The Recruiting Guy

Hogs screen candidates to replace Skipper

Nashville offensive lineman Kirby Adcock waits as he is announced MVP of the class 4A state championship game on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Nashville offensive lineman Kirby Adcock waits as he is announced MVP of the class 4A state championship game on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

Arkansas will have to replace senior offensive tackle Dan Skipper next season, and there are plenty of candidates for the job.

Several hopefuls are on campus, and even though odds are against a true freshman taking over, the Hogs have three commitments from high school offensive linemen who are planning to enroll in January and will go through spring practice.

Nashville offensive lineman Kirby Adcock, 6-5, 300 pounds, chose the Hogs over scholarship offers from Iowa State, Arkansas State, Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech and others.

Mike Volarvich, who was hired as Nashville's coach in January of 2015, said he believes Adcock will get bigger.

"When I got here he was 6-2, 255 and now he's 6-5, 300 and his dad was big," Volarvich said. "I think he's definitely not done growing."

The mental part of the game is the biggest obstacle for a freshman to see playing time on the offensive line, said Volarvich.

"As soon as you get to that level, there's much more demands mentally with protections, with run schemes," Volarvich said. "Usually the ones that can pick it up mentally usually have the advantage over the others that can not pick it up mentally."

Adcock, who bench pressed 330 pounds during the summer, has shown aptitude in the classroom.

"He probably has a great chance of being the Valedictorian," Volarvich said. "He's a 4.0 student and he's ranked No. 1 in the class. As far as his mental capacity would be good, and then you have the physical aspect of it as well, especially on the offensive line."

Shane Clenin, 6-6, 295, 5.1 in the 40, of Festus, (Mo.) Jefferson chose Arkansas over Northwestern, Iowa State, New Mexico, Colorado State, Illinois State and others in April.

Jefferson Coach Alex Rouggly said he believes Clenin, who has a 3.93 grade point average, will flourish under Arkansas strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert.

"I think he can put on a solid to 20 to 30 pounds, and the way he moves, I've said it before he moves like a tight end," Rouggly said. "He moves exceptionally well. He has that long wingspan and he has a great feet and great hands and he's smart. I think all that stuff put together puts him with at least an opportunity to hopefully get on the depth chart."

Clenin possesses a 290-pound bench press, 430 squat and 275 power clean. He has other intangibles needed to excel.

"First and foremost, he's just a great kid and a great person," Rouggly said. "He takes a lot of pride in his school work. He takes a lot of pride in being a great son to his awesome mom and dad. He takes great pride in being a great teammate as well as whatever it takes to be a great football player. Those are huge, huge things in becoming great football payer and a great person."

Dalton Wagner, 6-9, 312 pounds of Richmond, (Ill.) Richmond-Burton, committed to the Razorbacks over scholarship offers from Missouri, California, Virginia, Purdue, Louisville, Illinois, Vanderbilt, Indiana and others.

Richmond-Burton Coach Patrick Elder wouldn't rule out Wagner playing as a freshman.

"I've learned not to put anything past him," Elder said.

Elder said Wagner will have to learn a new scheme, terminology and technique when he gets to Fayetteville.

"He's a student of the game and he'll work to overcome those things," Elder said.

Wagner is a great teammate and football junkie, Elder said

"Dalton isn't a joy to coach because he's a talented kid, he's a joy to coach because he loves everything that goes along with football," Elder said. "Everything. He loves being coached."

TACKLING MACHINE

Arkansas linebacker target Thomas Johnston of Spanish Fort High School in Alabama is very close to becoming the state's all- time leading tackler.

He stands at 597 tackles after Friday's 31-20 victory over Mobile Rain High School. Johnston has 120 tackles this season and needs 25 more tackles in next week's regular-season game and the playoffs to break the record.

Johnston, 6-2, 220, 4.78 seconds in the 40, has approximately 20 scholarship offers from schools like Arkansas, LSU, Auburn, Arizona State, Clemson, Iowa and Ole Miss.

He started 10 games on the varsity level as an 8th grader and had 66 tackles. He had 121 tackles as a freshman, 143 as a sophomore and 147 as a junior.

National recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS Sports Network rates Johnston a 4-star prospect.

E-mail Richard Davenport at [email protected]

Sports on 10/23/2016

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