Arkansas was relentless in recruiting offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor, who committed to the Hogs in July, and offensive line coach Sam Pittman is trying to make sure he stays committed.
“Every week we talk,” said Eluemunor, who plans to enroll at Arkansas in January. “He just asks about my season and he gives me updates on how the O-line is doing.”
Eluemunor, 6-5½ , 315 pounds, plays for Scranton (Pa.) Lackawanna Community College and has scholarship offers from more than 20 schools, including Alabama, Ohio State, Southern Cal, Florida State, UCLA, Texas A&M and Penn State.
Eluemunor has graded out at 91 percent in his first three games, with 24 pancake blocks, and hasn’t allowed any sacks. He said he keeps tabs on the Razorbacks.
“I think they’re doing really well, the two running backs Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins,” he said. “Alex Collins, for a freshman, is doing really well.”
Eluemunor admitted that the recruiting process wore on him. He initially committed to UCLA after his first official visit in June, but he went on to take visits to Ohio State and Arkansas.
“I didn’t know where I really wanted to go,” Eluemunor said. “So it was a stressful time trying to decide, because you had someone in your ear saying go there and someone over here saying go there. Everyone wanted me to go to a certain place, and I didn’t know where I wanted to go yet.”
Eluemunor said he felt a huge relief when he announced his intentions to be a Hog on July 26.
“A lot of pressure was lifted off my back,” he said. “I know once I get there it’s going to be all business, but right now I’m just enjoying my commitment there.”
Eluemunor said he knew he would be a Razorback on the last day of his official visit when he and Pittman spoke in the offensive line coach’s office. One of the topics discussed was the large number of players Pittman has coached who have gone on to the NFL.
“I knew then I would have to come to Arkansas because he was the coach that could get me to the next level,” Eluemunor said.
ATTRACTIVE A&M GAME
Arkansas will bring in numerous top recruits for next weekend’s Texas A&M game, which is expected to produce a sellout crowd and a big-time atmosphere.
Dallas Bishop Lynch running back Rawleigh Williams III, an Ole Miss commitment, plans to attend the game.
“I’m just excited to get on campus and get to meet all of the coaches in person,” Williams said.
Williams, 5-10, 200 pounds, 4.53 seconds in the 40-yard dash, had 191 carries for 1,191 yards and 14 touchdowns as a sophomore and has positioned himself to be considered one of his state’s top running back prospects for the 2015 class.
Williams said Arkansas running backs coach Joel Thomas was one of the first coaches to message him on Twitter on Sept. 1, the first day college coaches could message junior prospects.
“He’s been talking about getting me down on campus, so we’re coming down for the game next weekend,” Williams said. “I asked my dad as soon as he invited us and we plan to go down there.”
Williams said he has taken note of Arkansas running backs Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams, who went into Saturday’s Rutgers game ranked No. 3 and No. 7 in the nation.
“It definitely opened my eyes a little bit because it’s big to have multiple running backs with yards like that,” Williams said.
CAMPING IN CONWAY
Future150.com will conduct a camp Sept. 28-29 at Don Owen Sports in Conway for basketball players entering their freshman, sophomore, junior or senior seasons.
Registration is from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Saturday, and the camp will run from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Jason Pratt, president and senior analyst for Future150.com, said the camps are designed to help lesser-known players get noticed by college coaches.
“We’re trying to help those kids help themselves by giving recognition about their game and try and help them get their information out to the coaches,” Pratt said.
Cost is $150. More information is available online at future150camps.com.
E-mail Richard Davenport at [email protected]
Sports, Pages 30 on 09/22/2013