Former University of Arkansas safety commit Marcus Wimberly made his way back to Fayetteville on Friday and Saturday for the time since he reopened his recruitment Dec. 1.
Wimberly, 6-1, 200 pounds, of Bauxite, committed to the Razorbacks during the Hogwild Hangout in late July before taking back his pledge.
He and his father Tommy, the offense coordinator at Bauxite, watched Arkansas' spring practice Friday and were able to spend time with co-defensive coordinators Travis Williams and Marcus Woodson and secondary coach Deron Wilson during the two-day visit.
"Just being able to see Coach Woodson, Coach Wilson and Coach Williams, be able to [watch] practice," Wimberly said of the visit. "A lot of times you see guys that's kind of like two different people -- there's a recruiting side of them and there's a coaching side of them, Coach Woodson, Coach Wilson and Coach Williams do a great job just being like that all the time.
"They're going to be real with you and shoot you straight and they coach you hard and want you to be great young men and good football players."
Wimberly also said he felt like a priority while spending time with the coaches.
"Just getting back up there and being able to spark the relationships again," he said. "They really made me feel wanted and their thing was let's get everybody to be a Hog again. I just really enjoyed that and getting back around them."
He originally chose the Hogs over scholarship offers from Michigan, Memphis, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Sam Houston State, Tennessee-Martin and added offers from Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, SMU, Wisconsin, UNLV and others later.
Wimberly was a jack of all trades for the Miners last season when he recorded 12 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and a fumble recovery as a junior, while also rushing 74 times for 533 yards and 15 touchdowns with 28 catches for 302 yards and 2 touchdowns on offense. He also completed 9 of 15 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown.
Two recruiting services rate Wimberly as a 3-star recruit while Rivals list him as a 4-star prospect and the No. 9 athlete in the nation.
He turned heads when he ran 4.52 seconds in the 40-yard dash, had 38-inch vertical jump and measured 10-2 in the broad jump at an Arkansas camp last summer. Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman extended an offer to him after his testing and showing well in 1-on-1 coverage.
Wimberly was reunited with several Razorback players who also went through the recruiting process prior to reporting to Fayetteville in January.
"It was really cool to know like half the team," he said. "I was recruited with those guys hard last year like CJ Brown. KJ Jackson, Kavion Henderson, Charlie Collins and Braylen Russell. It was really cool to be able to talk with them and kind of see what it's like up there. Because now they're not being recruited with you, they're there doing the real deal. So it was really cool to say I kind of know those guys and have a relationship with those guys."
He said he heard glowing things from the current Hogs.
"They said they love it," Wimberly said. "They said they could not have picked a better place and they really enjoyed the brotherhood there. That's about it. We kind of talked and caught up on life."
He also said appreciates how the coaches are also focused on developing players off the field.
"They don't want you to be just a great football player. They want to develop you into a great young man," Wimberly said. "I was able to sit through with a meeting with Coach Woodson [Friday] and talk ball and I learned a lot. Stuff to help me get better."
Wimberly talked about where the Hogs stood with him while revealing he plans to return for an official visit in June.
"I really love it," Wimberly said. "It's my home state, so I take a lot of pride in it. As I move forward, I'm just going to take it one step at a time. I did schedule an official visit there this weekend as well. So I'll be there June 21st through the 23rd and excited for that. I'm really excited about Arkansas. I look forward to continuing this process with them. I'm just going to take the process one step at a time and see where the Lord leads me."
He mentioned on March 4 he would be reducing his list of schools soon.
"Still not sure yet. There's a possibility around April probably," Wimberly said.
Email Richard Davenport at [email protected]