Ad Disclosure
One of the more powerful recruiting tools a coach has is the influence of that recruit’s peers. It is fairly common practice for committed recruits to help recruit other targets and try to sway them over to their school.
It often happens without the school having to do anything to set it in motion. It is the power of peer pressure and personal relationships among recruits, who may know each other from the camp circuit.
Arkansas is getting some help from receiver Kofi Boateng, who committed in August and himself seems pretty certain he will attend Arkansas, is trying to flip two Texas prospects.
Boateng said he noted four-star running back Rakeem Boyd is planning an official visit to Arkansas despite his commitment to Texas A&M. Boateng met Boyd at 7-on-7 tournaments and the two became friends.
Boateng told WholeHogSports.com that he asked Boyd to keep something of an open mind.
“I just told him when he goes down that he should really give it a real look and he’ll be able to play early there, too, because we’ll be losing two running backs,” Boateng said. “I told him I know he’s committed to Texas A&M and I’m not going to try and make him decommit. But just give it a shot and if he feels like it could be the place for him to go ahead and jump on board because we could use him.”
Boateng said he is trying to get Boyd to visit Fayetteville with him in late January. He is also working on three-star cornerback Eric Cuffee, whom Boateng has been in contact with too.
This is all par for the course in the world of recruiting. Commitments are the best resource for talking to other undecided recruits. It is yet to be seen whether Arkansas or Boateng will be successful in these efforts.
