The Recruiting Guy

Louisiana cornerback, Razorbacks connecting

Chad Morris, the new University of Arkansas head football coach, calls the hogs with fans as he is introduced during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017 in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)
Chad Morris, the new University of Arkansas head football coach, calls the hogs with fans as he is introduced during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017 in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)

Highly recruited cornerback Eddie Smith, who received a scholarship offer from Arkansas on Dec. 22, is planning to make an official visit to Fayetteville in January.

The next day he talked with Mark Smith, who was the recruiting coordinator at SMU under new University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Coach Chad Morris.

"He called me and told me they have a whole new staff at Arkansas, and he let me know how much they like me and how they love my film and my height and how I could come in there and play early as a freshman," Smith said.

Smith, 6-1, 178 pounds, 4.40 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of Slidell (La.) Salmen has offers from Tennessee, TCU, Missouri, Georgia, Louisville, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State and Mississippi State among the more than 30.

He committed to TCU in June but reopened his recruiting on Dec. 17.

Morris and his staff use Twitter as a way to connect with prospects. Because the NCAA forbids coaches from mentioning recruits by name, the staff will often make a vague tweet referring to a prospect without adding his name.

After talking to Smith on the phone on Dec. 23, Mark Smith tweeted, "Just talked to a baller in Louisiana. This dude is #RazorFAST18 needs him." He added hashtags #FullTiltBoogie #WPS at the end.

"He text me and let me know he tweeted about me and to go check it out," Eddie Smith said.

Smith, who plans to officially visit Fayetteville on Jan. 26-28, was impressed that Mark Smith tweeted about him.

"That shows how bad they really want me," Eddie Smith said. "If a coach takes the time to tweet about you, that shows how bad they really want you because all of the fans will start to come towards you and everything. It really means a lot."

Few schools recruiting Smith have utilized Twitter like the Hogs.

"Not a lot, but a couple of staffs. TCU did and Mississippi State has before," Smith said.

Mark Smith's tweet was followed by a barrage of remarks by Razorback fans.

"Their fans were going crazy," Eddie Smith said. "I got a lot of comments and a lot of people wanting me to come there."

Smith, who visited Fayetteville as a sophomore, has heard good things about Arkansas from fellow Louisianans, All-SEC sophomore linebacker De'Jon Harris and redshirt freshman linebacker Giovanni LaFrance.

He made official visits to Missouri and TCU in December and is planning to visit Tennessee in January along with a possible trip to Oregon.

"You can tell which college coaches really want you and which coaches just offer you because the coaches that really want you will check up on you and the coaches that just offer you, you never talk to them again," Smith said.

He narrowed his list of schools down after sending a text to the schools and seeing who responded.

"I sent them all a text asking how they would use me and that's how I made my top five back when I chose TCU," said Smith, who has a 3.2 grade point average. "Now I see the colleges that really want me now that I decommitted."

Wanting to be a Hog

Star City offensive tackle Jax Gasaway heard from Arkansas' Dustin Fry via Twitter on Wednesday and is looking forward to further communication.

While nothing has been officially announced, Fry, who coached the offensive line at SMU under Arkansas Coach Chad Morris, appears to be in line for the same job in Fayetteville.

Gasaway, 6-7, 275, has 11 scholarship offers, including Arkansas State University, Louisiana Tech, Texas State, Marshall, Louisiana-Monroe and others. Star City assistant coach Sam McGhee believes Gasaway has the tools and attitude to develop into a SEC lineman.

"He's dedicated, he's a hard working kid, he's fiery, that's one thing I like about him," McGhee said. "He's really aggressive. He will get after your rear end."

Gasaway was named to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps first team after grading out at 94 percent on the offensive line and recording 67 tackles -- 22 for loss -- 5 sacks, 12 passes knocked down, 2 forced fumbles and 4 recovered fumbles on defense.

"That kid wants to be a Razorback so bad," McGhee said.

McGhee believes Gasaway would flourish after a redshirt year at Arkansas.

"I firmly believe he could be an All-SEC type left tackle in two or three years," McGhee said. "He's that smart, he's that fast, quick feet, quick hands, long, long arms, Everything you look for in a left tackle."

Email Richard Davenport at [email protected]

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Sports on 12/29/2017

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