FAYETTEVILLE -- Junior receiver I'Shawn Stewart of Bolingbrook, Ill., was one of the better athletes among the 150 taking part in Arkansas' prospect camp Saturday.
Stewart, 5-11, 165, 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash, has scholarship offers from Iowa and Illinois while drawing strong interest from several others, including Arkansas.
Fellow Illinois native and Arkansas offensive line coach Kurt Anderson has been recruiting Stewart.
"I have a lot of interest because of Coach Anderson," Stewart said. "He's a funny dude and he's a great person to be around."
He helped his stock with the Hogs by leaping 9 feet, 3 inches in the broad jump and a running 4.4 seconds in the 40 during testing and looking smooth while running routes at receiver.
"The first SEC school, so that will be very important to me," he said about getting an offer from Arkansas. "It shows I worked hard."
National recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS Sports Network believes Stewart has the makings of a special prospect in the 2018 class.
"I'Shawn is small, but explosive," Lemming said. "Plus he's on one of the three most talented programs in the state. Great vision, strong hands and shows excellent moves after the catch. His coach John Ivlow is a friend of mine and believes he has what it takes to star at the next level."
"The facilities, everything," Stewart said of what stands out about Arkansas on his third trip to Fayetteville. "The fans and how it is out here. It's very nice. I like everything."
Stewart has visited Iowa, Michigan State and Illinois, but said the Jerry and Gene Jones Academic Center is the best he's seen.
"That's really nice," said Stewart, who has a 3.11 grade-point average. "That's one of the best things. That's what they took me to the first time I came down saw the tutoring facilities."
Anderson has told him the Hogs are recruiting him as a receiver, but also would like to play him at defensive back in special passing situations.
"As a of right now, he said as a receiver and DB," Stewart said. "I'm very athletic and I can play both sides of the ball."
Two-sport prospect
Greenwood junior quarterback Connor Noland and his father visited Arkansas this week for baseball (Friday) and football (Saturday).
Noland, 6-2, 185 pounds, has football offers in football from from Arkansas, UCLA, Texas A&M, Penn State, Ole Miss, Stanford, North Carolina and others. He also has recevied baseball offers from Arkansas, Northwestern and New Mexico.
The right-hander has hit 91 mph this spring, striking out 60 in 49 innings with a 1.85 ERA.
"It went really well and had a great conversation," Noland said of his one-on-one meeting with Coach Dave Van Horn. "We just sat down and it was the two of us."
Noland completed 72 of 106 passes for 844 yards and 8 touchdowns for the Bulldogs while splitting time with starter Luke Hales last season.
He and his father left Fayetteville for a 10-day tour that includes Florida, Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame Michigan State and Northwestern.
He's taking the process one day at a time in order to find the right fit.
"I'm just trying the best place for me," Noland said, "Find a place I fit in and I really feel good about I feel in my heart and know where I want to go."
He spent about an hour and half with offensive coordinator Dan Enos on Saturday.
"We just went over the offense and just some basic things and how they teach their quarterbacks and the relationships he builds with his guys when he's in the classroom," said Noland, who also met with Coach Bret Bielema.
Noland, who also has curveball and change up in baseball, said "Most of them are open to me playing both sports, there's obviously going to be some timing and a lot of planning," he said.
Email Richard Davenport at
rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports on 06/12/2016