Offensive lineman Jalin Barnett of Lawton, Okla., is considered one of the top prospects in the nation and will take an official visit to Arkansas this weekend.
Barnett, 6-4, 305 pounds, is one of the more dominating blockers in the country, as an opposing safety from Salina (Kan.) Central found out firsthand during a Sept. 5 game.
The safety had been trash talking, but Barnett quieted him by planting him on his back.
"He's probably the second-best player on the team, and he was a big factor in our blocking scheme," Lawton Coach Randy Breeze said. "Jalin got to the second level and started blocking him. He blocked him from the 10 to the goal line, and then he just pancaked him into the end zone."
Breeze said Barnett refrained from talking back to the defender. Instead, he answered him with a repeat performance.
"Of course the guy got mad and he got a little chippy with Jalin," Breeze said. "I was proud of Jalin. He just walked away. A couple plays later, he caught him on the other side around the linebackers and pancaked him again.
"He didn't like it one bit."
ESPN rates Barnett as the No. 1 offensive guard and the nation's No. 43 overall prospect. He has more than 50 scholarship offers from schools that include Arkansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oklahoma State, Alabama, Auburn, Stanford and Tennessee. He lists Arkansas and Oklahoma, in no particular order, as his top considerations
Breeze said Barnett, who has a 3.8 grade-point average, knows how to flip the switch once he's on the field.
"Everybody loves him," Breeze said. "He's a big ole teddy bear off the field, but something happens when he puts that helmet on. His eyes turn a little green, like the Hulk."
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema and offensive line coach Sam Pittman's ability to help linemen make it to the NFL is a big attraction for Barnett. Pittman visited Lawton twice during the spring evaluation period and made an impression on Breeze and his staff.
"I think the world of Coach Pittman," Breeze said. "When he comes down, he spends a great deal of time with us. He's here before practice and he goes home after the last coach leaves the office after practice."
Barnett and offensive coordinator Ryan Breeze made the approximately five-hour trip to Fayetteville in June and visited the Razorbacks. He'll be accompanied by his grandmother, Charlotte Burse, on his official visit. His grandfather, Michael, was unable to make the trip.
"They want him to stay within driving distance from Lawton if he can," Breeze said of Barnett's grandparents. "But they're leaving it up to him."
Barnett plans to take official visits to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon and another school before making his decision. Breeze spoke to Bielema shortly after Barnett left Fayetteville during his June visit.
"It was a pleasure to get to visit with him," Breeze said. "He's really a down-to-earth, quality guy."
Wauchula (Fla.) Hardee linebacker Derrick Graham, another top defensive prospect for Arkansas, also will take an official visit to Arkansas this weekend. He is expected to arrive early this morning.
Graham, 6-4, 225, 4.56 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has more than 20 scholarship offers from schools that include Arkansas, Florida, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Mississippi State, Nebraska and South Florida.
DIME VISITING
Junior college forward Malik Dime will take an official visit to Arkansas this weekend.
Dime, 6-10, 220, plays for Indian Hills Community College in Iowa and has taken official visits to Iowa State and Rutgers and plans to make a trip to Washington next weekend.
A native of Senegal, a nation of about 13.1 million in western Africa, Dime arrived in the United States three years ago and got his first taste of organized basketball.
He said he wants to focus on a few things during his visit.
"Meeting the players of course, seeing the school and the academic people," Dime said. "That's pretty much it."
Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson and associate head coach Melvin Watkins visited his school Sept 10, and Dime said he communicates with Watkins on a regular basis.
"He's really nice," Dime said. "Some people you feel comfortable with, some people you don't."
Dime said he wants to play in an up-tempo style, and that's one of the Hogs' major attractions. He said Anderson plans to talk with him more in depth during the visit about how the Hogs would utilize him.
"They're going to show me more," Dime said. "I haven't had a chance to watch them practice, but I was able to watch a highlight tape from last year. They said when I come I'm going to actually have a chance to watch them practice."
E-mail Richard Davenport at
rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports on 09/19/2014