2013 College Football Recruiting: Hogs Host Seven Prospects
By Ryan Wright
January 4, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Team Nitro defensive end Chris Jones (98) rushes past Team Highlight offensive tackle Denver Kirkland (72) during the first half at the Under Armour All-America high school Game at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Fayetteville, Ark. – The University of Arkansas football staff has brought seven potential prospects onto campus this weekend in hopes of gaining their verbal commitments. The Razorback recruiting class currently has 13 total commitments, including five junior college players that already signed their letters of intent, and are ranked No. 65 in the nation due to their low verbally committed numbers this late in the game.
Among those visiting the Arkansas campus this weekend is four-star offensive tackle Kenny Lacy. Lacy, 6’6”, 270 pounds played at Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix, Ariz. Lacy has reported offers from 24 different schools including Oklahoma, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Ohio State, and Kansas State. Lacy committed to UCLA in Sept.
Houston area offensive tackle Dwayne Johnson, 6’6”, 275 pounds, arrived on Friday. Johnson, a three-star prospect, has several offers from FBS programs including Oklahoma, Washington State, Purdue, and Virginia among others.
The Hogs biggest competitor for Johnson’s services may be Nebraska. Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini has recruited Johnson hard including an in-home visit on Wednesday still Johnson has not verbally committed to the Huskers.
Another offensive tackle the Hogs are getting to know is Denver Kirkland. Kirkland, 6’5”, 333 pounds, is a four-star recruit from Booker T. Washington in Miami. Kirkland has been heavily recruited throughout the nation drawing offers from big in-state schools University of Miami and Florida State to schools on the west coast, UCLA and USC.
Kirkland has taken three other official recruiting visits; Florida State, Miami, and South Florida. The Hogs may have a tough time taking him out of his home state.
Safety De’Andre Coley maybe a steal for the Arkansas staff. Coley enters the recruiting ‘season’ as a highly overlooked player with all of the physical tools to be a contributing player at the next level. At 6’1”, 185 pounds, with 4.4 speed in the forty-yard dash, Coley could be a dynamic player in the Hogs secondary.
Coley is expected to commit to the Hogs if offered this weekend. He has offers from Cincinnati, North Colorado, and Jackson State.
Defensive tackle Ke’tyrus Marks from Riviera Beach, FL, is also another nationally overlooked recruit the Hogs aim to sign. Marks, 6’2”, 285 pounds, has been on Bielema’s radar since arriving to Fayetteville. Projected as a two-star recruit, Marks has offers from Wake Forest, Western Kentucky, and Florida Atlantic among other schools.
Three-star cornerback D.J. Dean from Newton High School in Texas is another recruit that is expected to commit if all goes well this weekend while on the Fayetteville campus. Dean, 5’11”, 175 pounds, 4.5 speed in the forty, projects as a cover corner in college.
Dean has approximately 14 scholarship offers, the majority from in-state schools, including Utah, Washington State, Illinois, Arkansas State, and SMU.
Running back Alex Collins might be one of the more wanted/needed recruits the Arkansas staff covets for the 2013 recruiting class out of the skill position players offered. The Razorbacks lack of depth and depletion of talent due to graduation allows a lot of opportunity for incoming tailbacks to potentially grab playing time early.
Collins, 5’11”, 207 pounds, has been a beast for South Plantation High School (FL) over the past two seasons playing at the highest classification in-state. Collins committed earlier this season to University of Miami but de-committed as possible sanctions on the Hurricanes are pending.
Bielema and Collins are familiar with one another as Collins took an official visit to University of Wisconsin in October. Collins visited Miami earlier this week and has visited University of Florida and Florida State.