Recruiting Roundup: Arkansas starts hosting official visitors
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The Roundup
Official visit weekends start on campus
The NCAA recruiting dead period has ended, meaning recruits can now start taking official visits to prospective college campuses until June 26.
As expected, Arkansas has a slew of visitors who will be taking a closer look at Arkansas over the next few weekends. The first weekend of the month, though, is small. Just one recruit is set to be on campus this weekend.
Three-star wide receiver CJ Brown out of Bentonville began his month of official visits with a trip to Arkansas spanning from Friday-Sunday.
Brown is slated to announce his college decision on June 30, and he also has plans to visit Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt and Minnesota this month in addition to Arkansas.
Four-star linebacker and current LSU commit Xavier Atkins was supposed to take his official visit this weekend, but rescheduled for later in the month.
To stay up-to-date on who will be taking official visits, join The Trough, HawgBeat's premium message board.
Arkansas offers three-star lineman out of Mississippi scheduled, official visit planned
Arkansas has done a solid job recruiting in the state of Mississippi this cycle, already nabbing two four-star athletes out of the Magnolia State in JuJu Pope and Noreel White. The Hogs have their eyes set on another recruit in three-star offensive lineman William Echoles.
Echoles is rated by Rivals as an offensive tackle, but is being recruited to Arkansas to play on the defensive line. He reported the offer from Arkansas on Thursday.
Echoles confirmed to HawgBeat he will take an official visit to Arkansas the weekend of June 16.
The 6-foot-4, 290-pound lineman has picked up multiple offers from SEC schools, including Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
Echoles is one of four recruits from the state of Mississippi and one of three defensive lineman set up for official visits to Arkansas this month.
Arkansas out of the running for five-star defensive lineman
Arkansas in January hosted now five-star defensive lineman Kamarion Franklin, who left impressed with Arkansas' facilities, but he announced a top five schools and did not include the Razorbacks.
When the initial Rivals rankings were released in February, Franklin found himself ranked the No. 12 overall player in the nation.
The Lake Cormorant, Mississippi, native's top five included Auburn, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Miami and Florida State.
Arkansas has three defensive linemen in the class of 2024 already committed in four-star defensive ends Kavion Henderson and Charleston Collins, as well as three-star defensive tackle Dion Stutts.
Three-star offensive lineman out of Kentucky plans official visit to Arkansas
Arkansas still has yet to gain a commitment from an offensive lineman in the class of 2024, but the coaching staff is still in on some highly-regarded recruits. One such recruit is Zuri Madison, a three-star offensive lineman from Lexington, Kentucky.
Madison posted on Twitter on Tuesday, saying he has locked in for an official visit the weekend of June 16.
Ranked the No. 3 player in the state of Kentucky in the 2024 class, Madison holds offers from Illinois, Miami and Kentucky. He was offered by Arkansas on May 17.
In addition to his trip to Arkansas, Madison also has official visits scheduled to West Virginia on June 9 and Miami on June 23.
Madison is not the only offensive lineman the Hogs will host in the month of June. Four-stars Fletcher Westphal and Kai Greer will be on campus as well as in-state lineman Kobe Branham, who is set to make a decision on his college future on June 26.
Four-star defensive end TJ Lindsey includes Arkansas in top 10
The Hogs have made the cut for another highly-rated defensive lineman as TJ Lindsey included Arkansas in his Top 10 he released on Thursday.
Lindsey, who was playing for Bryant High School but recently announced he is spending his senior season in Florida at IMG Academy, posted his top 10 on his Twitter account.
Shortly after releasing that top 10, however, Lindsey reported an offer from Alabama, which will likely shake things up in his recruitment.
Arkansas has done well recruiting in-state this class, snagging two recruits in Charleston Collins and four-star wide receiver Courtney Crutchfield. The Hogs are also squarely in the mix for two more in the aforementioned Brown and Fort Smith Southside offensive lineman Kobe Branham.
Three-star defensive back with Arkansas ties includes Hogs in top 6
A three-star defensive back out of Tallahassee, Florida, has included the Razorbacks in his top 6.
Ashton Hampton's top six schools include Florida, Florida State, Arkansas, LSU, Miami and Clemson.
Hampton's father, Alonzo, is the head coach at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and a native of Warren. Prior to joining the UAPB program, he was a coach at Florida State and Oregon. He also spent time as a defensive analyst for Chad Morris at Arkansas in 2019.
For Florida State University School, Hampton plays both wide receiver and defensive back, but he is being recruited by co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson to play defensive back.
Expect Arkansas to be in it until the end for Hampton, given his Arkansas ties and relationship with Woodson, who came to Arkansas after coaching defensive backs at Florida State last year.