Morris gets three to change to Hogs

Arkansas head coach Chad Morris during pregame before the 4A State Championship in Little Rock. Special to the Democrat-Gazette/JIMMY JONES
Arkansas head coach Chad Morris during pregame before the 4A State Championship in Little Rock. Special to the Democrat-Gazette/JIMMY JONES

Coach Chad Morris received his first three oral commitments as Arkansas' new coach when two former SMU commitments flipped to the Hogs on Sunday morning and Ashdown cornerback LaDarrius Bishop changed his intent from Mississippi State to Arkansas later Sunday night.

Receiver Mike Woods was the first to switch his pledge followed by offensive lineman Silas Robinson a couple of hours later.

Woods, 6-2, 190 pounds, 4.43 in the 40-yard dash, of Magnolia, Texas, had scholarship offers from Virginia, Washington State, Minnesota, Texas Tech, Colorado State, Iowa State, Houston and others. He recorded 51 receptions 1,018 yards and 15 touchdowns this season while having 75 catches for 1,456 yards and 21 touchdowns as a junior.

His relationship with Morris and receivers coach Justin Stepp made his decision to be a Razorback easy.

"I chose to be a Razorback because coach Morris and coach Stepp were a big part of my decision at SMU," Woods said. "When they decided to leave and said they would bring me with them that was that."

He plans to graduate in December and enroll at Arkansas in January. Woods said Morris and Stepp care more about just football.

Woods has a 3.6 grade-point average and plans to major is sports management so he can stay in football after his playing days are over.

Robinson, 6-4, 315 pounds, of Yoakum, Texas, committed to the Mustangs in June over scholarship offers from Virginia, Brigham Young, Rice, Army, Texas State and others. His early pledge kept several others from extending offers.

His relationship with Morris and offensive line coach Dustin Fry made it a no-brainer to flip to the Hogs.

"I feel like there's really nobody better than those two guys I'm just fired up that I'm going t be with them and play for them. Ever since I met them they're great Christian guys. I feel like they truly love their players. They don't want to use you for football they want to make you better person and make you be the best you can be."

He has a 340-pound bench press, 650 squat and 365 hang clean.

"My offensive line coach played at Northern Iowa and he played for the [Tampa Bay] Buccaneers and he's a big Olympic lifter, so we do a lot of lifting weights," Robinson said.

When he officially visits Arkansas in January, it will be the first time he's been to the state.

His late grandfather, Wendell Robinson played center at Oklahoma and was a long-time high school coach. He was inducted into the Texas High School Football Coaches Association's Hall of Honor in 2002. He retired with a 224-133-7 record in 36 seasons in Texas and moved to Arkansas where he coached Gravette for one season.

Bishop hosted Morris, offensive coordinator Joe Craddock, Fry, recruiting coordinator Mark Smith, Bobby Allen and Barry Lunney Jr. for an in-home visit Sunday night.

Allen was the director of NFL and high school relations under former Coach Bret Bielema while Lunney was the tight ends coach. There's no official word on whether Allen or Lunney will be retained by Morris.

Bishop, 6-1, 190, 4.35, also had scholarship offers from Florida, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Illinois, Iowa State and others.

He announced his commitment on Twitter

"When I started this process, it was all about the relationships I had built with particular coaches. After several coaching changes throughout college football, I have decided to the best thing for me to do is attend the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville."

He had 25 carries for 249 yards and 3 touchdowns, 29 receptions for 485 yards and 5 touchdowns along with 9 tackles, 2 interceptions, a recovered fumble and a forced fumble this past season.

Bishop recorded 36 tackles with 1 interception and 5 pass break-ups as a junior and had 136 rushing yards and 1 touchdown, and had 406 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns as a junior.

Oral commitments are non-binding.

Sports on 12/11/2017

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