Rogers TE Jake Byrne talks about his offer from the Hogs

[The Recruiting Guy]

Jake Byrne is a 6-5, 240 TE with 4.6 speed from Rogers HS. Jake had 30 catches for 300 yards in 06. I talked to Jake about 20 minutes ago. Here's what he had to say.


TRG: When did Arkansas offer you?

Jake: They offered yesterday while I was watching Spiderman 3 with my little brother. Coach Lee called during the movie and told me to call him back. I called him back later and he told me he had watched film of me and I reminded him of the Cowboy's TE Jason Witten and he wanted to offer me.

TRG: What other schools are thinking of offering?

Jake: I talked to Coach Young at Kansas today and they are talking about an offer and Mississippi St Coach Grimes called coach Peacock and they're thinking about offering.

TRG: What other schools are showing interest?

Jake: Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Ohio St., Florida, Ole Miss, Clemson. I'm leaving some others out but there's a ton more.

TRG: What's the best part of your game?

Jake: I'm a physical player and I'm good possession receiver with great speed for my size.

TRG: What schools have you visited?

Jake: Arkansas, Wisconsin and Tulsa.

TRG: What's the connection to Wisconsin?

Jake: My grandparents and lots of my family live there. They wanted me to visit up there. Both my parents are from Wisconsin. My dad works for Wal Mart and we've moved around. I was born in Indiana but we lived in Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan,  and Wisconsin for a couple of months. I've lived in Rogers since the 4th grade.

TRG: Do you plan to attend any camps this summer?

Jake: I plan to go to at least two camps but I'm not sure. I'm going to talk to my parents and decide. I may go to Arkansas' Sr. camp and Ohio St.

TRG: When do you plan to make a decision?

Jake: Arkansas is a exceptional school and I will commit early but I want to check out all my options.



Jake could very well end up as one of the most heavily recruited players in the state. He has everything you want in a tight end. I look forward to staying in touch with Jake. He's a very sharp and nice young man.

[southern hawg]

What are the odds of him playing D-Lineman in college?

[HOGINTENNESSEE]

Jake come to Arkansas!

[CarolinaHog1176]

What are the odds of him playing D-Lineman in college?

6'5" 240 lbs 4.6 and he says one of his best attributes is his aggressiveness... I'd say he'll get a look.  we just signed 3 TE's this year (even though Lampkin will probably end up on the DL and Freeman will probably end up on the OL).  David Williams will definitely play TE, along with HBack, Fullback, etc.

[slopinhogs]

sounds like a good candidate for a full back to me. :razorback:

[HawgAdvocate]

Geez...we have so many great TEs coming out of our high schools (Cleveland, Pinalto, Williams, Byrne, & Freeman)  but an offensive system here at the UofA that doesn't utilize them?

Anyone else sense the irony in all this?

Cleveland is playing Fullback.
Pinalto is at UNC.
D.J. Williams is supposedly being groomed to replace Hillis at FB/H-Back.
Freeman is being groomed for OT
And Byrne mentions his best attribute is his good hands, and his combo of size and speed.

I loved it when Arkansas schools were churning out RBs like it was nobody's business.

[bigguy551122]

Geez...we have so many great TEs coming out of our high schools (Cleveland, Pinalto, Williams, Byrne, & Freeman)  but an offensive system here at the UofA that doesn't utilize them?

Anyone else sense the irony in all this?

Cleveland is playing Fullback.
Pinalto is at UNC.
D.J. Williams is supposedly being groomed to replace Hillis at FB/H-Back.
Freeman is being groomed for OT
And Byrne mentions his best attribute is his good hands, and his combo of size and speed.

I loved it when Arkansas schools were churning out RBs like it was nobody's business.

very true arkansas high schools are producing alot of good tight ends these days , was looking on rivals the other day and saw where the pianalto kid is already the first string H back at UNC.

[IcEwalker]

Geez...we have so many great TEs coming out of our high schools (Cleveland, Pinalto, Williams, Byrne, & Freeman)  but an offensive system here at the UofA that doesn't utilize them?

Anyone else sense the irony in all this?

Cleveland is playing Fullback.
Pinalto is at UNC.
D.J. Williams is supposedly being groomed to replace Hillis at FB/H-Back.
Freeman is being groomed for OT
And Byrne mentions his best attribute is his good hands, and his combo of size and speed.

I loved it when Arkansas schools were churning out RBs like it was nobody's business.

i see nothing wrong with any of those moves mentioned. Freeman is not an SEC TE, trust me, i played against him.

[ballhog88]

Geez...we have so many great TEs coming out of our high schools (Cleveland, Pinalto, Williams, Byrne, & Freeman)  but an offensive system here at the UofA that doesn't utilize them?

Anyone else sense the irony in all this?

Cleveland is playing Fullback.
Pinalto is at UNC.
D.J. Williams is supposedly being groomed to replace Hillis at FB/H-Back.
Freeman is being groomed for OT
And Byrne mentions his best attribute is his good hands, and his combo of size and speed.

I loved it when Arkansas schools were churning out RBs like it was nobody's business.

i see nothing wrong with any of those moves mentioned. Freeman is not an SEC TE, trust me, i played against him.

There was guy on here who played against Dmac who just thought he was a good high school running back. I think he said he turned out to be a good college running back also.

[VenturaHog]

Geez...we have so many great TEs coming out of our high schools (Cleveland, Pinalto, Williams, Byrne, & Freeman)  but an offensive system here at the UofA that doesn't utilize them?

Anyone else sense the irony in all this?

Cleveland is playing Fullback.
Pinalto is at UNC.
D.J. Williams is supposedly being groomed to replace Hillis at FB/H-Back.
Freeman is being groomed for OT
And Byrne mentions his best attribute is his good hands, and his combo of size and speed.

I loved it when Arkansas schools were churning out RBs like it was nobody's business.

i see nothing wrong with any of those moves mentioned. Freeman is not an SEC TE, trust me, i played against him.

There was guy on here who played against Dmac who just thought he was a good high school running back. I think he said he turned out to be a good college running back also.

huh?

[IcEwalker]

grant has the height and speed, and with alittle weight, could be a very talented offensive lineman. but just not the overall athletic ability to knock out a DJ Williams, Ben Cleveland, or even this Byrne kid for playing time at that position.

[Tomhog™]

He sounds like he heavily favors the Hogs from what I've heard.  He's got really good speed for his size and could fit it at multiple positions.  He'll be Hog before it's all said and done, I believe...

[jhudson84]

I have said all along that the Hogs need to offfer Byrne before everyone else gets in the game, looks like were the first and it could pay off.  Hes a great player.  We got to start looking at defense somewhere and putting a few more offers out there

[blueshog2001]

He said on Press Row this morning that Lee Z was trying to get him to come to Auburn.  That is going to kill us if Auburn steals more high profile recruits. Jake needs to be a hog, hopefully he can bring back the Joe Dean Davenport days.

[arkjay19]

Sounds like Arkansas has a great chance of getting this kid.

GO HOGS!

[501Ben]

He said on Press Row this morning that Lee Z was trying to get him to come to Auburn.  That is going to kill us if Auburn steals more high profile recruits. Jake needs to be a hog, hopefully he can bring back the Joe Dean Davenport days.

I wouldn't worry about that too much.

[jkcrunch]

This is a great kid from and would be a big asset to UA. 

[Hugehogsfan]

I am excited that he favors the Hogs, it appears, but we have GOT to use the TE as it is supposed to be used to be successful, when we go up against teams that actually throw to their TE's.

[mj4president]

Jake doesn't want to come to Arkansas. They also aren't in the lead at all. Arkansas probably ranks 5th or 6th. He is a good guy.

[501Ben]

Jake doesn't want to come to Arkansas. They also aren't in the lead at all. Arkansas probably ranks 5th or 6th. He is a good guy.

Not that I doubt your info, but how do you know this? Because Arkansas is the first school to offer, so I don't see how U of A can be that far down the list when he doesn't have any other offers at the moment.

[redbarn]

Whether Grant Lee has a stellar career or not, I am glad he is a Razorback.  The kid may not be a NFL all star but he will and is a good person and I am proud that he will get the education he wants so bad.

[IcEwalker]

Jake doesn't want to come to Arkansas. They also aren't in the lead at all. Arkansas probably ranks 5th or 6th. He is a good guy.

everything i could read from his interview on press row, this isnt correct.

[little pigee]

Jake doesn't want to come to Arkansas. They also aren't in the lead at all. Arkansas probably ranks 5th or 6th. He is a good guy.

I wonder why HE didn't say that? 

[kimjongsqUeAl]

Jake, you know you want to be a HOG! 

[HawgAdvocate]

Not that I doubt your info, but how do you know this? Because Arkansas is the first school to offer, so I don't see how U of A can be that far down the list when he doesn't have any other offers at the moment.

Not to agree or disagree with anyone's opinion on where the kid wants to go, but he can easily favor other schools that haven't offered yet. An example would be that he's wanting to go to Ohio St.'s camp this summer, so it's easy to assume that he has high interest in impressing their coaches if he's willing to travel that far just for a camp.

[501Ben]

Not that I doubt your info, but how do you know this? Because Arkansas is the first school to offer, so I don't see how U of A can be that far down the list when he doesn't have any other offers at the moment.

Not to agree or disagree with anyone's opinion on where the kid wants to go, but he can easily favor other schools that haven't offered yet. An example would be that he's wanting to go to Ohio St.'s camp this summer, so it's easy to assume that he has high interest in impressing their coaches if he's willing to travel that far just for a camp.

True he can, but this is college which cost major money, so on signing day he will tend to favor a school that is willing to pay for it more than one who isn't.

[mj4president]

Jake doesn't want to come to Arkansas. They also aren't in the lead at all. Arkansas probably ranks 5th or 6th. He is a good guy.

everything i could read from his interview on press row, this isnt correct.

Yea exactly PRESS ROW. How many players that have visited or get offered come out and publicly bash the school they just went to or offered by? That never happens. He will get a lot more offers. But things can change bigtime even on a daily basis.