Mani Powell is bringing his game to Arkansas from the land of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Powell (6-3, 225 pounds), a 3-star linebacker prospect from Canton (Ohio) McKinley, committed to the Razorbacks on Friday afternoon.
"They...showed me everything I was looking for in a school," Powell said.
He is Arkansas' 14th commit in the class of 2022.
Linebackers coach Michael Scherer was aggressive in staying in touch with him.
"I’d say biggest impact he did was a great job of sticking with me in the recruitment process and showing me there was a home in Arkansas," Powell said.
Powell took an official visit to Arkansas on June 4-6. He chose the Razorbacks out of a final six that also included Michigan, Syracuse, West Virginia, Indiana and Toledo.
He took official visits to all of those schools except Toledo in his home state.
Powell also had offers from Ole Miss, Missouri and Kentucky in the SEC.
He had 81 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 7 quarterback pressures as a junior. He was named to the first team of the Division I All-Ohio football team by The Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association.
Powell made it clear after his official visit to Fayetteville that he was happy with what Arkansas coach Sam Pittman was trying to implement in his program.
"He's trying to bring in family," Powell said. "I made sure I told him that I want to go to a place where it feels like family all the time. Coach Pittman and the players made sure they broke it down to me that everything is about family here. There's a big atmosphere with the family, so that meant a lot.
“They're trying to change the atmosphere at Arkansas. They're trying to bring in great guys and keep pushing with great guys."