Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman didn’t mince words during defensive line target Nico Davillier’s five-hour unofficial visit to Fayetteville on Wednesday.
“Coach Pittman don’t sugarcoat nothing. He said, 'Stay home,'” Davillier said. “That’s all he told me. I was just laughing. I knew he was for real, though.”
Davillier, 6-5, 275 pounds, of Maumelle, has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Georgia, Auburn, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Penn State, Purdue, Tennessee and other programs.
Pittman often talks life after football.
“He always talks about real life and education and stuff after football, and Arkansas would be a great place for that,” Davillier said.
His trip to Fayetteville was his first time time to visit the Fayetteville campus and see the Razorbacks' staff.
“I’ve been doing a lot of FaceTimes with them and always talking to them and it was finally nice to meet them,” he said. “They’re good people. We had a good time. We were all talking and laughing and talking about football.”
Daviller is one of 12 in-state prospects with an offer from the Razorbacks. Arkansas has commitments from seven, and defensive line coach Jermial Ashley wants him to be the eight in-state pledge.
“He told me I needed to stop playing and stay home,” Davillier said.
ESPN rates Davillier a 3-star prospect, the No. 38 defensive tackle in he nation and the No. 4 recruit in Arkansas. He had 39 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 1 forced fumble as a junior.
As a sophomore, he recorded 22 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 quarterback hurries and 1 forced fumble.
He was a key contributor for the Hornets basketball team that made it to the Class 5A state title game. Davillier averaged 10.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 50.6% from two-point range, 36.4% beyond the three-point line and 61.9% at the free throw line.
His teammate and offensive lineman Andrew Chamblee, along with other in-state pledges, are doing their best to have Davillier join them in Fayetteville.
“(Chamblee), Quincey (McAdoo), Dax (Courtney) and James (Jointer) and all the boys I’m in the group chat with all want me to stay at home,” he said.
Davillier said the Razorbacks' commitments are pretty convincing.
“They’re just trying to persuade me," he said, "so I just have to step back and think about it and wait for me to announce my decision.”
Originally from New Orleans, Davillier moved to Arkansas at the age of 2 because of Hurricane Katrina.
He made an official visit to Nebraska over the weekend and plans to officially visit Oklahoma on June 18-20 before announcing his college decision June 27. The toughest part of his decision will be telling coaches no.
“After you build a relationship with all of the coaches and visit the campuses and all that it’s hard to pick one school,” Davillier said.