The Recruiting Guy

Georgia QB likes Arkansas’ attention to detail

Joe Craddock, Arkansas offensive coordinator, during warmups before the game vs Alabama Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE — Highly recruited junior quarterback Carlos Del Rio has the University of Arkansas as one of his top schools in large part because offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Joe Craddock’s attention to detail.

“I really like his techniques and the way teaches me,” Del Rio said. “He gets more specific with it, going into deep detail on what he wants with footwork and hip wise.”

Del Rio, 6-3, 210 pounds, of Powder Springs (Ga.) McEachern, visited the Hogs on Thursday and Friday. He worked with Craddock on Friday afternoon.

He has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Michigan, Ole Miss, Miami, Louisville and others.

He said he believes Craddock’s coaching will help him this season.

“He wants me to turn my foot out to the target and keep my hips stable,” Del Rio said. “I feel like that will improve my passing game.”

Del Rio completed 156 of 273 passes for 2,138 yards and 20 touchdowns as a sophomore to help the Class 7A Indians to an 8-4 record. He said some coaches have stressed similar techniques, but not like Craddock.

“I got coached a couple of times, but it wasn’t as deep as he does,” Del Rio said. “They’ll just tell me turn your foot, but he tells me where he wants me to turn it. Hips staying stable and try and keep my arm tight like Tom Brady. With that being my first time hearing it in deep detail, it was amazing.”

The visit and Craddock’s teaching has the Hogs in the running for Del Rio.

“It most definitely makes Arkansas a top school,” Del Rio said. “I most definitely put Arkansas in top five.”

Often times a school’s football facilities are spaced out around campus, but Del Rio said he likes how Arkansas’ facilities are all connected.

“How everything is close together, so you don’t have to walk too far,” Del Rio said. “The weight room, the indoor field and outdoor field, locker room and players lounge [are] all in one.”

Del Rio, who said he plans to announce his college decision in December, has a 3.5 grade-point average and has plans to major in broadcasting.

Staying in Dallas

Arkansas quarterback commitment Chandler Morris led Highland Park in Dallas to a third consecutive Texas 5A Division I state championship last season, and he said he hopes to lead the Scots to a fourth consecutive title as a senior.

He completed 266 of 411 passes for 4,055 yards and 46 touchdowns while throwing only 6 interceptions and rushing 131 times for 652 yards and 19 scores as a junior.

Morris and his family followed his father — Arkansas Coach Chad Morris — to SMU from Clemson in 2014.

Some have asked why the younger Morris doesn’t join his father in Northwest Arkansas and play out his senior season.

“In eighth grade I moved there. I was in quarterback competition all the way until my sophomore year,” Morris said. “I won the job my sophomore year, the same time my dad got this job. My family has great respect for [Highland Park Coach Randy Allen] and the program. We decided I didn’t want to leave my friends. We understood we were going to have a good team coming up these two years, and I didn’t want to leave that.”

Morris, 5-10, 172 pounds, accumulated scholarship offers from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Clemson, Kansas State, Auburn, Colorado, Virginia Tech, Kansas and others before choosing the Hogs on Friday.

The family will be together again in the summer of 2020 and that makes for a happy mother.

“She has all of our family together for the first time since like 2014,” Morris said.

NCAA forbids coaches from giving recruits incentives to sign with a school. But being that his father is the coach at Arkansas, Morris said he is hoping he receives the same treatment as his sister, Mackenzie, who recently graduated from Texas A&M.

“I mean my sister got one when she went off to college, so I am expecting one,” Morris said, laughing.