Arkansas's history of heavily recruited tight ends looks like it will continue in the 2022 class with DeWitt's Dax Courtney bursting onto the scene this week. Courtney earned his first offer from Kansas, then was offered by TCU an hour later, and Baylor offered the day after that.
"I had been talking to Coach Eargle (Kansas) for about a week and a half and he just got in his working mode, got into his stuff and got it done for us," Courtney said. "The TCU coach followed me before Kansas offered me and then once they did, TCU offered less than an hour later."
With 6-foot-6 height as a sophomore, Courtney knew recruitment would start up eventually but the offers still came as a surprise.
"I knew with my size that eventually I was going to have a good shot at an offer but I didn't think it would come this early," Courtney said. "My guy Earl Gill started getting my name out and I started getting a bunch of followers. I knew it was going to be big.
"It was a great feeling. It was a relief more than excitement at first. It shows that all the hard work and everything I put into it wasn't for nothing. now you get to go have fun and live out your dream."
After sticking to JV for most of his freshman year, playing running back at 6-foot-5, Courtney hit his stride as a tight end on varsity his sophomore year. Getting coached by his dad and receiving passes from his brother led to 36 catches for 631 yards and seven touchdowns.
Dewitt went 7-5 on the season and made it to the 4A playoffs before falling to Arkadelphia in the second round.
"The whole team just wanted to work," Courtney said. "We were the closest team I've ever been a part of and we set history in DeWitt. We all had decent stats. We'd work longer and on days the coaches didn't even want us there."
Dax watched his older brother Seth go through the recruiting process on his way to the family alma mater Arkansas State and that's going to help guide him through and make the best choices possible.
"I have not heard from Arkansas yet," Courtney said. "I grew up in Arkansas my whole life, so that would be a big one. My brother (Seth) goes to Arkansas state, so that would be a big one as well and they haven't contacted me yet.
"I was going to go to a lot of camps this summer. Notre Dame, Alabama, UAM, a lot of different variety of schools. You can take as many unofficial visits as you want to, so I'll go to as many as I can hit and as many as my dad will let me. I think watching my brother's process will help. As he matured, I matured. I'm in a really good position right now with the people I know and contacts I have."
At 210 pounds as a sophomore, Courtney is already a great size but he wants to focus on getting to his ideal weight and sharpening up technique in his next two seasons before college.
"I probably need about 15 pounds to get to 225," Courtney said. "I want to gain strength without losing speed, maybe gain a little bit. I will be working for the next two years on my technique. It doesn't matter how strong you are if you don't have good technique. He's been clocked with a 4.74 40-yard dash.
"I watch a lot of Jason Witten. His choice route is un-coverable. Not even the quarterback knows what you're going to do. Physically, I respect George Kittle and Travis Kelce."
The University of Arkansas has offered five of Courtney's 2022 classmates so far, James Jointer, RB out of Parkview, Andrew Chamblee, DT out of Maumelle, E'Marion Harris, OL out of Joe T. Robinson, Isaiah Sategna, WR out of Fayetteville, and Quincey McAdoo, ATH out of Clarendon. It would be no surprise to see Arkansas offer Courtney to continue strong in-state tight end recruiting.
