A couple weeks after receiving a scholarship offer from Arkansas, junior college receiver Jonathan Nance orally committed Tuesday afternoon.
He told lead recruiter and receivers coach Michael Smith before calling Coach Bret Bielema.
“They were excited and they were glad to have me,” Nance said.
Nance, 6-1, 181 pounds, 4.44 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, chose the Hogs over scholarship offers from Colorado State and Troy while also drawing interest from Florida, Georgia, Arizona State, Iowa State, Memphis and others.
His relationship with Smith and the chance to play in the SEC were the deciding factors, he said.
“First, I talk to Coach Smith every day and I just had to take an advantage of that because it’s an SEC offer and I’ve never really had anything like that,” Nance said.
Nance signed with Southern Miss in 2015 out of Gulfport, Miss., and enrolled early, but left after the spring after being moved to defensive back.
He plans to graduate in December and enroll at Arkansas in January.