FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas’ football coaching staff finally gets an opportunity to host a night game on the Hill this Saturday when No. 9 LSU visits Razorback Stadium for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff on the SEC Network.
Head coach Chad Morris hopes to take full advantage of the better time slot while hosting a number of official and unofficial visitors for the Class of 2019 and beyond.
“It’s a big weekend for recruiting, a huge weekend,” Morris said on Monday. “I’m excited about the game being at 6:30. I think it’s going to give our fans an opportunity to get into the stands, get loud, and create a game day environment that I’m excited to see.
“I haven’t coached in a game here at night. I’m excited about that, I think it will be great for our recruits. We’ll have lots of recruits on campus, several official visitors on campus.”
Arkansas will have three official visitors rolling into town late Friday night and early Saturday morning, and all three are being recruited to play cornerback for the Hogs.
Devin Bush is a four-star prospects from New Orleans (La.) Edna Karr who was once committed to LSU, but the Tigers ultimately decided that they had no room remaining and had to part ways with the 6-foot, 180-pound defensive back. Bush holds other offers from Auburn, Georgia, Notre Dame, Florida State and many others, but most experts in the 247Sports Crystal Ball feature have him landing with Morris and the Razorbacks in the end.
Thirteen minutes away from Bush’s high school is another heavily recruited cornerback in Gregory Brooks, Jr., of West Jefferson High in Harvey, a suburb of New Orleans. Brooks, 5-10, 180, has been committed to Mississippi State since June 23 but has maintained close contact with Arkansas’ staff for the last several months.
This weekend will be his first time seeing Fayetteville, and it’s important to note that he’ll have his mother, father, younger sister and possibly even his grandparents along for the trip. In addition to Arkansas and MSU, Brooks also holds offers from Kentucky, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Virginia and several others.
Both Bush and Brooks are being recruited by Arkansas defensive backs coaches Ron Cooper and Mark Smith. Cooper was in Louisiana last Thursday to watch both prospects play in their regular season finales.
The Razorbacks’ third official visitor for this weekend is cornerback Malik Chavis of Rison (Ark.). Chavis, 6-2, 180, 4.39, has been committed to the Hogs since March 10 and remains firm despite an offer from Memphis and interest from a number of programs. He has made several unofficial trips to the UA over the last two seasons.
In addition to the official visitors, the Razorbacks will also host a slew of unofficial visitors.
Among the more notable prospects expected to be in attendance are 2020 athlete Jabari Small and his teammate, 2020 offensive/defensive lineman Omari Thomas. According to HawgSports.com’s database, Saturday’s visit will be Small and Thomas’ fourth trip to Fayetteville since February. Both have impressive early offer lists, but Small insists that he’s keeping all of his options open.
“I’m 100-percent open to everyone until after spring,” Small said. “I have many recruiting cycles left to go, and I’m looking to see who is pushing for me the hardest in these next couple of months. Arkansas is making me feel like a priority, definitely.”
Small is a three-star prospect while Thomas comes in as a four-star, the No. 41 overall player in the nation, and the No. 6 offensive tackle prospect in the country according to the 247Sports rankings.