Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

7/11/2011 at 12:00am

Image by Rhonda Sharp

Pulaski Academy’s Aum’Arie Wallace, left, and Fredi Knighten received the outstanding defensive player and Top Gun awards, respectively, at the 2011 Shootout of the South in Little Rock.

The state of Arkansas produced 13 recruits in the Class of 2011 that signed with either an SEC or Big 12 school.

The University of Arkansas signed seven in-state recruits in February while Kansas added two from the state of Arkansas. Auburn, Ole Miss, Kansas State and Oklahoma State each were able to pull one recruit out of the Natural State. Arkansas State signed four from inside the state. Among the other out-of-state schools, Louisiana-Monroe signed six Arkansans while Missouri State added five and Memphis and Tulsa were able to add a quarterback to their classes by signing one from Arkansas.

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The Class of 2012 has generally been described as “a good year” by most talent scouts. One obvious thing in this year’s crop in Arkansas is Northwest Arkansas is definitely not loaded like it was last year. In addition to the five signed by the Razorbacks from Northwest Arkansas, five others signed with Division I schools, including three from Shiloh Christian, one from Springdale and one from Har-Ber.

The Razorbacks have offered four athletes from Arkansas thus far, with three commitments. Pottsville offensive lineman Jeremy Ward (6-foot-4½, 280 pounds, 5.22 in the 40-yard dash), Warren wide receiver Jalen Cobb (6-2, 185, 4.6) and East Poinsett County linebacker A.J. Turner (6-3, 204, 4.5) all have chosen the Razorbacks. Jonesboro wide receiver Zac Brooks (6-2, 185, 4.43) had double-digit offers, including the UA, but commited to Clemson in June.

Arkansas State is being very aggressive in the state this year as well, sending out several early offers in hopes of securing a verbal commitment. Several out-of-state schools have also been in the state during the spring evaluation period and have extended offers to recruits. For instance, Ward has been offered by Ole Miss and LSU despite his commitment to Arkansas, and Alabama is also trying to get him to visit Tuscaloosa while hinting at an offer if Ward is interested in the Crimson Tide.

“I’m still solid to Arkansas,” Ward said. “That’s in stone.”

Brooks and Cobb both were given four stars early on by Rivals.com. It appears the positions of strength in the state this year are wide receiver and the offensive line. There are several talented wide receivers in the class in addition to Cobb and Brooks.

Among the other top wide receivers are Jacksonville’s Dvone McClure (6-2, 199, 4.6), Bentonville’s Desmond Smith (6-1, 165, 4.6), Har-Ber’s Michael Fine (6-4, 180, 4.6), Bearden’s Defonta Lowe (6-3, 185, 4.5), Fort Smith Northside’s Shaquille Jones (6-2, 185, 4.55) and Camden Fairview’s Dominique Reed (6-3, 175, 4.5).

In addition to Ward on the offensive line, others among Arkansas’ best are Pulaski Academy’s Jason King (6-4, 300, 5.3), McCrory’s Jemar Clark (6-6, 280, 5.2), Pine Bluff’s David Adams (6-4, 310, 5.3) and Fort Smith Southside’s Austin Moreton (6-3, 305, 5.0).

A trio of running backs who have done well at various combines this spring are Vernon Hall (5-11, 178, 4.4) of Pulaski Oak Grove (which becomes Maumelle High this fall), Little Rock Catholic’s Quinta Thomas (5-10, 178, 4.4) and Hackett’s Dylan Yazel (5-9, 160, 4.5). What kind of scholarship offers their combine results can lead to are unknown, but it is safe to assume all three helped themselves.

Quarterback is always a position of interest and Arkansas has some interesting ones in the state this year. Among the top prospects at quarterback are Searcy’s Dezmond Stegall (6-3, 205, 4.5), Pulaski Academy’s Fredi Knighten (5-11, 175, 4.5), Little Rock Catholic’s Zach Conque (6-5, 210, 4.7) and Greenbrier’s Neal Burcham (6-3, 175, 4.8).

Rison has at least two prospects that are drawing heavy attention from the major colleges. Linebacker Quanterio Heath (6-3, 205, 4.7) and defensive back Marquis Walker (6-1, 180, 4.45) are being looked at hard by Arkansas and Arkansas State. Walker holds an offer from Arkansas State.

Otis Kirk is the dean of Arkansas recruiting writers and has covered high school recruiting for more than 30 years. His “Recruiting 360” column appears online at ArkansasSports360.com every Thursday, and his features and message board posts regularly can be found at the premium website Hawgsports.com, a member of the Rivals.com network.

Tagged: Arkansas Football Preview 2011, Fredi Knighten, Jemar Clark, Shaquille Jones, Desmond Smith, A.J. Turner, Jalen Cobb, Michael Fine, Maquis Walker, Quanterio Heath, Neal Burcham, Zach Conque, Dylan Yazel, Vernon Hall, Austin Moreton, David Adams, Jason King, Dominque Reed, DeFonta Lowe, Dvone McClure, Zac Brooks, Jeremy Ward