ASHDOWN -- It's official. Ashdown's highly recruited tight end Shamar Easter signed his late national signing day letter of intent to play football for the University of Arkansas.
Easter signed his letter Thursday in the Ashdown Schools Administration Building. He originally had been scheduled to sign it on Wednesday, but wet roads and inclement weather conditions postponed it until 5 p.m. Thursday.
"It's good to finally make it official," said the 6-5, 222-pound Easter after the festivities concluded. "Now we can get onto the next step, which will be to graduate high school and concentrate on getting enrolled at Arkansas in Fayetteville."
Ashdown football Coach Matt Richardson said the large crowd that was in attendance was a tribute to Easter's outgoing personality and his down-to-earth character.
"He's the kind of person who can walk into a room and become the focus of anybody and everybody in the room," said Richardson, who guided the Panthers to a 7-4 record and a Class 4A playoff berth in 2022. "He's such a tremendous person that it's great to have him as one of your friends.
"He's always got a smile on his face and he's so positive with things around him. He can be a boost for any team, anywhere. Arkansas should be proud to have signed such a terrific person and multi-talented athlete."
Easter received numerous offers from several Division I schools, but Arkansas has been his choice for some time.
"I picked Arkansas at the beginning of my junior high season," said Easter, 18. "I considered several schools, but I quickly narrowed my choice to Arkansas because I really felt at home on the Razorback campus."
Easter said he was impressed with Arkansas from his first visit.
"I think I made about five or six trips to Arkansas, most on an 'unofficial' visit," Easter said. "They said they hope I can play tight end/flex receiver in college, which is what I played in high school. I'm at 222 pounds now, and they said they would like to see me at about 240 pounds, which should be no problem."
Easter said he also can play cornerback on defense. "I can play wherever they want me to, but I believe the Hogs mainly want me as a tight end."
Easter also played basketball and ran track for the Panthers. "I played forward on the basketball team and ran just about all the sprints in track," he said. "I just imagine I'll concentrate on football at Arkansas, which plays among the nation's elite powerhouses in the Southeastern Conference."