THE RECRUITING GUY : Oden’s younger brother has UA among three visits
Posted on Tuesday, January 8, 2008
One Arkansas Razorbacks football recruit who passes the eye test is offensive tackle / tight end Anthony Oden of Indianapolis Lawrence North. Oden is the younger brother of former Ohio State star and current Portland Trail Blazer Greg Oden.
Oden, 6-8, 295 pounds, 4. 87 seconds in the 40-yard dash, made an unofficial visit to Arkansas during the season to watch the Hogs play Florida International and plans to take an official visit to Fayetteville later this month.
“I have an official visit set [for Jan. 25 ],” Oden said. “I talked to [assistant ] Coach [Tim ] Horton two days ago. I’ve been talking to him off and on for the last couple of weeks.” Oden said he plans to take only three official visits. One visit will be to Oregon State, which is an hour and half away from Portland, where his brother lives.
“I’m not going to a bunch of visits,” Oden said. “There’s only like a couple of schools that I’m considering right now. That’s Arkansas, Oregon Sate and Indiana University. I visited both Oregon State and Arkansas. They’re both nice campuses and the coaches are all nice, but I have to go on an official visit to get a feel for the school.” Oden said Arkansas is recruiting him as an offensive tackle or tight end. He said he had no preference. Oregon State and Indiana are recruiting him as a tight end.
While most of Oden’s communication has been with Horton, he did get a chance to talk to newly hired offensive line coach Mike Summers, who joined the staff from the Atlanta Falcons.
“I talked to the offensive line coach,” Oden said. “He coached for the Atlanta Falcons. I had a conversation with him. He’s going to come by here and visit me and come by the school and get a feel for me and my family in the next few weeks. He knows exactly what you need to do to get to the next level; that’s a major plus.” Oden’s relationship with former Razorbacks track All-American Mike Conley, who is Greg Oden’s agent, and former Arkansas All-SEC defensive end Steven Conley is a plus for the Razorbacks.
“I talked to Steve Conley [on Saturday ],” Oden said. “He just told me to make the decision that’s best for me. He said Arkansas is great program to play in. He just told me to do what’s best for me.” Another advantage for the Hogs is Oden’s familiarity with the Arkansas campus because of his unofficial visit in October and past participation in the ultrasuccessful Real Deal on the Hill basketball tournament held every spring in Fayetteville.
Oden reports having around 15 scholarship offers, from such schools as Nebraska, Wisconsin, Purdue, North Carolina State and Kansas.
GOOD HIRES BY HOGS Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino named the remainder of his coaching staff Friday. The staff is diverse in regards to the recruiting backgrounds of each staff member. One of Petrino’s better moves was adding the title of recruiting coordinator to running backs / tight ends coach Tim Horton. One college coach told me of Horton late last year: “He’s a recruiting machine.” Horton received high praise from high school coaches in the state for the way he contacted and comforted Arkansas’ in-state commitments. Keeping Horton is no doubt a very popular move with coaches around the state.
Horton should also be commended on his recruiting efforts with Central Arkansas Christian’s Joe Adams. Adams, who has orally committed to Southern Cal, has cited his relationship with Horton as one of the main reasons for his interest in Arkansas.
Petrino has said recruiting Texas will be a priority for the Razorbacks. The hiring of former Air Force assistant coach Dean Campbell as the director of high school relations should bolster recruiting efforts in the Lone Star State. He was the primary recruiter for the Falcons in Texas. Before going to Air Force, he spent most of his 25 years of coaching in Texas. Though he won’t be able to go out on the recruiting trail, he’s well-known to coaches throughout the state, and that should open doors for the Razorbacks.
Defensive tackles coach Bobby Allen has recruited Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana for the Hogs over the past 10 years. He’s known as a good recruiter. Keeping Allen on board has helped with linebacker commitment Jelani Smith and other recruits Arkansas is actively pursuing.
Quarterbacks coach Garrick McGee is a graduate of Tulsa Booker T. Washington High School and the University of Oklahoma. While an assistant coach at Northwestern (2004-2007 ), he developed an excellent reputation as a recruiter. He recruited Oklahoma, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago public schools, Atlanta, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee for the Wildcats.
Secondary coach Lorenzo “Whammy” Ward spent seven years at Virginia Tech (1999-2005 ) before coaching one year with the Oakland Raiders. Having NFL experience on your resume always helps in recruiting. While with the Hokies, Ward landed Pennsylvania running back Kevin Jones, who was considered the No. 1 high school player in the nation in 2000.
Linebackers coach Reggie Johnson spent the past five years at Louisville, where he recruited his hometown of Chicago, along with the Midwest and junior colleges. He has the reputation as a good recruiter with an engaging personality.
Former Razorback Kirk Botkin will coach defensive ends and be special teams coordinator. He spent the past two years at Louisiana-Monroe, where he recruited north Louisiana along with east Texas and the Houston area. Arkansas hasn’t recruited the upper part of Louisiana very well over the past few years. The addition of Botkin to the staff could change that.
Before coaching one year with the Atlanta Falcons, Summers coached with Petrino at Louisville (2003-2006 ). His recruiting territory there included Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee and parts of Ohio. Summers’ short stint in the NFL should benefit the Razorbacks in recruiting linemen. He is the son-in-law of former Kentucky basketball Coach Joe B. Hall.
Defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson has spent 27 years coaching throughout the Southeast and no doubt has accumulated many valuable contacts that will enhance Arkansas’ effort.
E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline. com
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