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By early September, Bielema had been able to get commitments from more ESPN300 recruits than at any time since 2006. A large part of this success comes from the state of Florida, from where Bielema, assistant Randy Shannon and others have been able to pull in major game-changing talents like running back Alex Collins and offensive lineman Denver Kirkland.
There may be another game-changing talent coming to Arkansas from Florida. Although this time, it would come in the form of an Arkansan - not a Floridian. KeVaughn Allen, a top 50 national recruit in basketball, is a North Little Rock High School senior who has announced he's attending the University of Florida. K.J. Hill, Allen's teammate and also an elite recruit in football, has other ideas.
Hill, who recently committed to Arkansas, told Sync's Nate Olson he believes he can convince Allen to de-commit from Florida and become the latest high flyer to join Arkansas' program. "When I go back to basketball I will talk to him even more," Hill said. "It’s on my mind. I think I can get him to come [to Arkansas]."
The 6'1" Hill, who said he received interest to play basketball for the likes of Wichita State, Baylor and Michigan State, is considering playing football and basketball for Arkansas next season. "Coach Anderson wants me to start talking to him about it," Hill told Olson. "I think he wants me to play."
Although his long-term athletic future is likely as a dynamic wide receiver, in SEC basketball, Hill projects to be a disruptive defensive force at guard. If he can get Allen to flip, though, likely his most impressive collegiate assist would arrive before he ever plays in an official game.
On the football front, it appears K.J. Hill is most interested in the rebuilding efforts going on at the biggest programs here and in the Buckeye State:
Q: You have said you are going to look around a little bit and visit other schools. But Razorbacks fans shouldn’t worry too much about you going elsewhere, right?
A: I just want to see different schools and just see how different schools are. I’d like to see Ohio State and Urban Meyer. I have never been up there. I want to see the facilities and the campus.
Q: Will Gragg, a Dumas 4-star tight end, is going to make a decision soon. Do you feel confident he will pick Arkansas? And do you think you can get La’Michael Pettway, a Nashville 3-star athlete, to commit, too? What are your strategies to get them to commit to Arkansas?
A: Even before I was committed, recruits from in-state and out of state were asking me where I was going to go. Coach Bielema told me that I don’t realize how much other players are looking at what I do. I wasn’t thinking about it like he was thinking about it, but then when I committed a lot of stuff started changing. Players started asking, "Do you think we can get it done?" and stuff like that. La’Michael Pettway was asking me and then de-comitted, and Will is 100 percent onboard. I think he is going to come. Everyone has been asking me for the longest where I was going to go, so when I decided, that made them think about it.
Read the entire interview at syncweekly.com.
This blog post originally published on thesportseer.com
