The Recruiting Guy

Hogs offer Hawks center Jaylin Williams

Ft. Smith Northside sophomore big man Jaylin Williams.

Fort Smith Northside sophomore center Jaylin Williams, who plays for the 15-under Joe Johnson Arkansas Hawks, has received a scholarship offer from Arkansas.

"It's crazy — this is where I've grown up my whole life, the team I've been watching since I was younger and ... I have the chance to play for them," Williams said.

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 shortly after the Hogs.

He knows determination and hard work pays off.

"Of course, I'm going to believe in myself, and I believe I can do anything I put my mind to," Williams said. "You just have to put in work to get to that."

He's also drawing interest from Oklahoma State and others. He had his phone off during school and turned it back on to find text messages from his parents about the offer.

"As soon as I got on my phone, my mom was saying congratulations," he said. "My mom was talking about how she was tearing up. Her boy is getting an offer from Arkansas. My dad is proud of me and everything, but he still wants me to work because he knows the potential I have."

He's the fifth in-state prospect in the 2020 class to receive an offer from 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.

Williams is projected to grow a couple more inches.