LITTLE ROCK — Louisiana receiver Armand Williams was somewhat surprised by what he saw while on his official visit to Arkansas over the weekend.
“I didn’t expect it to be like this,” said Williams, of Slidell, who reports a 42-inch vertical leap. “Most people in New Orleans were saying it was mostly desert-ess, but when I got here, it was beautiful. The campus is awesome, and the people are great. I came during the holiday when most students weren’t here and I still felt the vibe. That stadium, oh my god. That was something else, that stadium is huge.”
Williams, 6-3, 185, 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has numerous scholarship offers, including offers from Arkansas, Kansas State, SMU, Southern Miss and New Mexico. He had about 500 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns this year.
Williams’ player host was fellow Louisianan and defensive back Jerry Mitchell, who played in the same district as Williams.
“It was actually pretty cool to meet up with someone I actually played against, andI see him in the SEC and I know I can compete with that type of talent,” said Williams, who was one of eight recruits visiting. “He’s a pretty cool guy.”
Coach Bobby Petrino’s demeanor impressed Williams.
“Coach Petrino is a great man,” said the outgoing and personable Williams, who has a 3.5 grade-point average. “He doesn’t seem like ‘This is my team, I’m the man here’ but he is the man but doesn’t act like that. He acts like a normal person. I love Coach Petrino.”
ILLINI VS. HOGS
Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln linebacker Mark Wilson, 6-1, 225, 4.56, has toured football facilities at Georgia and Florida State, but he said Arkansas was a cut above.
“That’s the thing that stuck out to me the most,” Wilson said. “I’ve been to a few schools on unofficial [visits] but haven’t seen anything like it. The weight room was unbelievable.”
Wilson said attending Arkansas’ practice Saturday morning in the Walker indoor facility was one of the highlights of his visit.
“It was a real intense practice,” said Wilson, who’s orally committed to Illinois. “It was a high-tempo practice. I wanted to see how they practice because it was my first college practice. Everyone was flying around and hitting. It was a lot of competition in there.”
Wilson said he’ll visit Illinois and then make a final decision.
“I still have to go to Illinois Jan. 22,” he said. “But I’m going to go home and talk to my folks and wait to see how both of the visits go, and I’m going to go from there.”
RETHINKING THINGS
Receiver Quadarias Mireles, 5-10, 170, 4.4, of Delray Beach, Fla., orally committed to Ole Miss after taking an official visit there last week, but his visit to Fayetteville has him rethinking.
“I really don’t know,” Mireles said. “I have no idea. It’s going to be a tough decision, but I have to make it because I graduate early so I have to make it soon.”
Mireles said he was excited about the Razorbacks’ offense.
“The offense, the way throw the ball is crazy,” he said. “They throw it a lot, and, as a receiver, that’s what receivers look for, an offense that throws the ball.”
Mireles said he might visit Miami and hopes to decide on his college destination in January.
FANTASTIC FACILITIES
Highly recruited offensive tackle Damien Robinson, 6-8, 320, 5.3, of Olive Branch, Miss., said he came to Arkansas expecting to see nice facilities.
“I had high expectations coming here, and they met them,” Robinson said.
Robinson, who plans to visit Tennessee and Mississippi State before making a decision, perked up when talking about linebackers coach Reggie Johnson and offensive line coach Mike Summers.
“He’s pretty good guy,” said Robinson of Johnson, his lead recruiter. “He’s just cool all the way around. I could see myself being coached by him [Summers] someday.”
DONE DEAL
Offensive lineman Luke Charpentier orally committed to Arkansas after attending the South Carolina game but came away even more impressed while on his official visit.
“It definitely seals the deal on my recruiting,” Charpentier said. “Arkansas is where I want to go. I’m not going on any other visits.”
Charpentier, 6-4, 305, 5.1, of River Ridge (La.) John Curtis, had scholarship offers from SMU, Kentucky, Arizona and about 10 other schools.
MVP! MVP!
Arkansas commitment and defensive end/linebacker Chris Smith is finishing up his high school career with a bang.
Smith, 6-2, 230, 4.57, of Mount Ulla (N.C.) West Rowan, had 11 tackles, 4 sacks and 5 pass deflections in the Class3A state championship game Dec. 12 to win MVP honors. He played in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas on Saturday and earned the North Carolina defensive MVP award. The game matches up the top 44 players of North Carolina against the top 44 players of South Carolina.
Visiting sick children at Shriners Hospital in Greenville, S.C., left a strong impression on Smith, who had 8 tackles, 2 sacks and a 67-yard fumble return for a score.
“It was all for the kids,” Smith said.
West Rowan Coach Scott Young said Smith will be missed.
“Big-time players will make big-time plays, and that’s what Chris did today,” Young said of Smith’s second MVP performance. “I’m just at a loss for words for what he’s meant for our program. I can’t replace him next year.”
E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansaso nline.com
Sports, Pages 19 on 12/22/2009