Arkansas has signed 15 prospects who have played high school football in Florida since Coach Bret Bielema's arrival in Fayetteville.
The Razorbacks are going hard after two Miami Central teammates, defensive end Keir Thomas and linebacker Donavan Thompson, and both plan to visit Fayetteville this summer.
Thomas, 6-2, 245 pounds, 4.7 seconds on the 40-yard dash, is orally committed to Florida State and has numerous other scholarship offers from schools that include Arkansas, Alabama, West Virginia, Oregon State and Louisville.
"Arkansas is showing a lot of interest," Thomas said. "They're writing me a lot of letters and writing my mom letters, so my interest in Arkansas is pretty high."
His mother likes that the Razorbacks include her in the correspondence.
"She thinks they really like me," said Thomas, adding that Florida State also writes to his mother.
The SEC had 54 players selected in the recent NFL Draft, and for the ninth consecutive year it had the most players selected in the draft.
"Who wouldn't want to play in the SEC?" Thomas said.
Thompson, 5-10, 215, 4.69, has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Oregon State, South Florida and Massachusetts. He lists Arkansas as his leader.
"They're showing the most interest in me and they like the way I play," Thompson said of the Razorbacks. "They really don't discuss my height and weight. They really like me because of my talent."
His production on the field -- 161 tackles, 16 sacks 2 forced fumbles and 2 forced fumbles -- has Wisconsin, Central Florida and Miami very interested as well.
Linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves, who recruits south Florida and the central part of Dallas, visited Miami Central on Wednesday to check on Thomas and Thompson.
"He basically keeps it real with me," said Thompson, who has a 3.1 grade-point average and is interested in possibly attending law school. "Telling me he would love to have me out there and coaching me and he could probably make me into one of his best linebackers that he's coached."
Thomas also is being recruited by Hargreaves and defensive line coach Rory Segrest. He has a 3.2 grade-point average and is considering sports management as a major. Thomas said a school will have to convince him that he is wanted and afford the opportunity of early playing time to get him away from the Seminoles.
" I don't want to go just to go," said Thomas, who has a 320-pound bench press and 405-pound squat. "I want to be able to play right away."
Thompson said he and Thomas may visit Arkansas for its three-day camp June 14-16. When he gets on campus, he said he'll be looking for a comfort level.
"See if I can fit in with the players, feel comfortable around them," said Thompson, who has a 315-pound bench press and a 505-pound squat. "The atmosphere of the school and being able to communicate to the coaches if I needed to."
Thomas said he also plans to visit Florida State, Alabama, Oregon State and Louisville this summer. He was a defensive captain this past season.
"This year I'm a team captain," Thomas said. "When you're successful, you have to have a leader on the team that people are listening to. With me being a captain, I really don't talk too much, but when I do talk they listen."
Should Thompson choose Arkansas, he'll likely have an easy transition because his linebackers coach, Sabbath Joseph, played under Hargreaves at South Florida and has the same philosophy.
"I feel like if I'm able to get that now and if I go to Arkansas, I'll be able to adjust quicker than other freshmen coming in with me because I did it in high school," Thompson said.
IZUNDU VISITING
Power forward Ebuka Izundu of Charlotte (N.C.) Victory Christian Center is expected to arrive in Fayetteville around 6 tonight for the start of his official visit.
Izundu, 6-9, 210 pounds, officially visited Miami last weekend. He also has visited Cincinnati and Tennessee.
Victory Christian Coach Aureice McCain will accompany Izundu on the trip
Izundu, who is from Lagos, Nigeria, averaged 21 points, 15 rebounds and 6 blocked shots this past season. He is scheduled to visit Texas Tech next weekend, but McCain said in a text message that if Izundu is comfortable with his visits and is ready to decide there is no need to keep visiting other schools.
HOGS MAKE CUT
Arkansas has made the cut for highly recruited junior forward Tyler Cook of St. Louis Chaminade College Prep.
Cook, 6-8, 240, announced Wednesday that he has narrowed his list of schools to Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, Iowa State, Iowa and Virginia.
A four-star prospect according to ESPN, Cook is ranked as the No. 15 power forward in the nation.
E-mail Richard Davenport at
rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports on 05/08/2015