O-lineman friends, UA targets weigh options
Two friends who just happen to be major University of Arkansas 2025 offensive line targets, visited the Razorbacks last weekend and one plans to make an official visit to Fayetteville while the other might possibly do the same.
Lionel Prudhomme, 6-3, 300 pounds, of Shreveport (La.) Captain Shreve and Devin Harper, 6-5, 290, of Shreveport (La.) Calvary Baptist Academy visited the Hogs on March 9-10.
Prudhomme has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Ole Miss, Missouri, Texas Tech, Mississippi State, Arizona State, Houston, Tulsa and others. He enjoyed his first trip to Fayetteville.
“All the coaches were showing love,” Prudhomme said. “The staff was around showing love. It was just a great environment.”
Prudhomme, Harper and other prospects attended the Hogs’ baseball game against McNeese State on March 9.
“We went to the baseball game and that was really live for real,” Prudhomme said. “There was a lot of fans. They have a great fan base. Everybody was Arkansas strong.”
247Sports rates him a 3-star prospect while the three other major recruiting services have yet to rate him. He said he plans to make a return trip to Fayetteville for an officials visit, but is uncertain on a date.
Offensive line coach Eric Mateos extended the Arkansas offer to Prudhomme on Jan. 24. Prudhomme said spending time with Mateos and Coach Sam Pittman highlighted the trip.
“Hanging out with Coach Mateos was great,” Prudhomme said. “I have a great feel for him. We were talking about some real stuff. I actually had a chance to talk to Coach Pittman … and that went good. He was telling me they would really love me to be here and how this is a great place for me to come.
“It was a great first impression actually since it was my first time meeting him. Because he really just kept it real with me. He wasn’t going to sugarcoat nothing. He was telling me I could really develop here and potentially how he produces O-linemen, he and coach Mateos, I could potentially be a draft pick in the future.”
Prudhomme said he’ll probably announce a top five in the middle of May and because of the visit, the Hogs have good shot of making the cut.
“It gave them a great chance to make into my top five, for sure,” Prudhomme said.
Harper, who committed to LSU on Jan. 30, visited Arkansas for the Hogwild Hangout in late July of last year. He said his second trip to Fayetteville went “great.”
“The coaches like last time were very energetic, a lot of juice,” Harper said. “Just showing love. Just showing the people around the campus, around the facility. Showing all that they have to offer. Academics, networking and of course with Sam Pittman being an O-line guru with all his draft picks. Just feeding off of that and telling us how if we come to Arkansas, we can get developed and have an opportunity to play early and possibly get to the league. Just the typical things Arkansas has been expressing during my recruiting process.”
Harper, a consensus 4-star prospect, is On3.com’s No. 7 interior offensive lineman and the No. 98 overall recruit in the nation for the 2025 class. Arkansas, LSU, Georgia, Ole Miss, Florida State, Oklahoma, Florida, Penn State, Southern Cal are some of Harper’s scholarship offers.
While he and Prudhomme are close friends, Harper said the two haven’t discussed attending the same school.
“If that happens, it happens, but we haven’t actually sat down and said we’re going to the same school,” Harper said.
When asked where Arkansas stood with him, he said he’s committed LSU Coach Brian Kelly and offensive line coach Brad Davis.
“I’m committed to LSU,” he said. “It was great coming up here and seeing everything again and meet with Coach Mateos for a whole day. So I’m not actually fully closed but I’m committed as of now but I know a school like Arkansas, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Georgia are going to continue to pursue me and I’ll probably end up taking some official visits to some of those schools. But as of right now, I’m locked in with the Tigers and Brad Davis and Brian Kelly. So I’m not fully closed, but I’m committed.”