Defensive end prospect flips from Memphis to Arkansas
Defensive end Eric Gregory flipped his oral commitment from Memphis to Arkansas on Monday.
He pledged to the Hogs sight unseen, but he has been talking to new head coach Chad Morris and defensive coordinator John Chavis. He said he plans to make an official visit to Fayetteville for the Alabama game on Oct. 6.
“I feel like there’s a family there,” Gregory said. “Even though I haven’t taken my official visit, I’ve been talking to coach Chavis and the head coach Morris. I feel like they’re really building something there, and I can fit in well.”
Gregory, 6-3, 270 pounds, 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., also had scholarship offers from Auburn, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU and others. He is teammates with Razorback receiver commitment Shamar Nash, who has raved about the Hogs since his pledge in June.
“He talked to me about it and said it was a great place, and I took his word for it that it was a great place,” Gregory said.
Gregory said his uncle had two friends who attended the University of Arkansas, and they spoke highly about the school.
“I talked to them about it, and they were saying Arkansas is a wonderful place, and it would be perfect for me,” Gregory said. “They said the campus and life there is just amazing.”
Gregory recorded 56 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 12 sacks as a junior at Memphis Central. ESPN rates Gregory a four-star prospect and the No. 49 defensive end in the nation. Gregory said Nash’s mother also helped him decide on the Hogs after she discussed her being on her son’s official visit on June 7-9.
“She was telling me the same thing like it’s beautiful place down there,” Gregory said. “I took her word for it because I’ve been on many visits with her, and there were some places she didn’t like and I didn’t like. She and I have the same kind of taste.
Gregory is Arkansas’ 10th commitment and the fourth defensive lineman in the 2019 class. Defensive ends Mataio Soli and Zach Williams, and defensive tackle Carl Williams are the other pledges.
Oral commitments are nonbinding.