LITTLE ROCK — Two of the better prospects in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, safety LaDarrell McNeil and athlete Damien Lawry of Dallas Maceo Smith, plan to visit Arkansas.
McNeil, 6-1, 186 pounds, 4.52 seconds in the 40-yarddash, reports 17 scholarship offers, including offers from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Michigan and TCU.
Lawry, 5-11, 170, 4.47, has 11scholarship offers, including offers from Arkansas, Arizona, Texas A&M, Clemson and Tennessee.
McNeil is familiar with Arkansas defensive lineman Jatashun “Big Tex” Beachum, who attended Maceo Smith before signing with Arkansas in 2010.
“I know if he likes it, I’ll probably like it because we’re pretty similar in what we like,” said McNeil, who has committed to play in the U.S. Army All-American game in San Antonio in January. “He said he loved it. I can see that he’s slimming down. I can see that he’s loving it.”
McNeil, who has visited Texas, Texas A&M, TCU and Baylor, is looking for a university where he can feel comfortable.
“Not just football-wise, but environment-wise,” he said.
He said he has an intense desire to succeed.
“I want to win, and I know I have to stop them from scoring,” McNeil said. “If they score, it’s a possibility they’ll win. If I stop them from scoring, we can win the game. Defense wins championships.”
Many athletes are attracted to Arkansas because of the opportunity to compete in the SEC, but McNeil said he is looking for the best football program for him, conference aside.
“It would be nice to play in the SEC, but it’s just football,” McNeil said. “I’ll still hit the SEC dudes, ACC dudes and Big 12 dudes.”
McNeil, who has a 3.8 grade-point average and is considering business management as a major, is an oldschool player, Maceo Smith Coach Elzie Barnett said.
“He should’ve been playing in the era of Ronnie Lott and those type players,” Barnett said. “He’s, without a doubt, the hardest-working, most dedicated player I’ve ever coached. He’s also the most mentally tough playerI’ve ever coached.”
Barnett compares McNeil to former Razorbacks safety Kenoy Kennedy, who played in the NFL for eight seasons with the Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions.
“That’s LaDarrell,” Barnett said. “He packs a wallop.”
EARLY RISER
Arkansas recruiting coordinator Tim Horton gave Pulaski Academy offensive lineman Jason King a wakeup call April 15, the first day of the spring evaluation period and the first day college coaches could call prospects.
King, 6-4, 297 pounds, 5.2 seconds in the 40-yard dash, is drawing interest from Arkansas, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, LSU, Oregon and others. He and his family traveled to Fayetteville on Saturday to visit and watch the Red-White game.
“He called me a little before 6:30 in the morning,” King said. “I was actually sleeping. He left me a voicemail. I was pretty excited that he called me that early on the first day.
“When I listened to the voice mail, he sounded excited to be able to call. He was reminding me that he wanted to get more film on me and reminded me to bring it.”
King said he plans to attend an Arkansas camp this summer.
WALKING ON
Most visitors for last Saturday’s Red-White game interested in playing for the Razorbacks were 2012 prospects, but tight end Alex Voelzke of Springhill, Texas, finished high school last year.
While in Fayetteville, he decided to walk on with the Razorbacks in the fall.
Voelzke, 6-6, 210 pounds, 4.8 seconds in the 40-yard dash, chose to attend Arkansas over schools such as Texas Tech, Texas -San Antonio, Henderson State and Stephen F. Austin.
“I love the staff and the facilities up there and it made my decision a lot easier,” said Voelzke, who will likely report to Arkansas in August. “I liked what I saw at the spring game. I liked everything about it.”
Voelzke said he plans to redshirt next fall.
“They’re definitely going to put some weight on me,” he said. “I think I’ll probably get up to 250 or somewhere around there, wherever I feel comfortable. I’ll probably go up to Arkansas at about 230.”
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Sports, Pages 19 on 04/22/2011