Highly regarded sophomore tight end Kedrick James was so impressed with his visit to Arkansas on Friday he considered committing to the Razorbacks.
"It crossed my mind once or twice, maybe three times," James said.
James, 6-7, 243 pounds, 4.81 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of Waco (Texas) La Vega, has scholarship offers from 10 schools, including Arkansas, Texas A&M, Michigan, Baylor, Illinois and Miami.
James took note of A.J. Derby getting selected by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the recent NFL Draft, the fourth time Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema has had a tight end taken in the draft. Jake Byrne, who played for Bielema at Wisconsin, signed as a free agent.
Arkansas tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. told James why he would be successful in the Razorbacks' offense.
"He broke down the offense and the type of plays you run during the season," James said, "and how teams in the NFL use it and how they use the tight ends and how many tight ends are on the field at the same time."
James isn't short on ties to Arkansas. His grandmother, Dr. Charlene Johnson-Carter, is an associate professor of middle-level education at Arkansas. He arrived in town Thursday to watch his uncle, Damani Carter, graduate from Fayetteville High School.
Arkansas director of recruiting E.K. Franks showed James and his mother, Vene Baggett, around during the visit.
"It was better than I expected it to be, which is always good," James saidt. "I feel like I can be an asset to the program."
James' lead recruiter at Arkansas, defensive backs coach Clay Jennings, graduated from La Vega. James also plays basketball and was named a second team all-district selection as a freshman.
James' mother was impressed with the visit.
"She said it felt like a nice family environment and they keep in touch with the parents over the course of the years," James said.
James said his grandmother likes the idea of her grandson being in a Razorbacks uniform.
"She said she'll be at every single game if I come up here," James said. "She said she wouldn't miss a bowl game, she wouldn't miss an away game."
Lineman offered
Arkansas offensive line coach Sam Pittman evidently liked what he saw in offensive tackle Josh Ball of Fredericksburg (Va.) Stafford after the visiting the school Thursday.
Pittman let Ball know as soon as he left the Stafford campus that Ball had a scholarship offer from the Razorbacks.
"He loved me and was very excited," Ball said. "He [messaged] me as soon as he left the school and said he was jacked up and very excited after seeing me. I know there's a huge O-line tradition at Arkansas."
Ball, 6-7, 314, 5.18, has 27 scholarship offers, including ones from Auburn, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Penn State and South Carolina. ESPN rates him as the nation's No. 32 offensive tackle prospect.
He plans to make several trips during the summer, and Arkansas might be one of them.
"I'm going to make a schedule to get out to all of the places I would love to get to and see all of them," Ball said.
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema has had 10 offensive lineman drafted into the NFL, while Pittman has 16 draftees. Ball said that's a plus for the Hogs.
"That's a huge part," Ball said. "He [Pittman] had asked if I wanted to go to the NFL and I said, 'Yes, of course. That's my goal.' He said he doesn't want to coach a guy that doesn't want to go to the NFL. So I love that about him."
Ball reports a 345-pound bench press, a 495-pound squat and a 285-pound power clean. The bench-press numbers are even more impressive, when you take into account his long arms.
"It's harder for us, but I manage to get it down," Ball said.
Pittman harped on the NFL, he also focused on academics during the visit.
"That's one of his main goals, but he said No. 1, you have to get that education," Ball said. "I completely agree on that."
Ball has a 3.5 grade-point average and is looking at several options for his college major.
"I'm kind of steering towars coaching now," Ball said. "I would like to do some coaching stuff coming out of college and being a [graduate assistant]. But what I want to get a degree in is probably business and marketing."
E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports on 05/19/2015