Arkansas' football roster will have two players on it from highly regarded Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy this fall after safety Reid Miller chose to walk on and enroll at the semester.
IMG Academy defensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt signed an athletic financial aid agreement with Arkansas on Nov. 13 and will enroll this semester as well.
Miller, 5-11, 195 pounds, 4.47 seconds in the 40-yard dash, turned down several scholarship offers from smaller schools and received interest from Penn State, Pittsburgh, Temple, Florida and others.
Froholdt talked highly of Arkansas, and that planted a seed with Miller.
"He said it's one of a kind," Miller said. "He said the campus is beautiful and the fan base is unreal. My family and I did our research. I was like, wow, he was right about everything."
IMG Academy is one of the more talented teams in the nation and will have approximately 17 athletes sign with Division I programs. Miller was named the team's MVP after recording 83 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 6 pass break-ups and 2 forced fumbles.
"I was taken aback, but it was awesome," Miller said. "It was an awesome award and very humbling."
Coach Bret Bielema saw Miller in action Nov. 7 while at the school to watch Froholdt and liked what he saw.
"He was talking to Coach [Chris] Weinke about me and said, 'Hey, we really need a safety like him -- smart, a hard hitter and knows what he's doing," Miller said. "I really didn't think much of it."
Bielema recently called Weinke and asked Miller to call him. After talking to Bielema, Miller decided to wanted to be a Razorback.
"He just blew me away," Miller said. "He treated me like I was family, and I loved it. He treated [me] with respect. He's a phenomenal coach. I searched him up. He's a great guy to talk to. I loved it."
Miller said he and Bielema talked about his chances to play in Fayetteville.
"I said, 'Do you see me as a key contributor?' " Miller said. "He said, 'I wouldn't be talking to you right now if I didn't think that.' When he said that I said, yeah, I think I'll be coming here."
IMG Academy defensive coordinator Joesph Sturdivant thinks highly of Miller's ability.
"I was shocked that he didn't get any big-time offers," Sturdivant said.
Miller, who has had a 4.0 grade-point average since the ninth grade, plans to major in business.
Sturdivant doesn't see Miller have any problems adapting to Arkansas' defense.
"We teach a college style defense, and he's always one that has a pen and paper in his hand," Sturdivant said. "He's a sponge. He learns everything. He wants to know what everybody is doing."
Miller, a Pennsylvania native, recorded 101 tackles, 11 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions at Hollidaysburg as a junior before deciding to play his senior season in Florida.
Froholdt told him the landscape of Arkansas was similar to back home.
"He visited Penn State before and he's been to Pennsylvania," Miller said. "He knows the mountains and stuff, and he was like it reminds you of Pennsylvania, the scenery and stuff."
Miller has excellent strength, with bests of 360 pounds on the bench press and a 425-pound squat to go along with a 36-inch vertical leap.
"I think the world of him," Sturdivant said. "I would put my career on the line for him. That's what I told everyone that came through here. I'm so thankful that Coach Bielema and Arkansas believed in him."
MCGEHEE TO ARKANSAS
Former Pine Bluff kicker Austin McGehee plans to enroll at Arkansas after receiving his release from Arkansas State.
McGehee, 6-2, 210 pounds, signed with Purdue in 2014 but asked for and received a release and transferred to Jonesboro for the fall semester. He plans to punt and kick off at Arkansas.
"I can play at that level, and it's been on my mind for awhile," said McGehee, who will sit out the 2015 season and be eligible to play in 2016. "I've gotten so much better at my craft, and I've worked very hard and I just feel like this is what I need to do."
He made 10 of 13 field goals, 50 of 51 extra points and averaged 43 yards per punt as a senior at Pine Bluff.
E-mail Richard Davenport at
rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports on 01/11/2015