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Arkansas' been in the news quite a bit this week for an unusual reason, although in the grand scheme of unusual ways the Razorbacks have been in the news, this is probably somewhat tame.
Bailey Clary, girlfriend of Razorback recruit Caleb Roddy, tweeted a picture of 15 (FIFTEEN!) letters she received on one day from the Arkansas coaching staff. We'd show you the picture but she's taken it down already. However, the story is still making the rounds and Clary was even interviewed by USA Today for a story that published yesterday, in which we learned that the couple has been dating for five months and that while on their visit to Fayetteville, she felt she connected well with the Arkansas coaching staff, including Bret Bielema.
Roddy is a 3* defensive end from Denham Springs, Louisiana who holds offers from several schools in addition to Arkansas including Ole Miss, Tennessee, Mississippi State, North Carolina, and Arizona State. He visited Arkansas with Clary last week and according to his own feed it went very well:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Had an AMAZING visit at Arkansas today!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WPS?src=hash">#WPS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HogNation?src=hash">#HogNation</a> ⚪️ <a href="http://t.co/xdEUGPy3Aw">pic.twitter.com/xdEUGPy3Aw</a></p>— Caleb Roddy (@C_roddy35) <a href="https://twitter.com/C_roddy35/status/585628219690323970">April 8, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
For the record, this is not entirely an unusual recruiting tactic (although the quantity of letters to a girlfriend may be a new record). Coaches have long discussed having to recruit anybody who could influence a prospect's decision, whether that be a parent, coach, or in this case, a girlfriend. Though it should be noted, Clary is a senior this year and going to LSU in the fall. It remains to be seen if she is considering coming to Fayetteville. Roddy does not yet have an offer from LSU and 247 is now listing Arkansas as the "favorite" for him.
Roddy has done his best to try to calm this little viral story although they both seem to having a lot of fun with it in other posts.