FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema and staff have a couple people in the corner in trying to help the Hogs convince highly sought safety Payton Hendrix to join the Razorback program.
His teammate, offensive lineman Jovan Pruitt orally committed to the Hogs on Friday and his cousin, forward Keaton Miles, recently transferred to Arkansas from West Virginia to pl ay fo r Coach Mike Anderson.
Hendrix, 6-3, 194 pounds, of Dallas Bishop Dunne High School, has 20 scholarship offers, including Arkansas, Nebraska, Washington, North Carolina and Arizona State. He and Pruitt visited Friday during the Hogs Elite Prospect Camp.
“He’s trying to pressure me to come on,” Hendrix said of Pruitt. “I have to make the best decision that best fits me.”
He visited Arkansas about a month ago with his parents.
“This time I got to workout with coach Ash 1-on-1,” Hendrix said. “I really like his coaching style. I really like out here.
Hendrix, who’s rated a 3-star recruit and the nation’s No. 25 safety by ESPN, said he plans to announce his top five in the near future and it’s likely the Hogs will be included.
“Arkansas is probably in my top five right now,” Hendrix said. “I haven’t narrowed it down but I’m pretty sure Arkansas will be in it when I make it.”
BETTER THAN EXPECTED
Linebacker Sharieff Rhaheed and defensive end Rashawn Shaw of Fort Pierce, Fla., said they were not expecting Arkansas to be as nice as it was during their visit Friday and Saturday.
“I like what I see and being around the staff,” Rhaheed said, a former LSU commitment.
“Great facilities. Great fans. Great players. I know a couple of the players. The coaches are cool. I like the way the school is heading.”
Rhaheed, 6-4, 207, 4.7, of Fort Pierce, Fla., Central has 21 scholarship offers, including ones from Arkansas, Alabama, LSU, Louisville and Ole Miss while Shaw, 6-2, 230, reports having 30 scholarship offers, including Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee and Louisville, where he’s committed.
“It’s better than what I thought it was going to be,”Shaw said. “Seeing the new facilities, I like what I see. Being around the staff and seeing how they coach, it feels pretty good being here. I like the environment. Pretty cool place.”
Rhaheed said the visit boosted the Hogs on his list.
“Top five,” Rhaheed said. “By the end of the season, I’ll have a top five, top three.”
Shaw said he also thinks highly of the Razorbacks.
“I have them in my top [five] too,” Shaw said.
SCHOLARSHIP OFFERED
Defensive lineman Armon Watts came to Arkansas’ Elite Prospect Camp on Saturday looking to earn a scholarship and he left town with one.
“It meant a lot because it went better than what I expected,” Watts said of Arkansas. “I really enjoyed my time up there in Arkansas. I love the new facilities. I like the coaches a lot, so it really went good and getting the offer, that’s what I was looking forward to.”
Watts, 6-5, 270, 5.1, of St. Louis Christian Brothers College High, arrived in Fayetteville with 13 scholarship offers, including Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana and Cincinnati. Arkansas’ offer jumps it high on Watts’ list.
“Arkansas, I have to say is probably one of my top choices,” Watts said. “I’ll definitely be taking an official; we’ll see where goes from there.”
Watts said his lead recruiter, offensive line graduate assistant Eric Mateos, was confident he would leave with an offer.
“He’s a pretty funny guy,” Watts said. “He pretty much knew I would come out and do good in the camp. It’s wasn’t a surprise they offered.” CLASSY OPERATION
Arkansas’ focus was one of the main things that impressed junior safety Tyree Kinnel while on his visit on Friday.
Kinnel, 6-0, 190, 4.47, of Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne has scholarship offers from Arkansas and Kentucky. He arrived late Thursday night with his parents, Chris and Erica and girlfriend Shauntel Wright.
“Impressed me a lot because of how they care about the football team and they want their GPAs at a certain level,”said Kinnel, who’s being recruited by cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson.
“They’re going to work with you so you don’t have to worry about anything and worry about your classes while you play football, too. I really like how they really care about how you do in the classroom.”
Kinnel, who had about 90 tackles and 2 interceptions as a sophomore, said he plans to attend an Arkansas game in the fall.
E-mail Richard Davenport at [email protected]
Sports, Pages 17 on 07/23/2013