The Recruiting Guy

Visit puts Razorbacks at top of sophomore's list

An Arkansas football helmet sits on the ground prior to a game between the Razorbacks and Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, in Lexington, Ky.

University of Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman, his staff and the campus facilities surpassed the expectations of sophomore cornerback Toriano Pride during his visit Saturday.

"It wasn't anything like I expected," he said. "I ended up loving it. I love it at Arkansas."

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Pride, 5-11, 179 pounds, of St. Louis Lutheran North has 12 scholarship offers, including Arkansas, Florida State, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Minnesota.

Talking with Pittman, defensive coordinator Barry Odom and cornerbacks coach Sam Carter was the highlight of the trip.

"The coaching staff treated me like family, and it felt like home," Pride said. "I built a relationship with Coach Pittman. That was my first time talking to him. He just kept it real with me, just like Coach Carter."

Pride appreciated his one-on-one time with Carter.

"I felt the love when I was talking to Coach Carter," he said. "He showed me some film. He showed me some technique he teaches his DBs. He was showing me the proper technique. He had some film of me and showed me what I did wrong and what I did right."

Other people within the program, including the players, also made an impression on Pride.

"It just really opened my eyes," he said. "I was able to meet some of the people that are there. I talked to some freshmen like Trey Knox."

Pride and his father had visited Missouri, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas and Illinois before making the trip to Fayetteville.

"Those are probably the best facilities I've visited," Pride said of Arkansas. "I went into the locker room, and I thought that was the game locker room and they said that was the practice locker room. That amused me. The stadium was bigger than I thought it would be. It was huge."

He plans to make his way back to Arkansas.

"That's probably my No. 1 school right now," he said. "I think we're going back up for the spring game or spring practice."

Email Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com.

Sports on 02/04/2020