TYLER, Texas — Highly recruited junior defensive end Landon Jackson is one of three prospect from Texarkana, (Texas) Pleasant Grove with offers from Arkansas.
He visited Fayetteville for the Fall Kickoff Cookout in late July and is considering another visit to Arkansas after his team gets into the playoffs.
Jackson, 6-6, 240 pounds, had more than 20 scholarship offers, but he narrowed his list to Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Washington on July 5.
• Junior defensive end Torey Phillips said he cried when he learned of his offer from Arkansas on Sept. 11 and immediately called his mother, who is a big fan of the team. The offer was his first.
Phillips, 6-7, 270 transferred to Pleasant Grove after playing last season at Hope. He said his role model and late uncle was a huge Razorback fan. He visited Fayetteville for the San Jose State game.
• Junior defensive end Marcus Burris, 6-5, 275 of Pleasant Grove received his first offer from the Hogs in the spring and several schools including Texas, Alabama, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Texas and others followed. His father is from Ashdown and is a Razorback fan.
He visited Fayetteville shortly before his offer and has plans to visit again.
• Junior linebacker Clayton Smith, 6-4, 220 pounds, also visited Arkansas for the cookout in July. He said he has plans to attend an Arkansas game this fall. He said the majority of the people in town are Razorback fans and he's always being urged to play there.
He has 10 scholarship offers from schools like Arkansas, Texas, TCU, LSU, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Ole Miss and others.
• Arkansas receiver commit Savion Williams, 6-5, 215 of Marshall, Texas, is playing quarterback now after the starter was dismissed from the team. Coach Jake Griedl believes Williams could be one of the top quarterbacks in the nation had he started playing the position earlier in high school.
Williams shows nice arm strength along with impressive throwing motion despite being thrown into the starter role without any previous experience.
Williams raves about the Arkansas staff and how he feels at home when he's in Fayetteville. He's been in the ear of Marshall junior defensive back Lyrik Rawles, who visited Arkansas on Saturday.
Rawles, 6-1, 190 has offers from Arkansas, Missouri, Texas Tech, Tulsa and others. He was impressed with the fans and the facilities on Saturday. He said Arkansas is his leader right now.
• Arkansas athlete commit Kelvonty Dixon, 6-0, 173 of Carthage, Texas, was disappointed with Arkansas' loss to San Jose State, but believes the Hogs will improve as the season goes on. He said he pledged to Arkansas because of the home-like feeling he gets when he's on campus.
• Tight end commitment Allen Horace, 6-5, 242 of Crockett, Texas, also visited for the Hogs' game against San Jose State on Saturday. He was pleased with the way the fans stayed with the team during the game. Some schools are trying to stay in touch with him, including Oklahoma, which recently reached out.
Horace said the East Texas ties the Arkansas staff has is a big deal to him. Arkansas' history with two Mackey Award winners, D.J. Williams and Hunter Henry, helped play a role in his decision to commit.
• Junior running back Jordan Jenkins, 6-1, 200 of Linedale, Texas, made his second trip to Arkansas on Saturday. He was definitely disappointed with Arkansas' performance, but liked the fight the team showed in the second half.
He liked the game atmosphere and the support the fans gave the team. Jenkins has offers from Arkansas, Baylor, BYU and Louisiana-Monroe. The Razorbacks were the first to offer.
Coach Chad Morris is the only head coach to communicate with Jenkins.
• Junior defensive end Jaymond, Jackson, 6-4, 218 of Linedale, Texas, also talks to Morris. He said Morris direct messages him on Twitter before each game. The interaction makes him feel wanted.
Jackson visited Arkansas for the spring game. He felt home during the visit because of his love of the outdoors, including fishing, hunting and riding horses. He believes Fayetteville fits him.
He has offers from Arkansas, SMU, Louisiana-Monroe and Southern Mississippi.
He's drawing interest from Texas, Oklahoma State and others.