FAYETTEVILLE – Sam Pittman and the Arkansas football staff had a successful final weekend of live recruiting before National Signing Day on Wednesday. The Razorbacks landed a heavily-recruited defensive lineman in LaGrange (Ga.) Troup County’s Andy Boykin, who had an offer list that at one time consisted of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia and many others.
Boykin, 6-3, 301, is Arkansas’ second defensive tackle pledge from the Peach State, joining Fort Valley Peach County’s Jaqualin McGhee, who committed last month.
Boykin went public with his decision at the end of his 48-hour official visit in Fayetteville.
“I committed because of Coach Sam Pittman,” Boykin said. “He’s a great, genuine guy. There’s no fake and funny stuff about him. A lot of people can relate to that because he’s done a lot for a lot of people. Like when he left Georgia, he had an offensive line commit that wanted to de-commit, and he told him, ‘Stay with them, that’s where you belong.’ A lot of coaches don’t do that because they want them to follow him, but it just says what type of person he is.”
Boykin’s commitment came as no surprise considering he hadn’t taken any other recent visits, but the big man knew he had found his new home the moment he landed in Northwest Arkansas.
“It went great,” he said. “I got to see the city, make bonds with a lot of the coaches I had never talked to, so it was a fun weekend.
“The highlight was the Catfish Hole. They show you so much love. They’re just so happy to see you and I’ve never seen anything like that in college football, period.”
Boykin is listed as a strong-side defensive end on 247Sports but has grown into an interior defensive lineman in his senior season.
“So, I’m 301 now,” he said. “I feel like I can play inside and outside, so we’re just going to see. We’ll try both of them out and whichever one works out – if it ends up being both, I’ll play both. If it ends up being end, that’s what I’ll play.”
Arkansas is also heavily involved for Clemson grad-transfer defensive tackle Xavier Kelly, who was also in town for an official visit over the weekend.
“It would be a great opportunity because, coming from a great program in Clemson of course, having won a national championship, he knows what it takes,” Boykin said of potentially playing beside Kelly. “He knows everything he’s got to do and everything we’ve got to do.”
Boykin, who is considered a highly-rated three-star prospect by 247Sports, was accompanied by his parents on the weekend visit.
“My mom loved it, she had a very fun time,” Boykin said. “She had a very fun time coming back to the state of Arkansas because we have family that lives in Little Rock. So, first time being in Fayetteville, she had a great time.”
Boykin, who was hosted on his visit by fellow Georgia native and freshman defensive end Mataio Soli, was recruited to Fayetteville by new defensive line coach Derrick LeBlanc.
LeBlanc coached one of the SEC’s best defensive lines at Kentucky prior to joining Pittman’s staff in December.
“Coach LeBlanc is a very fun guy,” Boykin said. “He likes cheesecake, I found that out last night. He told me I need to mind my business when it comes to cheesecake. So, I guess when it comes to cheesecake I’ve got to step back a little bit or I might not be here much longer.”