LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas caught the attention of California receiver Darrell Daniels by being the second school to offer him a scholarship, and that’s helping the Hogs in their quest to bring him in for visit.
Daniels, 6-3, 205 pounds, 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash, plays for Oakley Freedom High School. UCLA, Washington, Colorado and Michigan are among the nine other schools that have offered him a scholarship.
Daniels said he hopes to work out a time for a trip to Fayetteville.
“There’s def initely a chance,” Daniels said of visiting Fayetteville. “It depends on how things work out. I’m really interested in the school. I definitely could get out there.”
Daniels had 30 receptions for 526 yards and 7 touchdowns last season, and he said he is well aware of the attention former Arkansas receivers Joe Adams, Jarius Wright and Greg Childs received by participating in the NFL Combine.
“The NFL, that’s the goal for everybody,” said Daniels, who has recorded a hand-held time of 10.66 seconds in the 100 meters. “At Arkansas, the receivers get to live out their dream.
“That’s my dream, to get the NFL. That’s one of my goals in life, and Arkansas seems like a good place I could go to fulfill my dream.”
Receivers coach Kris Cinkovich is Arkansas’ lead recruiter for Daniels.
“We have a good relationship,” Daniels said. “I talk to him every chance I get to call him. We have good conversations on the phone. He seems like a good coach.”
RB IMPRESSED
Louisiana running back Kaleb Blanchard said before his March 3 visit that Arkansas was his top school, and his trip to Fayetteville just reaffirmed his thinking.
Blanchard, 6-1, 205, 4.45, plays for Denham Springs High School and has received scholarship offers from Arkansas, Ole Miss and Louisiana-Lafayette. He is also drawing interest from LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Florida State.
“I really enjoyed the city,” said Blanchard, who was accompanied by his grandmother, Kathy, of Little Rock, and his grandfather, George, of Louisiana. “It’s a nice calm city. I feel like I could definitely get use to that.
“I didn’t know Arkansas had mountains. That was pretty neat. I loved the campus. Everything is close together. The stadium is unique. It’s kind like in a hole.”
Blanchard drew the attention of college coaches with a stellar sophomore season, when he rushed 190 times for 1,799 yards — a 9.5-yard average per carry — and scored 21 touchdowns.
His number of scholarship offers would be much higher if it weren’t for a hamstring injury that hampered Blanchard during his junior season, when he was limited to 74 carries for 398 yards and 5 touchdowns.
“I think it was a blessing in disguise because I learned so much from that injury,” Blanchard said.
Blanchard, whose lead recruiter at Arkansas is defensive ends coach Steve Caldwell, said he enjoyed watching film with running backs coach Tim Horton during his visit.
“I feel like I really hit it off with him,” Blanchard said. “I really enjoyed his company, and I feel like he could help me better myself as a person and a player.”
OUT TO LEAVE HIS MARK
Highly recruited defensive tackle Marquel Combs of Pierce Community College in Woodland Hills, Calif., said he was impressed with his recent visit to Arkansas, including the senior walk, where graduates’ names are listed on sidewalks across campus.
Combs, 6-3, 305, 4.95, has 16 scholarships offers. Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Arizona, North Carolina and Utah are among those who already have offered.
“The campus is awesome,” said Combs, who attended high school at Memphis Hamilton. “I like the history. I like how when you graduate, your name is engraved in the sidewalk.
“You leave your mark, your legacy, at Arkansas. I liked that a lot, too.”
Combs recorded 34 tackles, 10 for loss, 2 1/2 sacks, recovered 1 fumble and blocked 1 kick last year. He plans to graduate in December and enroll at his next school in January.
He also has visited Ole Miss and Memphis.
“Arkansas and Ole Miss stood out,” Combs said. “It’s even right now. Memphis is a doing a lot of rebuilding. Memphis is still cool, too.”
Defensive tackles coach Kevin Peoples is Arkansas’ lead recruiter for Combs, who described Peoples’ recruiting pitch as “straightforward.”
“He’s doesn’t sugarcoat it and tell you what you want to hear just to get you there,” said Combs, who said he plans to make an official visit to Fayetteville for the Alabama game Sept. 15. “He tells you exactly what he expects and what he thinks you can come in and do and what you can do for Arkansas and what Arkansas can do for you.
“All the players love the guy.”
E-mail Richard Davenport at
rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports, Pages 28 on 03/23/2012