Arkansas linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves' hard work convinced Alexy Jean-Baptiste that Fayetteville is the right place for him.
Jean-Baptiste, a 6-2, 200-pound outside linebacker from Pompano Beach (Fla.) Coconut Creek, orally committed to the Razorbacks on Tuesday afternoon.
"He was recruiting me hard," said Baptiste, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds. "He was always on me. He was serious about me while some of the schools weren't."
Jean-Baptiste chose the Razorbacks over more than 25 scholarship offers from schools that included Miami, Michigan State, Louisville, Wisconsin, North Carolina State and North Carolina.
He said he believes the Razorbacks program is headed in the right direction.
"Last year they had a tough schedule, but they were fighting real good against Alabama, Ole Miss and teams like that," Jean-Baptiste "I feel like in the upcoming years they have a team that will be ranked."
Baptiste recorded 45 tackles, 11 sacks and 7 tackles for loss at linebacker as a junior. He said his coach, Kareem Reid, called Hargreaves and gave the linebacker the phone so he could tell Hargreaves the news.
"He was happy I committed," said Jean-Baptiste, who plans to make an official visit to Fayetteville. "He said they were happy to have me. He said he had to get me up there to see the campus. I want to visit before the summer ends."
Baptiste said Hargreaves leaving the staff would be the only thing that could change his mind about his decision to go to Arkansas.
"I will stay on board if everything stays the right way," Jean-Baptiste said. "A lot of the coaches that were recruiting me left those schools and I didn't have the offers after the coaches left."
Reid, who signed with Kentucky in 2002 as a defensive end, was recruited by Hargreaves and Coach Bret Bielema during his senior season at of Coral Gables, Fla. He likes Jean-Baptiste's at linebacker.
"He's a super athletic linebacker, a kid that started at free safety for us and moved down in the box," Reid said. "He's just a great athlete that can run and make a lot of plays on the field. He's a high-end motor kid."
Jean-Baptiste is Arkansas' eighth commitment for the 2016 class. Oral commitments are nonbinding.
Sports on 06/17/2015