May 10, 2008

Hogs land QB commitment

Arkansas picked up the first out-of-state commitment for the 2009 recruiting class in Frisco (Texas) Wakeland quarterback Will Secord.

Secord, 6-foot-2, 204 pounds, is a lefty who has been timed in 4.66 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Last season he completed 147-of-248 passes for 2,019 yards, 23 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He also rushed 61 times for 83 yards and 5 more scores.

Secord led the Wolverines to a 10-1 regular season before losing in the first round of the 3A playoffs to Royse City, 21-14. Paul Offill is a former football assistant at Wakeland and is Secord's current head baseball coach. Secord is the son of Wakefield head coach Marty Secord.

"He's committed to play quarterback at Arkansas," Coach Paul Offill said. "He's a good kid, great kid. He's a typical coaches kid. He understands that the work doesn't stop when practice is over. He does all the things that he has to do in summertime and in off-season, and he balances football and baseball well.

"It's hard to be a quarterback on the football team and a baseball player, but he does them both. He gets his work in throwing the football, then he comes to baseball and gets all his work in here. He'll stay after and take some cuts and get some more ground balls. He understands how to balance all that stuff.

"I think they sent them a tape and they saw enough on tape. The kid's 6-2, 6-3, 200 pounds, left-hander, runs well. There's a lot of potential there. I think they saw something in their style of offense that they can work with. We spread it out and throw the football all over the place, and he does a good job with that. I think they saw in him something they can get in there and groom and maybe be a stud for them."

Secord was also receiving interest from several Big 12 schools, including Oklahoma State and Nebraska. He first visited Arkansas during spring practices and has planned to make an official commitment for a while now.
