Arkansas made quite the impression on Lafayette (La.) Teurlings Catholic quarterback Cole Kelley and others at his school when they extended a scholarship offer in December.
"They're the only school so far that sent the school a letter, my parents a letter about them offering me a scholarship," Kelley said. "That impressed some of the staff at Teurlings when they saw that, especially Coach Sonny [Charpentier]. He thought that was very honorable that they did that. I did too. I felt like that was very respectable on their part."
Kelley, 6-7, 240 pounds, has six other offers from schools, including Oklahoma State, Colorado State, Tulane and Southern Miss. He said he's favoring the Hogs and Oklahoma State.
He initially was recruited by Arkansas receivers coach Michael Smith, who recruits Louisiana, but mainly talks to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Dan Enos.
"Coach Enos and I message each other pretty much every day now about playing over there," Kelley said. "From what I hear about him and his statistics, he looks like he knows what he's doing offensively."
Kelley has researched Enos' time at Central Michigan and liked what he learned.
"I believe he said four out of his last five quarterbacks threw for over 3,000 yards in a season," Kelley said. "I had a pretty good season this year and I barely got over 3,000, so I think that's extremely impressive for a college to be able to do that."
He has traveled through Arkansas and is impressed with the state.
"I've been to Little Rock, and I just love Arkansas," Kelley said. "It's a very clean place, which I respect a lot because in Louisiana when you come on I-10 or I-49 it doesn't look like a clean place and it's really not a clean place. We've got trash on the side of the road.
"It's a happy place, but it's not clean."
He completed 198 of 368 passes for 3,001 yards and 31 touchdowns with 9 interceptions this past season. He was scheduled to visit Oklahoma State this weekend and plans to visit Fayetteville on April 18.
Charpentier said Kelley's football IQ separates him from others at his position.
"A lot of people say it, but I really believe he has the 'it' factor because as a quarterback you think of the good ones as the ones who win and he's been a winner for us," Charpentier said. "He knows how to win football games."
While the Hogs have been working hard to get Kelley to be a Razorback, they are receiving help from Austin Kirkpatrick, a close friend of Kelley.
"The biggest fan of Arkansas I've ever met," Kelley said of Kirkpatrick.
Kelley, who also plays center for the school's basketball team, said Kirkpatrick started showing up at his basketball games representing the Razorbacks.
"After Arkansas offered me a scholarship he wore a Hog hat, so that was pretty funny," Kelley said.
Kelley's size is similar to former Arkansas and Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett.
"It's funny because I remember playing with Arkansas on [EA Sports' NCAA Football] all the time when Ryan Mallett was there," Kelley said. "I would also play with Arkansas because of Ryan. He could throw it."
Charpentier is high on Kelley's leadership and talent.
"He plays better when things are on the line," Charpentier said. "He's not afraid and doesn't care who he's playing. He's a confident young man."
WORK PAYS OFF
Offensive lineman Denzel Okafor of Lewisville, Texas, was startled and thrilled after receiving a scholarship offer April 4 from Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema.
"I was just amazed," Okafor said. "I didn't think it would happen. I was proud of myself for getting this far and for Coach to offer me. It was a big deal for me."
Okafor, 6-4, 287, 5.33 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has seven other scholarship offers, including Oklahoma State, TCU, Minnesota and Washington.
"I've been working hard to get as many offers as I possibly can," Okafor said. "At first it was like TCU first and I was getting some from the Big 12. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to get an SEC school, and once it finally came it was like maybe I could go further and maybe next year can be better than my junior year."
He and Arkansas offensive line coach Sam Pittman have something in common.
"I was telling him I'm the youngest of six and he said, 'Yeah, I can relate to that. I'm the youngest of five,' " Okafor said. "He was telling me how Arkansas is family-based."
Okafor is planning to visit Fayetteville in a few months.
"I really want to get there in the summer," Okafor said. "It's really not that far."
Running backs coach Jemal Singleton is also recruiting him.
"He's a great guy," Okafor said. "He always keeps me up to date about the Razorbacks and all the spring practices."
E-mail Richard Davenport at
rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports on 04/12/2015