LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas has made the top five of another well-regarded prospect.
Koa Kaleopaa plays for La Mirada (Calif.) High School, and his physical style of play would seem to be a good fit for the SEC.
Kaleopaa, 6-3, 245 pounds, 4.80 seconds in the 40-yard dash, reports having nine scholarship offers but lists Arkansas, Colorado, California, Ole Miss and Arizona as his top five. He visited Fayetteville on March 3 with his brother.
“When I went there to visit, it was great — the whole campus, the whole area, the atmosphere,” Kaleopaa said. “I know it gets really hot over there, but footballwise, they’re at the top of the nation.
“It’s top-notch football, and they take their football serious. That’s what I like.”
Kaleopaa, who reports a 320-pound bench press and 650-pound squat, said Arkansas offensive line coach Chris Klenakis sends him handwritten letters on a regular basis.
“I probably get three letters every other day from them,” he said. “Me and Coach K talk every week. We haven’t recently because we’ve had two-a-days for two weeks. “
Kaleopaa said he would like to take an official visit to Arkansas during the season, but it’s unlikely.
“Most likely it will probably have to be after the season, because we play late and we get done probably 10 o’clock Friday night,” he said. “It would be a lot easier to take one after the season.”
Kaleopaa, who moved to California from Hawaii in June 2010, was advised to cut out one of his favorite dishes in order to lose weight and improve his speed and quickness.
“I had to cut out eating rice,” Kaleopaa said. “I ate everything with rice because in Hawaii, that’s all we did was eat rice — rice and chicken, and rice and steak.”
FORWARD THINKING
Highly recruited power forward Johnathan Williams of Memphis Southwind High School has 25 scholarship offers but is looking to cut his list to six schools, and Arkansas appears to be in the running to make the cut.
Williams, 6-9, 206, has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Memphis, Florida, Tennessee, Missouri, Texas and others.
He said he likes the way the Razorbacks use their power forwards offensively and defensively.
“They have a good chance, a very good chance,” Williams said of the Razorbacks being among his top six. “They play the style I want to play. I can play the post-up and also play the wing, and I can play anywhere on defense.”
Williams averaged 17.3 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 3 block shots per games as a sophomore and 15.7 points and 10.2 rebounds as a junior. He said he has a great relationship with Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson and assistant coach T.J. Cleveland.
“When we talk, we talk about important things,” said Williams, who visited Fayetteville in the fall. “We don’t always talk about basketball.”
RIGHT AT HOME
Linebacker Martrell Spaight made his way to Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College after playing his last season at North Little Rock High School in 2011, and he is hoping to return to his home state to play for Arkansas.
Spaight, 6-0 1/2, 220, 4.5, has scholarship offers from Arkansas State, Rutgers, Minnesota and Indiana and is drawing strong interest from Arkansas and others.
“They’ve been talking to me and saying they’re very interested in me,” Spaight said of the Razorbacks. “They said they were going to look at my film before they offer me.”
Secondary coach Bobby Allen is Spaight’s lead recruiter for Arkansas.
“We’re both from Arkansas, so we have that connection,” said Spaight, who plans to graduate in December. “He understands where I’m coming from, and it’s good connection.”
Last season, Spaight had 121 tackles (11 for loss), 3 sacks, 2 pass breakups and 2 recovered fumbles in 9 games. He said he is looking to take an official visit to Arkansas.
“My date isn’t set yet. I have to look at my schedule and see what’s available,” said Spaight, who plans to officially visit Rutgers, with Arkansas State being another possibility. “As of right now, I know I’m going to visit there.”
E-mail Richard Davenport at
Sports, Pages 21 on 08/24/2012