ESPN 4-star athlete Ahmonte Watkins hopes to run track in college and Arkansas is an attractive option after the Razorbacks offered him a football scholarship Wednesday.
Watkins (5-11, 175 pounds) of Houston Klein Forest received his 22nd offer from the Razorbacks to go along with others from Kentucky, Texas Tech, Virginia, West Virginia, Maimi, Colorado, Purdue and others.
He has recorded bests of 10.44 seconds in the 100 meters and 21.39 in the 200. He’s aware of Arkansas’ 41 national championships in men's track and field.
“I watch college track and I know Arkansas has one of the top track programs and it would be fun to see how they built that,” Watkins said.
Watkins moved to Houston in December after playing his junior season at Reserve (La.) Riverside Academy. Arkansas running backs coach Jimmy Smith informed him of his offer.
“He is a cool dude and he let’s you know what the deal is up front and I can see he has a passion about the game like I do,” Watkins said of Smith.
The Razorbacks have featured 12 running backs with more than 1,000 yards since 2000.
“I know they have a good run game built in the offense and they like to push their athletes to be the best,” Watkins said.
ESPN also rates him the No. 23 athlete and No. 265 overall prospect in the nation. The NCAA enacted a dead period on March 13 and has extended it until May 31. The NCAA will decide on May 13 whether to extend the period until June 30.
“It just made me realize that every second counts, so make the best of it and it just made me want to look at everything to see what truly fits me,” he said.