Ohio junior OL Blaine Scott preparing to narrow list.
Arkansas offensive line target Blaine Scott has narrowed his list of 31 scholarship offers and plans to announce the list this week. He said the Hogs have made the cut.
“The other day, I sat down with my coach and we took my list of 31 schools that have offered me and we were able to cut that list down pretty good,” Scott said.
Scott, 6-4, 300 pounds, of Portsmouth (Ohio) Sciotoville East, has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Iowa State, Florida, Louisville, Miami, Michigan State and others.
Arkansas offensive line coach Kurt Anderson visited Scott’s school during the contact period leading up to national signing day on Feb. 1.
“He talked to my coach for the majority of the time,” Scott said. “We’ve been talking on the phone and through Twitter. Arkansas is still definitely a school that I’m still considering.”
Scott’s great-grandmother lives in Stilwell, Okla., which is less than an hour’s drive from Fayetteville. He also has two cousins living in Fayetteville.
“Out of all the places that’s a good distance away from me, Arkansas is a very feasible choice for me because of the family I have down there,” Scott said.
Scott will announce his college decision May 5, his birthday. He visited Fayetteville last summer and plans to make a return trip for a spring practice. He’s recently made trips to Illinois, Michigan State and Duke.
“The visits I’m going to be taking the next few months, including first couple I’ve taken recently, are really going to be the schools I’m going to decide from,” he said.
Coach Bret Bielema’s vision and plans for the Arkansas program are the biggest reasons Scott said he wants to visit the Hogs again.
“I really believe what Coach Bielema and Coach Anderson and the staff believe in, and what they’re looking to accomplish in Fayetteville,” Scott said. “Something that hasn’t been done there in a while, going to a national championship and contending for titles year in and year out. I really believe they’re on the verge of something special with some other players they’re recruiting in my class.”
Arkansas has commitments from two ESPN 300 prospects for the 2018 class: quarterback Connor Noland of Greenwood and linebacker Bumper Pool of Lucas (Texas) Lovejoy.
“I know they have a bigtime quarterback, Connor Noland,” Scott said. “He’s a big-time player that’s committed to them.”
Noland committed to the Razorback last July. He and Pool are trying to recruit other top prospects to Fayetteville.
“When I took my visit down there, he got a hold of me on Twitter and sent me a nice message and gave me his phone number,” Scott said. “He said anytime I needed to know anything or wanted to talk about Arkansas, just to reach out to him.”
The recruiting process can be stressful at times, but Scott said he wouldn’t have it another way.
“I always realize at the end of the day there’s a lot of kids that wish they could be in my position,” Scott said. “It kind of sucks to have to tell big-time schools, ‘No,’ but it’s going to be a real selfish decision because you’re looking for the best fit for you because you’re going to be living there for four to five years.”
CBS Sports Network national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming rates Scott as a 4-star prospect.
“He’s a big powerful offensive tackle with excellent technique,” Lemming said. “He can dominate at the point of the attack.”
Scott, who said he plans to graduate in December and enroll at his school of choice in January, has a accumulative grade-point average of 4.0.
“I just want to get in and get ready to compete and start my journey to try and become one of the greatest offensive linemen ever,” said Scott, who’s considering engineering for his major.
One of Scott’s cousins living in Fayetteville, James Baker, is a big Hogs fan and never misses an opportunity to urge Scott to be a Razorback.
“I got the Minnesota offer the other day and ol’ Jimmy was on Facebook talking about how the Hogs outweigh the Gophers any day of the week,” Scott said.,