The Recruiting Guy

Razorbacks spread love to a Louisiana prospect

Linebacker De'jon Harris.
Linebacker De'jon Harris.

Louisiana linebacker De'jon Harris, who attended Arkansas' Red-White spring game Saturday, likes the attention he gets from the Razorback coaches and fans.

"I get a lot of love from them, more than I get from LSU," Harris said. "I like LSU and the fan base. I see that I get more love from Arkansas."

Harris, 6-1, 230, 4.70 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of Marrero (La.) John Ehret High School has 10 scholarship offers from schools such as Arkansas, Oregon, Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane and others.

He recorded 82 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, 2 recovered fumbles and 5 pass breakups this past season. Things didn't go as planned in his sophomore season after suffering a torn right meniscus. He holds receivers coach Michael Smith in high regard.

"Coach Smith has been recruiting me for a year," Harris said. "My sophomore year I got hurt and he kind of stayed with me and that showed me I could trust him while going through the injury. Then my junior year I had a good year and he came and offered me."

He was accompanied by his mother, Trenise Deboue, linebacker coach Bryan Crayton and teammate and running back Tyron Williams.

Arkansas sent seven coaches on the road visiting schools of recruits Wednesday. Defensive backs coach Clay Jennings and linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves visited John Ehret to check on Harris along with linebacker Michael Divinity and athlete Caron Baham. Both have offers from the Hogs.

Harris, who has a 300-pound bench press and 465-pound squat, has a 3.2 grade-point average and is looking to study engineering in college.

At this time, Harris is thinking of making his college decision after his senior season.

"Recruiting has blown up the past two months and I feel like I'll get more, but I really like Arkansas and Oregon," Harris said.

Happy with Hogs

Arkansas is in good shape with one of Oklahoma's top prospects, safety Calvin Bundage, who visited the Hogs for Saturday's spring game.

"They're one of the top [schools] most definitely," said Bundage, who also attended Arkansas' 30-0 victory over Ole Miss on Nov. 22. "I've always liked Arkansas and I'm just happy they're recruiting me."

Bundage, 6-3, 200, 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of Edmond (Okla.) Santa Fe has plenty of schools to chose from with 22 scholarship offers on the table. Arkansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Michigan, Tennessee and TCU are among his offers.

He said he and defensive coordinator Robb Smith have been talking.

"He said he thinks I would fit in well with their defense," said Bundage, who has a best of 22 feet in the long jump this spring. "He just likes the way I play. I think he's a cool dude, real smart. I like him a lot."

Under Smith, the Hogs went from the being 76th in total defense nationally to No. 10 in his first year in Fayetteville. Bundage noticed the improvement and enjoyed watching the defense last season.

"How physical they were and how they stopped the running and passing game," Bundage said.

Bundage recorded 81 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, a sack, a quarterback hurry, 2 pass deflections, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble this past season.

With so many offers, Bundage has a plan for narrowing his list.

"I just try and break every school down the best I can," he said. "I'll look at the depth chart and what position they're looking at me playing and how early I can get on the field."

High on local prospects

Hope defensive end McTelvin Agim, 6-3, 268, 4.62 seconds in the 40-yard dash, was rated the No. 4 defensive end and No. 16 overall prospect in the nation in the latest ESPN rankings released this week. The ranking is the third highest ever for an Arkansas prospect in the ESPN rating system.

Little Rock Christian running back Michael Dyer was ranked the No. 5 recruit in the 2010 class while quarterback Mitch Mustain of Springdale was ranked the No. 12 prospect in the nation in 2006.

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Sports on 04/26/2015

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