You didn’t expect coach Bret Bielema to celebrate our nation’s Independence Day any other way, did you?
Arkansas reveled Saturday as the team picked up a commitment from hulking four-star offensive lineman Jake Heinrich.
It's official, I am verbally committed to the University of Arkansas! Happy 4th! ???? #Blessed #WooPig #BeUncommon pic.twitter.com/VepOSYCfxY
— Jake Heinrich (@JAKEHEINRICH1) July 4, 2015
WOOOOOOOO PIG SOOIE!!! Hogs are calling from Urbandale, Iowa! #WPS #Uncommon
— Arkansas Football Recruiting (@RazorbackFBRec) July 4, 2015
At 6-foot-4 and 285 pounds, Heinrich rates as the second-best player from the state of Iowa in 2016 and the 11th-best guard in the country, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
Heinrich also held offers from Oregon, Iowa State, Louisville, Kansas State, Illinois, California and Duke.
“I’m just excited about the program because obviously coach Pittman and coach Bielema have a great history of developing offensive linemen,” Heinrich said, according to WholeHogSports.com.
“They sent me a graphic, a little recruiting mailer with a picture of jerseys of guys they’ve had drafted just this past year or signed so to speak plus people who are in the league now on an active (NFL) roster. I want to say there were two dozen plus guys. The page was full.”
Heinrich fills a huge need for Arkansas in the ’16 recruiting class. Arkansas will lose Sebastian Tretola and Mitch Smothers after 2015, two starters on the interior offensive line, as well as backup guard Marcus Danenhauer.
Arkansas now claims 11 different commitments for the ’16 class. The Razorbacks currently rank 10th in the SEC, ahead of Mississippi State, Missouri, Vanderbilt and South Carolina.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
