Two days after visiting Arkansas and receiving a scholarship offer, speedy linebacker Carson Dean publicly committed to the Razorbacks on Monday.
Dean, 6-4, 232 pounds, of Carrollton (Texas) Hebron, has visited Notre Dame, Texas, Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU and Oklahoma since September. None of the schools compared to his first trip to Fayetteville on Saturday, he said.
Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman, defensive coordinator Barry Odom, linebackers coach Michael Scherer and assistant linebackers coach Jake Trump made him feel special.
“It was my best visit yet. The love and hospitality I got was crazy and I’ve experienced nothing like it (anywhere) else,” Dean said. “They made me feel very loved and showed that I was a priority.”
He accumulated offers from Texas, TCU, Ole Miss, LSU, Baylor, Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, Indiana and other programs before choosing the Razorbacks.
National recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS Sports Network rates Dean a 3-plus-star prospect. He recorded 86 tackles, 10 sacks, 5 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles and 1 interception that was returned for a touchdown as a junior.
Hebron coach Brian Brazil played Dean as an inside linebacker as a sophomore and outside as a junior.
“The main thing is that he is just a dominant explosive player on the field and just has the ability to make plays that not a lot of kids can make,” Brazil said. “That’s what makes him such a commodity as a D-1 football player.”
Dean, who has a 3.84 grade-point average, anchors his school’s 400-meter relay team and has recorded a 10.74-second split, and a 22.1-second split in the 800-meter relay.
He is the 10th commitment in Arkansas' 2023 class, which was rated No. 3 nationally by ESPN prior to Dean’s pledge.