is also being recruiting by Arkansas.
He admitted thinking of committing during the visit but held back.
“I thought about it,” Rhaheed said. “But it wasn’t serious.”
Arkansas’ 34-14 victory over Louisiana- Lafayette andthe fans at the game made a big impression, he said.
“Mainly the stadium atmosphere and the passion of the fans,” Rhaheed said. “I liked that.”
Rhaheed, who recorded 83 tackles, including 14 tackles for loss, and 9 sacks as a junior, watched Arkansas senior linebacker Jarrett Lake closely and liked how he was utilized.
“He was doing stuff I do well,” said Rhaheed, who plans to make official visits to Oregon and Louisville. “Like on first down he went to the bandit position and he rushed the passer. We’re like the same person. I do the same thing in high school.”
Rhaheed arrived Saturday morning for his NCAA-allotted, 48-hour visit and left Monday morning. Freshman defensive lineman Ke’Tyrus Marks and sophomore linebacker Otha Peters hosted him for his visit.
“They both said Arkansas has everything for me and I really would have a chance to play early,” Rhaheed said. “Otha plays linebacker, so he was telling me some of the things they do and how they would use me.”
He was encouraged that fellow Floridians, running back Alex Collins and offensive tackle Denver Kirkland, played in the first game of their college careers.
“It helped them a lot because I don’t want to go to a school and not play until like my third year,” Rhaheed said. “I want to play early.”ENJOYABLE VISIT
Arkansas men’s basketball coach Mike Anderson entertained combination guard Jalen Hudson and his father Jerry on an official visit Friday through Sunday.
“I really like Arkansas,” Jalen Hudson said. “I like the coaches. I think it is a real nice program and I would fit pretty well here.”
Hudson, 6-5, 190, of Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary, has approximately 25 scholarship offers, including ones from Arkansas, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Massachusetts. The Virginianative recently unofficially visited two schools in his home state and one bordering state.
“I went to UVA, Virginia Tech and West Virginia in a three-day span because I was on my back to Ohio from Virginia, and I just thought I would stop and see those schools,” Hudson said. “I haven’t set up any official visits other than this one yet. It is still kind of early so we will see what happens.”
Hudson, who averaged 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists per game last season in high school, saw his stock go up with his play during the spring and summer. He attends the same school LeBron James of the Miami Heat starred at during his prep days.
“He is just a great person all the way around,” Hudson said. “I have had a chance to sit down with him and he is just so humble. He just teaches you so much with a five-minute conversation. It’s crazy.”
The trip was somewhat of a reunion for his father and Arkansas associate head coach Melvin Watkins. The two were fraternity brothers at North Carolina-Charlotte.
“It was really great,” Jerry Hudson said. “We went to the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and were there during its heyday. We went to the NIT in 77, the NCAA in 1978. We went through a pledge process, which was eight weeks long. I probably would not have not gotten to know him so well if not for that, but we got to be very good friends and he is a man I have always respected.”
The younger Hudson has been urged to remain grounded during the recruiting process.
“The one thing that I wanted him to do is to remain humble,” Jerry Hudson said of his son. “He could potentially feel like he has arrived, but he hasn’t.”
Hudson hasn’t trimmed his list much yet and is hearing from some new schools trying to get into the mix.
“There are still some new schools that have been calling,” he said. “There are some schools that are definitely already off the list, but I haven’t had a chance to talk to them about that.”
E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkasasonline.com
Sports, Pages 19 on 09/03/2013