Arkansas landed the commitment of defensive lineman Dion Stutts during Saturday’s Junior Day.
Stutts, 6-3, 270 pounds, of Memphis University School, picked the Razorbacks over scholarship offers from Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Missouri, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Indiana and several other schools.
He visited Fayetteville on Jan. 28 with his father. That got him to thinking Arkansas could be his school of choice.
"It surprised me. I didn’t expect it to look like that,” Stutts said. “It’s very country, and that fits me perfectly, because I’m country boy. The whole community accepts everybody. It’s like a small town, but it’s not it’s huge.
“I just felt like I was at home.”
He said defensive line coach Deke Adams and others on the staff made sure to include his family in the recruiting process.
“They contacted my parents, talking to them and seeing how they’re doing and they were even talking to my little brother and older brother and seeing how they were doing,” Stutts said.
Stutts wanted his mother and his brothers to see what Arkansas was about on this weekend’s trip, and his mother approved and told him he should commit if that’s what he wanted to do.
The relationship with Adams played a major role in his decision to be a Razorback.
“I love Coach Adams. If he wasn’t a good person, I don’t think I would’ve committed there,” Stutts said. “He is one of the best D-line coaches I’ve met in the recruiting business. He kept it straight with me. He told me about his family and I talked to him about mine.”
National recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS Sports Network met with Stutts in November.
“I like him a lot,” Lemming said in January. “Good size, very determined on film, shows good quickness to the ball. He’s a 4-star prospect. He has a lot of room for growth, so I would believe he’d be a big catch for Arkansas.”
Being able to watch Adams interact with his players during Friday’s practice also helped him choose Arkansas.
“I got to watch him coach his players at practice and I was amazed how they respected him as a coach and how he talked to them because he treats his players like his own kids,” Stutts said.
He and his family are friends with Arkansas linebacker signee Alex Sanford and his family.
Stutts is also an outstanding wrestler who finished 2022 with 107 career victories. He made it to the finals of the Division II state championship last year in the heavyweight division.
He is the second commitment in Arkansas' 2024 class. Defensive end Kavion Henderson pledged to the Razorbacks in November.
Verbal commitments are non-binding.