FAYETTEVILLE — After picking up an offer from the in-state Razorbacks on Feb. 24, Rison defensive back Malik Chavis had planned on taking some time to enjoy the recruiting process and see what other options might come his way. But after making another trip to see Arkansas’ staff just two weeks later, he saw no reason to draw it out any longer.
Chavis knew he wanted to stay home, and decided to go public with that decision after the Hogs wrapped up their first spring scrimmage this past Saturday.
“This is my home state. I love Arkansas,” Chavis said. “It just felt like this is where I need to stay. It’s a relief. I don’t have to worry about other schools or anything.”
Chavis, 6-2, 187, wasn’t the only one who felt relieved.
Arkansas’ staff knew there was a chance their hidden gem would start to blow up after they extended an offer. Sure enough, Ole Miss and Oklahoma State began to turn up the heat to get Chavis on their campuses for visits.
Meanwhile, the Razorbacks were pushing for Chavis to become the bell cow of a loaded 2019 in-state class that includes four, four-star prospects, as well as four others who have been offered by the Hogs.
“They wanted me to be the first one from in the state so I can go help get the rest of them,” Chavis said. “That’s what I plan on doing now.”
Rison coach Clay Totty spoke proudly of Chavis, who has drawn some comparisons to another one of the program’s all-time greats.
“I’m excited about him,” Totty said. “He’s a great kid. I think he’s going to be like Tyrell (Johnson), because I think his best ball is going to be ahead of him. He’s got great speed. There’s no telling what he could run if he was trained for track. What he’s doing now is basically just on natural ability.”
Most were already aware of Chavis’s speed, especially after he finished fifth in the 100-meter event at the Meet of Champs as a sophomore and recorded a 4.39 handheld 40-yard dash at Arkansas’ prospect camp last summer.
Toughness, however, can’t be quantified, and Totty believes Chavis has plenty of it.
“He’s been hurt. His sophomore year he had a high ankle sprain but he never missed a game, never missed a practice,” Totty said. “We would monitor what he did in practice to keep him on the field.”
Chavis had to fight through nagging injuries in his junior season, too.
After leading the Wildcats to a 23-6 win at Fordyce in the season opener, Chavis entered the field house with a limp the following week.
After some investigating, Totty learned that Chavis had suffered a foot injury while punting in the second quarter against the Redbugs.
According to doctors, the rare injury typically sidelined a player for 4-6 weeks.
“I was thinking, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” Totty said. “The doctor told me, ‘If he’s tough enough to play with it, turn him loose. He’s not going to hurt it any worse, I just haven’t seen many that are tough enough to play with it.’ That sucker was back the next week. He wasn’t full speed and it did affect him, like running the ball and getting out in space, he was tentative on people going to his legs.
“For people who don’t know the whole story, it kind of gave the appearance that he’s a little tentative, but he was out there when only a handful of people would have been. You know he’ll be tough because he’s an ol’ Wildcat.”