Arkansas added two oral commitments to the 2016 class Saturday when when Pulaski Robinson junior athlete T.J. Hammonds committed to Coach Bret Bielema in person Saturday and defensive tackle Briston Guidry of Metairie (La.) Rummel committed by telephone.
"He was very excited," Hammonds said of Bielema's reaction when he committed in the coach's office. "He was running around."
Hammonds, 5-11, 196 pounds, 4.42 seconds in the 40-yard dash, also had scholarship offers from Georgia, Arizona, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, TCU and Vanderbilt among others.
He rushed 58 times for 852 yards and 7 touchdowns and had 41 receptions for 1,172 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior. Bielema told him it's uncertain if he'll play running back or receiver in Fayetteville.
"They want to try me at both positions," Hammonds said.
Now that's he's committed to the Hogs, Hammonds said he plans to recruit highly recruited defensive end McTelvin Agim of Hope.
"I'll tell him, 'You come be a part of this, because we're going for a national championship,' " Hammonds said.
He made the trip to Fayetteville with his parents and said his mother, Danielle Neely, hit it off with Bielema.
"She loved Coach B,"Hammonds said. "She talked to him the whole time about how he doesn't like to wear shoes."
Defensive tackle Briston Guidry of Metairie (La.) Rummel also committed to Arkansas on Saturday.
Guidry, 6-3, 287, 4.8, called Bielema and receivers coach Michael Smith and told them of his pledge.
"They were very excited," Guidry said.
He chose Arkansas over about 11 other schools that had offered, including LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. Arkansas sophomore cornerback Henre Toliver and sophomore linebacker Dwayne Eugene also attended Rummel.
"When we played together I looked up to them as big brothers," Guidry said. "I felt like it would be great to play with my two big brothers."
Guidry visited Fayetteville with Eugene and Toliver in 2013 when the Hogs played South Carolina and again for last year's spring game.
"It felt like I wasn't another statistic when I was up there," he said. "They treated me like I was family. Some schools you go up there and they just look at you as straight business, but up there they really care for the players."
Hammonds and Guidry are Arkansas' third and fourth commitments for 2016 class. Oral commitments are nonbinding.
Sports on 04/12/2015