In-state UA targets take MVP honors
Two in-state athletes and University of Arkansas football targets earned MVP honors at the Under Armour Next Camp in Dallas on March 10.
Class of 2025 Arkansas quarterback commitment Grayson Wilson, 6-3, 200 pounds, of Central Arkansas Christian and 2026 Cross County defensive lineman Danny Beale III were named co-MVPs of their respective positions after the event.
ESPN National Recruiting Coordinator Craig Haubert was roving around from position to position when he moved to the quarterbacks and heard ESPN analyst and sideline reporter Tom Luginbill and former NFL quarterback Jeff Blake rave about Wilson.
“Obviously, I knew about him because he was committed but wasn’t overly familiar with him until I got the chance to see him in-person,” Haubert said. “Tom worked the camp as well and we were kind of talking about him and were very pleasantly surprised physically. I mean he has a great frame. I know he runs pretty well but he’s one of those kids that just starts throwing, he just has a smooth stroke. Very compact. He kind of made it look effortless.”
Luginbill, who played quarterback at Georgia Tech and was named the ACC newcomer of the year in 1994, likes the progression of Wilson.
“Wilson has grown significantly since I first saw him on film in 2022,” Luginbill said. “He’s become a powerful passer. Strong arm, accurate, and was very coachable throughout the day.”
Wilson, who helped lead the Mustangs to the recent 3A state basketball title, is also an outstanding pitcher for his high school. He completed 209 of 308 passes for 3,413 yards and 41 touchdowns while throwing only 2 interceptions as a junior. He rushed for 837 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Blake considered about five signal callers for MVP honors before naming Wilson and Keelon Wilson of Duncanville, Texas, MVPs out of approximately 25 quarterbacks on hand.
“It wasn’t like he was the best of a bad group, he was among the best of a really quality group,” Haubert said.
Being named the best of the best isn’t out of the norm for Wilson. He was the best of more than 70 quarterbacks during the Dec. 16-18 U.S. Army Bowl combine at The Star in Frisco, Texas, and received an invitation to play in the 2024 U.S. Army Bowl game because of his performance.
Wilson is rated a 4-star prospect and the No. 5 dual-threat quarterback in the nation by Rivals. ESPN currently rates him a 3-star recruit but that’s likely to change.
“He’s one of those guys that we came back and already made a note to adjust his grade the next time we do an update,” Haubert said.
Beale, 6-4, 320 pounds, has accumulated scholarship offers from Arkansas, Georgia, Southern Cal, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Auburn, Temple and others. He is not rated yet by the four major recruiting services but his performance last weekend should help him earn 4-star status at some point.
“He was really impressive,” Haubert said. “I know watching him in 1-on-1s, he showed good quickness. We like him on film. We think he’s clearly a Power 5 caliber player.”
Haubert said Beale showed the intangibles that he and coaches like to see besides the physical talent.
“One of things about these camps is even though they’re just a couple of hours, you have a chance to see what the kids like are in terms of are they coachable,” Haubert said. “Do they give good effort? Are they kind of disinterested or are they just there just for the free gear. He was one of these kids that was really invested and gave a lot of effort.”
Former NFL linebacker and long time NFL defensive line coach Pepper Johnson worked the camp and spoke well of Beale.
“I know [Beale] worked with our D-line coach Pepper Johnson, who played for the New York Giants and also won three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots,” Haubert said. “I was talking to him after the camp and he really liked him. Not only liked how [Beale] moved in drills, and obviously 1-on-1s are what people like to talk about and he did well in that too, but he said he was really coachable. You have a guy that has that many Super Bowl rings and that type of wealth of information, he kind of realized it and was trying to soak as much out of him as he could, which is good to see.”
Beale, who’s being recruited for both sides of the ball by Arkansas, visited Fayetteville on Jan. 27. He recorded 26 tackles, 4 tackles loss, 3 sacks, 4 quarterback hurries and a forced fumble last season despite teams avoiding him.
He was defensive line co-MVP with Jackson Blackwell of Lorena, Texas.
Class of 2025 Arkansas cornerback target Aidan Anding, 6-0, 165 pounds, of Ruston (La.) was named the lone MVP of the defensive backs.
Anding, who has scholarship offers from Arkansas, TCU, Ole Miss, Miami, Baylor and Houston, is expected to visit the Hogs on March 26.