Eckwood Regaining Form With Golden Lions

LaDarius Eckwood, former Springdale High standout, is a leading receiver for the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff this season. Eckwood, a redshirt junior, has 32 catches for 518 yards and three touchdowns for the Golden Lions.

LaDarius Eckwood, former Springdale High standout, is a leading receiver for the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff this season. Eckwood, a redshirt junior, has 32 catches for 518 yards and three touchdowns for the Golden Lions.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

— Former Springdale High wide receiver Ladarius Eckwood put up a good front on National Signing Day in 2009.

PROFILE

Ladarius Eckwood

SCHOOL: Arkansas-Pine Bluff

CLASS: Junior

POSITION: Receiver

HEIGHT: 6-1

WEIGHT: 180

NOTEABLE: Leads Arkansas-Pine Bluff in receiving yards with 518 yards and three touchdowns. ... Tied for team lead with 32 catches. ... Missed last season because of a hamstring injury. ... Caught 12 passes for 212 yards and one touchdown as a freshman. ... Caught 10 passes for 104 yards as a sophomore. ... Great nephew of former Arkansas and NFL player Jerry Eckwood.

He was excited to sign a letter of intent with Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but was also disappointed he didn’t attract scholarship offers from larger schools, including Arkansas, where his great uncle, Jerry Eckwood, was a star.

After all, what more could he do after catching 108 passes for 1,505 yards as a senior at Springdale?

Eckwood became even more frustrated when he missed all of last season with a pulled hamstring that took nearly 13 months to heal. But the redshirt junior is healthy again and making plays at receiver for Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which was 6-2 heading into Saturday’s game at Texas Southern.

“It’s been tough at times, but I’m really happy at UAPB,” said Eckwood, who also had to overcome a bad groin injury in preseason camp. “That hamstring injury, I kept trying to come back, and I’d hurt it again and again. Finally, I just took enough time off to let it heal, then got a lot of help with my rehabilitation. It’s a blessing to be at UAPB and finally being able to show what I can do.”

Eckwood has developed into a big-play receiver for the Golden Lions, who are coached by former NFL linebacker Monte Coleman (Washington Redskins). Eckwood, 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, is tied for seventh in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in receiving with teammate Dezmond Beverley. Both players have 32 catches, but Eckwood has 518 yards receiving (16.2 yards per catch) while Beverley has 277 yards receiving (8.7 ypc).

Eckwood has touchdown catches of 55, 52, and 27 yards, and he’s carried the ball one time for minus-five yards.

“Eckwood is a big-play man, we know that,” Coleman said. “He caught 108 passes his senior year, and we expect him to do some of the same things here.”

Eckwood turned a short pass into a season-long 55-yard touchdown against Tennessee State. He was also named SWAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week after catching three passes for 131 yards and one touchdown against Southern University.

“A lot of my plays come after short passes,” said Eckwood, who runs 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash. “I had to hurdle a guy against Tennessee State, then I sprinted about 40 yards for a touchdown. I’ve got good enough speed. I just try to get in my routes, do the right thing and catch the football.”

Eckwood is eligible for the NFL Draft in April, but he’s already decided to come back and continue to pursue a degree in criminal justice. He can receive plenty of advice on the pro game from Coleman and assistant coach Dennis Winston, who played in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I need to come back and keep getting stronger,” said Eckwood, who carries a 3.0 grade point average. “The SWAC is a good league where a lot of NFL guys played, like Jerry Rice at Mississippi Valley. My coaches tell me if you’re good enough, the NFL will find you.”

Arkansas-Pine Bluff is close to signing a deal with Arkansas State to play in Little Rock in 2013, which would allow Eckwood to re-connect with some Springdale people. Gus Malzahn coached at Springdale for five years before moving on to Arkansas, Tulsa, Auburn and now Arkansas State, where he’s the head coach.

“That will be a very interesting game going up against Arkansas State at War Memorial Stadium,” Eckwood said. “It’ll be a lot of fun and a great atmosphere for both sides.”

Eckwood got off to a slow start in the recruiting process because he didn’t play football his sophomore year at Springdale. But he started to gain some notice his junior year, then combined with quarterback Ashton Glaser to form the state’s best passing combination as a senior. The Bulldogs averaged 36.4 points per game in 2008, and Glaser and Eckwood both earned college scholarships.

Eckwood settled on UAPB, while Glaser spent two years at Missouri before he transferred this year to Missouri State, where is the starting quarterback.

“I still talk with Ashton about once or twice a week,” said Eckwood, who caught 19 passes for over 300 yards in a game against Fort Smith Northside his senior year. “We talk about Springdale and how the Bulldogs are doing. They’re down a little bit right now, but I was glad to be a Red’Dog, and we’re still pulling for them.”