Arkansas Lands Bishop Gorman 2017 WR Maleek Barkley with Texas Ties
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
Sunday night the Arkansas Razorbacks landed a Class of 2017 wide receiver from an unexpected area and school, Maleek Barkley from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. The one regional tie that binds the Hogs with Barkley is Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas.
A conspiracy theory is out centered on Lake Travis High School. The Cavaliers posted a 15-1 record in 2015 marching to the Texas High School Championship Game before falling 34-7 to Katy High School yet recruits on the roster have been undervalued by recruiting services. Barkley was a key contributor for Lake Travis netting 617 yards on the ground off 64 carries with 10 scores and caught 55 passes for 693 yards with another 10 touchdowns. The 5’11”, 185 pound, talent has the playmaking capabilities of a Felix Jones or out of the 2016 recruiting class, T.J. Hammonds.
Barkley can bring another skill set to the Fayetteville campus, as a return man. Fielding nine kickoff returns, Barkley added to his all-purpose yards covering 334 yards with a long of 98 adding two more scores to his tally.
Recruiting for Barkley has been under the radar with UNLV, Texas State, and Illinois being the other current offers for the 3-star recruit. This theme runs true for a couple of other Lake Travis Class of 2017 players. Over the last week, wide receiver Cade Green committed to Wisconsin and safety Austin Hiller committed to Northwestern despite being undervalued with no star rankings by other recruiting sites.
Barkley posted his announcement via Twitter writing, “I’m excited to announce that I have committed to… THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS! #WooPig.”
During the offseason, Barkley transferred schools from one national powerhouse to another. Bishop Gorman has been one of the top high school football programs in the nation since 2007 winning seven consecutive Nevada state titles (2009-12). The Gales won a national title at the conclusion of the 2014 season largely playing an out of state schedule against some of the top programs throughout the west coast.
The Razorbacks now have four verbal commitments to their 2017 class covering four different states; Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, and Nevada.
Arkansas Razorbacks 2017 Verbal Commitment List
LB Derrick Munson, 6-0, 195, Archbishop Rummel, Metairie, LA
QB Daulton Hyatt, 6-3, 178, Etowah HS, Attalla, AL
WR Maleek Barkley, 5-11, 185, Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas, NV
WR Jarrod Barnes, 5-11, 170, Cabot HS, Cabot, AR
Photo credit: statesman.com; No. 4 Maleek Barkley stiff arms a defender in the open field.