Arkansas 4-star linebacker target Brian Huff will kick off the first of at least four visits in the near future with a trip to Fayetteville on Saturday.
He also plans to visit Missouri on March 11, Notre Dame on March 25 and LSU on April 1. While Arkansas won’t start spring practice until March 9, the other three schools will be conducting practices during his visit timeframe.
“I want to see what it’s like during the offseason when they’re not playing football,” Huff said. “I want to see what it’s like going through the practices and stuff. I just want to see what the practice will be like, like the pace, what they do.”
Huff, 6-3, 225 pounds, of Valley View High School, has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Missouri, LSU, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, UNLV and other programs.
On3.com rates him a 4-star prospect, the No. 13 linebacker and No. 164 overall prospect in the nation in the 2024 class. He is rated the No. 2 recruit in Arkansas.
He said he communicates with the entire Arkansas defensive staff, but mostly talks with defensive coordinator Travis Williams and assistant linebackers coach/senior defensive analyst Jake Trump.
“We have a whole big group chat. I really talk to all of them, but Coach T-Will and Coach Trump the most,” said Huff, who recorded a 300-pound bench press, 295-pound power clean and 415-pound squat last summer.
Arkansas is only school that recruits him with the entire defensive staff, but Missouri is also recruiting him hard.
“I talk to four different coaches there,” Huff said of Missouri. “I talk to the DB coach, the linebacker coach, the defensive coordinator and then from time to time I talk to the head coach.”
He previously visited Arkansas on Jan. 29 last year after receiving his first offer from the Razorbacks on Jan. 25. He also visited for the South Carolina and Alabama football games last fall.
Williams, who posted a video of himself on Twitter rapping while the co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Auburn in 2020, has a fan in Huff when it comes to his rapping skills.
“Coach T-Will is real cool,” Huff said. “I saw that video of him freestyling. That was pretty awesome. I think he can rap a little bit. It was pretty good.”
Huff recorded 72 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 quarterback hurries, 3 interceptions, 3 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles and 2 recovered fumbles as a sophomore, and he was named to the All-Arkansas Preps Underclassman Team.
He had 92 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 3 recovered fumbles, 1 forced fumble, 2 pass breakups and 1 blocked field goal as a junior.
Huff has seen his relationship with Trump intensify since their first meeting.
“Coach Trump is real cool,” he said. “I met him for the first time when I went on my visit last January. We’ve talked from time to time since then we’ve been talking more. He’ll text me after my games and ask how it went.”
Huff, who is considering business or sports management as possible majors in college, averaged 3 points and 4 rebounds per game for the Blazers basketball team this season.
“It gives me something to do when I’m not playing football, and I can still lift when I’m not doing (basketball),” Huff said. “I don’t see a point in not playing.”
He is looking to narrow his list of schools after he takes his five official visits this summer.
“Maybe (I will) commit like the first game into the season, second game,” Huff said.
He is hoping to enroll at the school of his choice in January.
“I’m thinking of graduating in December,” he said.