LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas has recruited some notable football prospects from the St. Louis area over the years. Names like Steve Atwater, Ben Cowins and Bobby Joe Edmonds are a few that come to mind.
The Razorbacks are back in the area and hoping to add a highly regarded running back to the 2009 recruiting class.
Ronnie Wingo, 6-3, 212 pounds, 4.41 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of St. Louis University High School was on the Arkansas campus Thursday for an unofficial visit. He learned pretty quickly how much Coach Bobby Petrino wants someone like him in the backfield.
"I liked the school a lot, the coaching staff was nice, the people were nice," Wingo said. "They really, really, really stressed how much they wanted me to come there. I can't remember how many times I heard 'We need a big back,' 'We need you,' 'We need you.' Coach Petrino kept saying he liked big backs. They said they need a big back over and over and over. He had a lot of big backs at Louisville, so I know he wasn't blowing me smoke."
Wingo appreciated running backs coach Tim Horton's approach toward recruiting him.
"He's a nice guy," he said. "He was straightforward. Some schools talk about how you can come play right away. He said you come in and do your job and you'll play."
Wingo has 12 scholarship offers, including offers from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Alabama, Tennessee and Nebraska.He rushed for more than 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns as a junior, and as a sophomore he had 280 carries for 1,475 yards and 11 touchdowns.
CBS College Sports national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming believes Wingo is the best player in the Show Me State and one of the finest running backs in the nation.
"He's the No. 1 player in my opinion in the state of Missouri," Lemming said. "He's a bona fide tailback that runs low to the ground. He's very strong and productive. He can catch and run and block. I think he's one of the premier running backs in the country."
The day before arriving in Fayetteville on Thursday, Wingo and his father visited Oklahoma. They have previously visited Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas. Wingo's past two trips have him rethinking.
"To be honest, this week before I visited Oklahoma and Arkansas, I was about to commit to Missouri and was sure about it," said Wingo, who won the 200 meters last summer at the 2007 AAU National Junior Olympics in 21.57 seconds. "But I went to Oklahoma and Arkansas, and it's wide-open now."
Wingo said he initially thought he would make an early decision but now plans to take all five of his official visits. He said Arkansas is definitely in the running for one of them.
As with most other recruits who have visited and seen Arkansas' weight room, Wingo was awe-struck and said no other school's facility compared with what he saw at Fayetteville.
"The weight room, oh my, that was like two universities' weight rooms put together," Wingo said. "They told me over the phone about it, but it was just crazy how big it was. Everywhere else we've been there's no comparison at all."
HIGH ON HAWTHORNE
Arkansas is also looking in the St. Louis area for help at wide receiver, and Terry Hawthorne of East St. Louis (Ill.) is interested in the Razorbacks.
Hawthorne, 6-1, 185, 4.49, had 62 receptions for 1,152 yards and 18 touchdowns his junior year.
He said he has offers from Arkansas, Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas Tech, Kansas, Kansas State, Ohio State and Notre Dame.
Hawthorne attended Illinois' football camp Saturday and hopes to make three other camps, including the one at Arkansas.
"I'm going to try and make Arkansas, Arizona and Oklahoma camps," Hawthrone said. "They [the Razorbacks] are in my top five."
Hawthorne said he grew up being an Ohio State fan, but the Buckeyes are recruiting him as a safety and he wants to play on offense. He said he plans to take all five of his official visits, some during his season.
Lemming said Arkansas is in contention for one of the best in the country.
"Hawthorne is one of the premier wide receivers in the nation," Lemming said. "He's a go-to guy. A great punt returner.He's exceptional out in space once he catches the ball, great moves. He's a guy that could end up in the NFL in four years. He's got those types of tools."
LISKO WALKING ON
Hazen offensive lineman Zack Lisko will walk on and play football at Arkansas. He said he'll report to Fayetteville on June 29 and start summer classes the next day.
Lisko 6-4, 295, 5.2, was selected to play in the Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star game Friday night at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. He was offered by Arkansas Tech and received interest from Auburn and Arkansas State.
Lisko said he decided to be a Razorback about a month and a half after national signing day in February.
"I'll be either at guard or center, more likely a guard," said Lisko, who can bench press 365 pounds.
Lisko comes from a football family. His uncle Frankie Lisko played and lettered on the defensive line at Arkansas in 1983 and 1984. His father, Freddie, (1975-78) and uncle Jimmy Lisko (1972-75) played for Arkansas State.
E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports, Pages 19 on 06/24/2008