For the Texas game on Saturday, receiver Ryan Wingo — one of the top 2024 prospects in the nation — made his first trip to Fayetteville since 2011, when his brother, Ronnie, played for the University of Arkansas.
Wingo, 6-2, 198 pounds, of St. Louis University High School, has scholarship offers from the Arkansas, Notre Dame, Florida, Missouri, Ole Miss, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa State and others.
Because he was five years old in 2011, Wingo said he doesn’t recall much about about his previous trips to Fayetteville. He vaguely remembers the Hog Call that he heard again numerous times Saturday.
“Yeah, that was pretty cool,” Wingo said. “It seemed like I heard it before because when they did the Pig Sooie thing, it kind of brought back some memories when my brother was there. I liked it a lot. It was pretty cool to see all the student section doing it and people next to me doing it.”
Wingo, who’s rated by 247 Sports as the No. 2 receiver and No. 6 overall prospect in the nation for his class, said he enjoyed the game atmosphere.
“I liked it a lot. It was real loud,” said Wingo, who turned 15 years old on Feb. 15. “I liked everything about it.”
Like his older brother, Wingo isn’t lacking for speed. He recorded 4.39 seconds in the 40-yard dash during a combine on March 6 while also recording a 36.5-inch vertical leap and a broad jump of 10 feet, 1 inch.
Wingo won the 100 meters at the Class 5 District 2 meet in the spring as a freshman with a personal best 10.89 seconds. He recorded bests of 21.94 seconds in the 200 on April 24 and 50.81 in the 400 meters on May 1.
He said he was impressed with Arkansas’ play on both sides of the ball against Texas. He admitted the offense was attractive to him as a receiver.
“The defense was playing real good,” Wingo said. “They were including everybody into the offense. Running the ball, throwing it at times and it’s a fast-tempo offense, which would be something I would probably be good in when I get to college. It felt like I could play here one day.”
In the classroom, Wingo has a 3.1 grade point average at St. Louis University, a school with a strong academic reputation and is ranked in the top 7% of schools in the nation for highest composite ACT scores.
His father, Ronnie Wingo Sr., accompanied him along with teammates Joseph Harris, a sophomore receiver, and junior running back Kameron Bailey, and Bailey’s father, Keith.
The younger Wingo was able to meet Razorback receivers coach Kenny Guiton before the game.
“He didn’t really say too much about recruiting. 'This is the place to be,' kind of a thing,” Wingo said. “He introduced me to some recruits, talked to my dad a little bit. Otherwise, he’s kind like a big brother figure instead of a coach trying to recruit me. He didn’t really talk about it as much.”
Before leaving the stadium, Wingo tweeted, “Arkansas did not disappoint! Great atmosphere (and) can’t wait to visit again.” Numerous Razorback fans replied by encouraging him to be a Razorback.
“I got a lot of views and a lot of likes on that,” Wingo said. “Arkansas has a real big fan base. When I got offered by them, I posted it on Twitter and I got a lot of likes on that, too. I just knew Arkansas fans are probably the best fans you’ll probably see.”
Wingo said he and his father may travel back to Fayetteville on Oct. 16, when the Razorbacks play Auburn.