THE RECRUITING GUY: Jamaican takes to football; Hogs take to him

— Tight end/defensive end David Perry has had a crash course in football in a little more than a year.

Perry, 6-6, 235, 4.65 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) University School, moved to Fort Lauderdale from his native Jamaica last year and lives with an aunt and uncle, according to Coach Roger Harriott.

Perry played football for the first time in August 2008, Harriott said.

"Prior to moving to the United States, he played rugby, soccer; he was a track and field star," Harriott said. "He actually moved to the United States to pursue the American dream."

Perry had 34 tackles, 5 sacks and 1 forced fumble last season. He has 13 tackles, 5sacks, 5 tackles for losses and 1 pass deflection this season along with 3 receptions for 39 yards and 1 touchdown at tight end.

Perry has scholarship offers from Arkansas, LSU, Florida, Oregon, Alabama, Florida State, Miami, Tennessee and others.

"He has about 20 schools he's really interested in, but initially, he had close to 40 offers." Harriott said.

Since Sept. 1, the first day college coaches start making one weekly call to prospects, Razorbacks tight ends coach and graduate assistant Chip Long has been in contact and developing a relationship with Perry.

"It's going pretty good," Perry said. "He's called me twice so far and asked me to visit and check them out. He comes across as a cool guy. He told me Arkansas doesn't have a professional team and they have a lot of support there."

Perry is still sorting through a list of 20 schools, trying to determine where he will travel for official visits.

"I'm not sure what I want to do yet, but I'm still looking at them," Perry of the Razorbacks. "I'm thinking about taking a visit to Arkansas, but I'm not sure yet."

While most recruits are impressed with Arkansas playing 16 freshmen last season and 13 this season, Perry is more focused on the future.

"I'm not too concerned about that," Perry said. "I still need to develop as a player."

Perry, who's rated the No. 14 defensive end in the nation and a top-150 prospect by ESPNU, said he's more of a pass rusher.

"I'm a type guy that chases someone and catches them," Perry said.

Harriott said Perry has been a fast learner.

"With the athlete that he is and the academic status he has, he took to the game pretty quickly," Harriott said. "He's progressively improved ever since."

While Perry possesses very good speed, Harriott sees him maturing into a special player.

"With the proper training and because of his stature and athletic ability and potential, he'll most likely get down to a 4.5 or so [in the 40-yard dash]. He's going to be a monster."

Long also is recruiting one of Perry's teammates, defensive lineman Max Beaulieu, who has a scholarship offer from Arkansas.

"The thing that impresses me the most about them is their character," Harriott said of Perry and Beaulieu.

IMPRESSIVE CHARACTERS

After talking to all of Arkansas' 2009 football signees for several months, I've been impressed with not only the talent of the young men but their individual character. The same could be said of the 11 oral commitments the Razorbacks have for the 2010 recruiting class.

The Hogs' newest commitment, safety Darrell Smith, who pledged early last week for Arkansas, is yet another prospect of whom Razorbacks fans can be proud.

Smith, 6-2, 185, 4.40, of Port St. Joe, Fla., has impressed people at his school for showing a kind heart, according to Coach Vern Barth.

"I've recently had a couple of the faculty members come to me and really express their pleasure of seeing Darrell's compassion for some of the physically and mentally handicapped kids we have," Barth said. "They all eat lunch with us in one common area, and he goes over almost every day and shakes their hands and says hello to them. When he has his jersey on, he lets them go over and see his jersey. He talks to them and tries to make them feel welcomed and let them know they fit in and they're part of the student body."

One special-needs student became emotional when Smith paid a visit.

"One of them almost cried when he first started going over there this year," Barth said. "He's continued to do it. He's just a remarkable young man. He never ceases to amaze me. Everybody just looks at him as the rough, tough football player, but deep down, he just has a sweet heart."

E-mail Richard Davenport at [email protected]

Sports, Pages 18 on 09/22/2009

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