FAYETTEVILLE — The state’s best two-sport standout in the 2018 class announced Wednesday on his birthday that he has plans to be a Razorback.
Greenwood four-star junior quarterback/pitcher Connor Noland (6-foot-1, 180 pounds) committed to Arkansas to play both football and baseball.
“I think the coaching staff of both programs was the biggest thing for me overall,” Noland said. “I feel very comfortable with both staffs. The addition of Coach (Wes) Johnson to the baseball staff was obviously a big thing for me since that is who I am going to be working with while (Arkansas football offensive coordinator) Coach (Dan) Enos is a great offensive mind and I look forward to learning from him.”
It certainly didn’t hurt that Noland was born in Arkansas and has looked up to former Greenwood and Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson.
“I have lived a couple of places, but I was born in Arkansas and grew up loving the Razorbacks and watching guys like Tyler Wilson, who is from Greenwood,” Noland said. “I look forward to getting up there and being a part of a successful program like he was.”
Noland is regarded as the state’s top 2018 football and baseball prospect and becomes the first 2018 football pledge for the Razorbacks.
He split time at quarterback last season and completed 73 of 103 passes for 872 yards and nine touchdowns with just two interceptions while also rushing 61 times for 431 and four more scores.
Noland has also touched 91 miles per hour with his fastball.
He has football offers Arkansas, Arkansas State, UCLA, Kentucky, Memphis, Missouri, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Penn State, Texas A&M and Utah State.
Noland has also taken unofficial visits to Arkansas, Notre Dame, Florida, Tennessee, Duke and Vanderbilt.
“I believe definitely that I got to see a lot of programs and feel like Arkansas is the best of those for me,” Noland said. “I’m very happy to be a Razorback and I look forward to helping recruit more players to come join us.”
Noland has two full years of high school left.
“I think with football I want to get better on the mental side of things and with baseball I want to get better command of my fastball and really work on my pitches to keep the hitters off-balance.”
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Razorback wide receiver commit Maleek Barkley of Lake Travis, Texas, will be back on the Arkansas campus today.
Barkley (5-11, 185) will join 2018 prospect, teammate and cousin Isaiah Connor as well as Razorback cornerback commit Jacques Mc-Clellion (6-1, 170) of Delray Beach, Fla., American Heritage in taking unofficial visits to Arkansas on Thursday.
“Yes, we are coming up, and I am looking forward to seeing everything again,” Barkley said. “I haven’t really talked to him (Connor) much about it yet, but I will let him know how beautiful it is, what great facilities they have and how great the coaches are.”
Barkley, who committed to Arkansas in April, is coming off a junior season in which he rushed for 617 yards and 10 touchdowns after moving in from wideout where he caught 56 passes for 596 yards and 10 more scores.
He also returned two kickoff returns for scores while helping lead Lake Travis to a 15-1 season that ended in the Class 6A state title game.
“Right now I am just working on getting bigger and stronger and working toward helping my team have a great senior season before I go to Arkansas,” Barkley said.
He has offers from Arkansas Arizona, Utah, UNLV and Texas State with the Wildcats and Utes offering after he committed to the Razorbacks.
“My relationship with the Arkansas coaches has gotten even stronger over these last three months and I feel even better about my choice to come to Arkansas,” said Barkley, one of the Razorbacks’ 16 commits for 2016.
Lake Travis advanced to the state 7-on-7 championship for large schools and finished 2-2.
“We didn’t get as far as we wanted in the state tournament, but did a good job getting there and got a lot of good work in,” Barkley said. “That can only help us this season.”
Dudley Dawson can be reached at [email protected]