While his relationship with the University of Arkansas coaching staff is in its early stages, linebacker target Jason King said he feels good enough about it to plan to attend the Hogs' spring scrimmage April 13.
"Obviously, I got offered recently so we're kind of early in the process of getting to know one another ... and I'm just learning more about the program," King said. "The willingness to win, I would say stands out and they're kind of like a family-oriented program."
King, 6-1 and 215 pounds, of St. Louis DeSmet, reported receiving his scholarship offer from the Razorbacks on Jan. 29. He said he's been communicating with Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman, defensive coordinator Travis Williams and assistant linebacker coach Jake Trump.
His talks with Williams is how he gets the family atmosphere feel from Arkansas.
"Coach Williams ... he always talks about his family and on the defensive side, he wants a family kind of vibe around the program and how he treats his players like family," Williams said. "Like he'll have them over to be with his family. Just help his players and really guide them in the way he sees fit."
Missouri, Washington, Tennessee, Baylor, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Kansas State, Iowa State, Kansas and others have also extended scholarship offers to King.
Williams' upbeat and high energy personality have been noticed by King during their talks.
"The energy is super consistent," King said. "You can kind of tell that it's not something he just turns on as a recruiting pitch or anything. It's a consistent thing day in and day out, and I think it speaks for his passion for the game and his passion to try and help young men reach their potential. You can tell he really cares about what he does and he really loves it."
Trump, a native of Kahoka, Mo., played linebacker at Missouri from 2015 to 2018. He has also formed a good connection with King.
"He's from Missouri," King said. "So he can relate to me with some of the things that I'm going through playing linebacker and being from Missouri, so we talk a lot. I talk to Coach Pittman and Coach Williams, too. I kind of started talking to the other coaches, but I talk to Coach Trump a lot."
King said he's also in a group chat with Arkansas entire defensive staff.
"Some schools do it different ways," King said. "It's a way to be introduced to all of them at once as opposed to me calling all of them separately, so it's a lot more efficient. Some schools do it, some schools don't."
His discipline with his academics is reflected with a 4.0 grade-point average. Hitting the books has never been an issue with King.
"It's kind of been instilled in me since I was kid, with my parents kind off teaching me that school is always going to come before football," King said. "So if my grades are flippant or if I wasn't prioritizing school, they always made sure to get me back on the right track. It's always been a priority. I really don't need them to push me as much anymore. It's kind of a personal thing where I take pride in doing good in school."
King, who said he will likely study business in college, also said he plans to visit Illinois in the spring. He said his trip to Fayetteville will determine whether he makes an official visit to Arkansas in June.
Email Richard Davenport at [email protected]