LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas received word Friday that it is one of the finalists for offensive guard Jacob Fahrenkrug, one of the premier junior college prospects in the nation.
Fahrenkrug, 6-4, 315 pounds, 5.2 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of North Dakota State College of Science, has 14 scholarship offers, including ones from Arkansas, Auburn, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Florida State, Arizona, Kansas State, UCLA, Southern California and Michigan State.
Assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Shafer said he told Razorbacks offensive line coach Chris Klenakis that Fahrenkrug narrowed his list to Arkansas, Arizona, Auburn and Florida State.
“It’s a very friendly depth chart,” said Shafer, referring to Arkansas. “Coach K is doing an excellent job as far as recruiting him, e-mailing him and trying to get him on the phone when he can and sending a ton of handwritten letters pretty much daily it seems. The opportunity to play in the SEC is a big thing, too.”
Fahrenkrug, who bench presses about 400 pounds and squats about 500, plans to graduate in December and will enroll in the school of his choice in January and participate in spring practice.
“It was a very tough process for the young man because he’s never gone through it before,” Shafer said. “He had the 14 offers, and he felt like he was letting some people down when he was only doing a top four.”
Shafer and Fahrenkrug plan to sit down and figure out when he’ll make official visits to the four schools.
“We hope to get those done in the next few weeks because I know people are trying to get out of this grind of the preseason camp,” Shafer said. “So hopefully in the next few weeks we’ll be able to get them set up and get the visit dates locked in.”
LURING IN FISHER
Running back/defensive back Kelvin Fisher Jr. recently proclaimed Arkansas No. 1 on his list.
Fisher Jr., 5-11, 185 pounds, 4.5, of Gilbert (Ariz.) Higley, favors the Razorbacks over Oregon, Pittsburgh, Boise State, Washington and about10 other scholarship offers.
“I’ve liked Arkansas since the day they started recruiting me,” said Fisher, who visited Fayetteville in June. “They just continue to impress me. Sometimes you see a school you really like and then you kind of find out something about them you don’t like, and I haven’t had that with Arkansas. They continue to go up. That’s one of the reasons they’re at the top.”
On film, Fisher is an excellent offensive weapon with exceptional quickness and moves in the open field. He also displays good ball skills while defending the pass.
He rushed for 819 yards on 113 carries and 12 touchdowns and had 57 unassisted tackles, 22 assisted tackles, 2 interceptions and 4 pass breakups on defense.
Fisher said the Hogs are recruiting him as an athlete.
“They said I can come and play where I want to play,” Fisher said. “Right now, they just say they want me at their school. They just want me there because they said regardless of what position I play, I can make things happen on the field and that’s why they want me.”
In addition to visiting Arkansas, Fisher has made trips to Pittsburgh, Arizona State and Oregon. He hopes to start setting up his official visits within the next week or two.
Because he visited Arkansas’ website thisisarkansasfootball.com several times before his June visit, Fisher wasn’t surprised by what he saw during his time in Fayetteville.
“Not at all, because I’ve been on their website quite often,” Fisher said. “I wouldn’t say I was surprised, but it was good to finally see it in person vs. over the website.”
E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansaso nline.com
Sports, Pages 17 on 08/24/2010