Hogs Hosting Major Targets in Football, Basketball This Weekend
Though not nearly as big as next weekend in recruiting in terms of quantity, this weekend's visits are very important for Arkansas in two sports, football and hoops.
Chad Morris's Razorbacks begin spring football today at 4:30 p.m. and, since the first 20 minutes of practice will be open to media, we might catch a glimpse of a VIP observing practice.
The Hogs began hosting A&M grad transfer quarterback Nick Starkel Thursday night and the Aggies' 2017 starter is getting ready to make his big decision. The question is whether or not Joe Craddock, Rakeem Boyd and the rest of the Arkansas staff can convince Starkel to commit to them after his visit, without taking another official to Florida State.
The Hogs have been recruiting Starkel very hard and players have been connecting with him all over social media. He's already stated that his choice is down to the two schools and it's likely, with two years of eligibility, that Arkansas wins out given how nicely their quarterback situation shakes out if he jumps on board.
Morris could theoretically get two full seasons to groom true freshman KJ Jefferson, who might need it since he couldn't make it for the spring semester, he'd have his former starter and SMU passing record holder Ben Hicks to start this season and if that doesn't work out he could have Starkel take over early. And they still have Connor Noland, John Stephen Jones and Daulton Hyatt who haven't quite had a chance to show everything they can do.
Moving on to 2020 recruits, of which the Hogs have already hosted 12 really key guys, the Razorbacks will host rising junior linebacker out of Tennessee Drew Francis. Francis is one of the seven linebackers currently on the HawgBeat Big Board and he has the fewest offers of them so far but the list includes Vanderbilt and Purdue. It doesn't sound like he's close to a decision yet and he's in the process of checking out the schools he has offers from, and Missouri too.
Arkansas hasn't offered too many 2020 linebackers so far based on their current need for them but they'll probably also look to add players with more experience for immediate help as well in this class.
Newly offered out of St. Louis is 2021 defensive end Travion Ford, he will also be on the Hill tomorrow. He's a standout at Lutheran North where the Hogs almost wrangled an offensive lineman, Jack Buford, last class.
Ford has 13 other early offers already including Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, Nebraska, Missouri and more. Getting him in for a visit right away is a good job by the staff.
Another West High School standout will be on campus with Drew Francis, 3-star defensive end Tyrece Edwards. He's got three offers so far from Arkansas, Tulane and Missouri. He's also got some interest from Mississippi State and Louisville.
As for Mike Anderson and his staff, who are preparing for round two of their battle against Ole Miss tomorrow night, they're hosting a top JUCO target this weekend, Javon Franklin.
Franklin hails from Parkview Little Rock but went to Holmes C.C. instead of DI out of high school. He's been getting over a leg injury but appears almost fully recovered and ready to contribute, making him one of the most important prospects for this 2019 class that suddenly has several scholarships to fill.
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