Arkansas commit DT Jeremiah Jackson

TBWNN got the chance to speak with Jeremiah Jackson and asked him some questions about what it means to be a Razorback, what he expects at Spain Park this year, and how solid he is to the Razorbacks.......

- Jeremiah, you committed to play for the University of Arkansas just over a month ago. How hard of a decision was that for you?

J.J.- It was very tough but anytime you’re making a decision about your future its a tough decision, only because you want to make sure its the right choice. Although a tough decision, I am very excited to be coming to the University of Arkansas.

- This year's trend seems to be committing early. You can clearly see it across the nation, as prep stars like yourself seem to be wanting to get on the bus a lot sooner than in years past. Why do you think that is, and why did you commit so early in the process to Arkansas?

J.J.- Well I cant speak for those guys but as for myself, I did it because I knew Arkansas was the right place for me. After a lot of praying and seeking God about it, I felt no need to wait.

- What would you say are your strengths and weaknesses?

J.J.- My strengths are definitely my hands and explosiveness off the ball, as far as weaknesses. I believe I can improve on every part of my game.

- You guys at Spain Park had an average season last year. What are your goals for this year?

J.J.- We want to win, I was very disappointed in last year, but we experienced growing pains and now we feel prepared to get to the playoffs and make some noise.

- It is a long time until signing day Jeremiah. Are you solid to Arkansas, or do you plan on taking more visits?

J.J.- No sir, I am solid to the Razorbacks.

- What will be your personal/team goals once you step on the University of Arkansas campus?

J.J.- I just want to play early and help the team out anyway I can.

- Since you made your commit to Arkansas. Have other schools backed off, or have some of them just turned up the heat on you?

J.J.- Its been pretty much the same, none have really backed off, and none have really turned up the heat.

- It is a really good day, and you can have any type of food you want. What is your meal going to consist of?

J.J.- (laughs) My moms fried chicken and my grandmas dressing.

- How exciting has this entire process been for you and your family? Has playing SEC football been a life long dream of yours?

J.J.- Its been very exciting, we feel blessed that God has given me the opportunity to free my parents of a major burden.. which is paying for college and growing up in the south, yes sir its always been a dream of mine to play in the SEC.

- What will it mean to you, to wear the Hog on your helmet?

J.J.- Everything. I’m so excited to have that opportunity, but first I have to earn that privilege.

- 76,000 fans packed into Razorback Stadium on a Saturday, calling the Hogs. What is the first thought that comes to your mind?

J.J.- (laughing)I’d probably be thinking of how excited and blessed I am to be playing this game of football at such a high level.

Q&A with Razorback commit Braylon Mitchell

Saturday, TBWNN had a chance to speak with Braylon Mitchell about his committment to the Arkansas Razorbacks, how he is recruiting for Arkansas, and what he thinks about this upcoming season at Heber Springs High.

- When did you first realize that you actually had the potential to land at a big time football school such as Arkansas?

Braylon- I realized that I had the potential when I was 11 years old running over guys in little league football, and a guy came up to me and said if I stick with it I can have a bright future in it..and Arkansas has always been a dream school.

- This year's trend seems to be committing early. You can clearly see it across the nation, as prep stars like yourself seem to be wanting to get on the bus a lot sooner than in years past. Why do you think that is, and why did you commit so early in the process to Arkansas?

Braylon- I had along talk with my coach and I just told him that if Arkansas was to offer me that I would commit as soon as I could, simply because I feel like the Arkansas football program is headed in the right direction for success.

- How exciting is this for you & your family? Is this a life long dream of yours?

Braylon- This is very exciting for me and my family, my mother and father are just happy and proud because I chose to do something with my life..and yes its a life long dream because I have been calling them hogz since the age of 3 when my big cousin Corliss Williamson helped Arkansas win the Championship in 1994.

- I saw a comment of yours right after you committed, about getting on the phone, and recruiting for Arkansas. How is that going so far, and who have you tried to sway your way ?

Braylon- Its going good so far I have only called Michael Dyer and told him that "we need to keep all of our talent here at home were we belong"

- It is a long time till signing day Braylon. Are you planning on taking any more trips, and if so, where?

Braylon- No I don’t plan on it because I’m focusing on getting my team to War memorial stadium, I’m done with the recruiting process it takes a toll on you..

- In your own words, tell me what it will mean to you, to wear that HOG on your helmet?

Braylon- To wear the hog symbol to me would me that all my hard work as a kid finally paid off, and it would also mean that I have a lot more work to do because I want to help Arkansas Become SEC CHAMPIONS, As well as NATIONAL CHAMPIONS..

- The burning question......If I were to pick up your Ipod or your MP3 player, what 5 songs would I listen to first, at your request?

Braylon-
1. Thriller by Michael Jackson
2. Every girl in the world by Lilwayne
3. Best I ever had by lil wayne featuring drake
4. I want you back by Michael Jackson
5. Army gunz by lil wayne
I’m a big Michael Jackson and lil wayne fan

- You finished 3rd last year in conference, had a rough stretch through the first 4 weeks, then seemed to get it going down the stretch. What are you/your teams goals at Heber Springs this year?

Braylon- This year our main goal is to make it to war memorial stadium and finish first in the confrence..and to never take a play for granted, play every down like its your last.

- You are a big back, and you fit the mold of what Petrino wants in his running backs. What aspects of your game are your strengths, and what do you think you need to improve on to become the complete back you want to be?

Braylon- My strengths as a running back are running down hill and dominating my opponents who try to get in my way and stop me. I feel like I should work on my speed so that I can become a complete back.

- 76,000 fans calling the Hogs. What is the first thought that comes to your mind?

Braylon- The first thing that comes to mind is WOW!

Everyone Seems to want to Commit Early

There is definitely something to celebrate this week, as schools from across the south picked up a ton of high profile commits.

We have you covered from the latest LSU recruiting news, all the way to what has happened at Friday Night Lights football camp in Gainesville, FL.






COMMITS

- LSU has been picking up big commit after big commit. Over the last week & a half, the Tigers have loaded up on talent, size, and speed. Here is a list of what LSU has landed: 4* OT Evan Washington(6'5" 290lbs) DeSoto TX , 4* DE Jordan Allan(6'6" 266lbs) West Monroe LA , 4* OL/DT Elliot Porter(6'4" 280lbs) Waggaman LA , 4* CB Tyrann Mathieu(5'10" 175lbs) New Orleans LA , & (UR)DL Dexter Blackmon(6'2" 265lbs) Selma AL. Blackmon earned his scholarship offer at last weekends Tiger Camp.

- Texas A&M keeps racking up the talent. Pulling in a key commit out of the state of Louisiana, and getting a key LB out of the home state of Texas. 4* LB Corey Nelson made it official on July 12th. Nelson selected the Aggies over Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, LSU, UCLA, Tennessee, among a HOST of others. The Aggies also picked up a commit from Louisiana prep star and 4* ATH Jarret Fobbs. Fobbs chose the Aggies over Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, among others. 3* CB Tony Hurd Jr., also picks the Aggs over Oklahoma, Auburn, Tennessee, among others. Rounding out the week for Texas A&M was 4* LB Shaun Lewis. Lewis chose the Aggies over LSU, Alabama, Miami, Florida, & Oklahoma.

- Georgia continues to build on their already stellar class. The Dogs added 4* DE Dexter Morant 6'7" 240lbs(Manning, SC) , 4* DT Garrison Smith 6'4" 250lbs(Atlanta, GA), 4* DE T.J. Stripling 6'6" 220lbs(Decatur, GA). UGA also loses a recruit to Florida, in RB Mack Brown.

- Auburn landed a few solid recruits on "Stars & Stripes" weekend. The Tigers hosted nearly 200 recruits in it's weekend affair, and came away with some shining stars. 3* S Demetruce McNeal gave Auburn his commitment. McNeal had offers from South Carolina & West Virginia. 4* WR Antonio Goodwin also gave Auburn his pledge. Goodwin also had offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida St., Ole Miss, Oregon, & Tennessee.

- Alabama seemed to counter everything Auburn threw at them commit wise over the past week or so. Alabama landed a stud in RB Corey Grant. Grant a 5'10" 175lb RB, who sports a 4.4 forty, chose the Crimson Tide over Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, & Oklahoma. Another stud recruit the Crimson Tide got a verbal from was 4* TE Brian Vogler. Vogler commits to the Tide over offers from Oklahoma, Miami, Arkansas, Ohio State, South Carolina, & Clemson.

- Florida hosted Friday Night Lights this weekend. The Gators got verbals from some of the top flight talent in the nation, and also flipped one Georgia commit, to the Gators side. 4* RB Mack Brown switched his commit from Georgia to Florida late Friday evening. The Gators also landed one of the top DE's in the nation in 4* Dominique Easley 6'3" 258lbs 4.7 forty(Staten Island, NY).
Easley chose the Gators over, Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan, Penn State, UCLA, and a host of others. 3* DE Neiron Ball 6'4" 210 4.5 forty(Jackson, GA) also commits to Florida. Ball picked the Gators over Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, among others.

This week in SEC Recruiting

This is my first post of my weekly SEC recruiting updates. This will be updated weekly on the latest happenings around the SEC, as far as the recruiting trail is concerned.

COMMITS

-Mississippi State got a verbal commitment from DE Kaleb Eulls. Eulls is a 4-star prospect according to rivals, and chose the Bulldogs over Tennessee, Ole Miss, LSU, Georgia, Alabama, & Southern Miss.

-South Carolina recieved a verbal commitment from OT Cody Gibson. Gibson(6'6" 265lbs) visited Columbia on Monday, and commited on Tuesday. The OT also had offers from Indiana, South Fla, Illinois, Iowa, and Maryland.

-Georgia continued to add to their class with the addition of DE Brandon Burrows(6'3" 240lbs). Burrows chose the Bulldogs over Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Clemson, and a host of others.

-Arkansas picked up a pair of commitments this week to add to their class. Braylon Mitchell commited to Arkansas on Wednesday morning. Mitchell(6'2" 210lbs) chose the Hogs over Arkansas State. After a good showing at the Hogs camp earlier in the summer, Mitchell earned an offer from the Hogs. K Eduardo Camara also commited to the Hogs on Wednesday. Camara commited to the Hogs, while impressing at the Chris Sailer Top 12 camp.

WEEKLY TIDBITS

-4* DE Corey Miller now has a top 5. He has narrowed his list down to Tennessee, Cal, UCLA, Fla State, & North Carolina.

-4* CB/S Cody Riggs, has also narrowed his list down to 5 schools. Still in the running for his services are Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Notre Dame, and Florida State.

-Highly sought after LB Kendall Moore(Raleigh, NC) is planning on announcing his decision on July 11. His final list of schools include, Duke, NC State, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Fla State, & Maryland.

- 4* WR Ivan McCartney 6'3" 180lbs(Miramir, FL). Looks like Ivan will not make the Florida camp coming up. Surprising, he was considered a Florida lean. Talk is that he is not liking the pressure Meyer is putting on him to commit right now.

-4* ATH DeMarco Cobbs has named Alabama his leader at this point. Cobbs is also being recruited by LSU, Auburn, Florida, and a host of other schools.

-4* WR James Louis narrowed his list down to 4 schools this week. His top 4 include Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio State.

-Tennessee offered 2011 prospect, and University of Arkansas commit WR Demetrius Dean.