MAUMELLE — A crowd of family, friends and classmates gathered in the Maumelle High School gymnasium Wednesday morning to watch Andrew Chamblee and Nico Davillier, key parts of Arkansas’ 2022 early recruiting class, sign their letters of intent.
Chamblee and Davillier, both top-10 prospects in the state of Arkansas, are considered the second- and eighth-rated Razorback prospects among those who signed their letters of intent Wednesday, according to 247Sports.
“It feels great,” Chamblee, donning an Arkansas hoodie, said after signing. “All my nerves are gone, and now all that’s on the brain is getting up to The Hill and working.”
Chamblee, who is listed at 6-6, 285 pounds, said he intends to enroll early, moving to Fayetteville and joining the program in January. Davillier, who will play on the defensive line at Arkansas, intends to join the team in the summer, as he’ll stay in Maumelle to compete with this year’s boys basketball team.
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Davillier, listed at 6-4, 275, averaged 10.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game for a Maumelle team that made a 5A State Championship game appearance last season. Davillier said that, while at first the decision to stay was difficult, a discussion with the Arkansas coaching staff helped change his mind.
“I talked to Coach [Sam] Pittman and Coach [Jermial] Ashley, and they were like, ‘Yeah, you can hoop. It’ll keep you in shape, keep you in good footwork and it’d just be better all around,'" Davillier said.
While the duo will arrive in Fayetteville six months apart, Chamblee said the hope is to room together. The two have played together since ninth grade, and Chamblee said they played against each other frequently in youth leagues.
“The bonding and connection that we’ve got, it’s unbelievable,” Chamblee said in reference to Davillier. “And it’s like that throughout the whole group chat.”
The two were a part of several Arkansas commits in the greater Little Rock and central Arkansas area to sign their letters of intent Wednesday. In Little Rock, Joe T. Robinson’s E’Marion Harris and Parkview’s James Jointer, who was at Mamumelle Wednesday morning, both signed their LOIs.
In Clarendon, both Quincey McAdoo and Dax Courtney did the same. In total, 10 in-state recruits signed with Arkansas.
“I think it made my decision easier, because I knew everybody that actually committed to the Hogs,” Davillier said. “And being with Andrew everyday at practice, working with him, doing one-on-ones, just getting better all around, making both of us better, it’s just iron sharpens iron. So, we’re ready to get to The Hill.”