Mississippi junior college wideout Jonathan Nance looking hard at Razorbacks.
Arkansas recently extended scholarship offers to two junior college football prospects from the same school, and both are looking to visit the Hogs this summer.
Receivers Jonathan Nance, 6- 1, 181 pounds, 4.44 seconds in the 40- yard dash, and Brandon Martin, 6- 4, 220, 4.37, of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, received offers Friday after Razorbacks receivers coach Michael Smith visited the school.
“They’re at the top of my list,” Nance said. “It’s a great program. I know they have a couple of experienced receivers I can learn from.”
Nance, who also has an offer from Troy, signed with Southern Miss in 2015 out of high school in Gulfport, Miss.
“I graduated early and signed and went to Southern Miss, and I was supposed to be playing receiver there, but I was playing corner,” Nance said.
He ended up leaving the Golden Eagles after a semester. Nance said the offer from the Razorbacks was made more special after leaving Hattiesburg and taking the chance of improving his opportunities.
“I transferred from there to juco, so I took a step back,” said Nance, who plans to graduate in December and enroll at his new school in January.
He’s also drawing interest from Arizona State, Iowa State, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, as well as Southern Miss under a new coach. He has kept the faith and worked hard.
“I just work as hard as I can in the offseason and got faster and stronger,” Nance said. “It was tough waking up all these early mornings and working out twice a day, running. But when this spring came along, all these schools were talking to me. But Arkansas was the first to offer me besides Troy.”
Nance recorded 31 receptions for 400 yards and 3 touchdowns last season.
“I was basically the only freshman that played,” he said.
Nance also said he’s been impressed with Smith’s way of recruiting.
“He was a great guy,” Nance said. “He was being real and telling me how it’s going to be and what it’s going to take to get here and there. That’s what I like to hear.”
Nance said a commitment to the Hogs could come soon.
“I’m already excited about that,” he said. “I’ve been talking to my family about that. I might be giving the coaches a call next week once my transcripts go through. That’s a possibility.”
Defensive end Isaiah Buggs, also from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, released his top 10 schools about a month ago. In no particular order, they are Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas A& M, Baylor, Miami, Ole Miss, Auburn, Georgia and Florida.
“Me, Buggs and Brandon have offers from them, and we want to come up and see the campus,” Nance said of Arkansas. “We’re just going to ride up there together during the summer for a visit.”
Martin has about 15 other offers, including ones from Florida, Auburn, Mississippi State, Louisville and Arizona State. He signed with LSU in 2015 out of Prime Prep Academy in Dallas, but failed to qualify and enrolled in junior college.
He redshirted last season and said he plans to graduate in December. He will have three years to play three at his next school.
Martin said he watched the Hogs defeat LSU 31- 14 last November.
“It was real good game,” Martin said. “I liked how they played.”
Martin, who was rated as the No. 12 wide receiver and No. 101 overall prospect in the nation in 2015, said he’s no stranger to Smith. “We have a good relationship. They were recruiting me out of high school when I was at Prime Prep,” Martin said. “I’ve seen some of the guys he’s produced, and I see some of the people he works with now.”
Martin said he is also a fan of Smith’s upfront approach to recruiting.
“He keeps it real with you,” he said. “He’s not going to tell you just what you want to hear.”
In addition to Arkansas, Martin said he also plans to visit Auburn, Iowa State, LSU and Baylor this summer.
“I think I’m going to make a decision after the season,” Martin said.