Arkansas’ first signees in the Class of 2018

Connor Noland
Quarterback
6-3 | 205
Greenwood, Ark./Greenwood HS
Twitter: @cnoland_13

HIGH SCHOOL
Four-star prospect by ESPN and rated the No. 243 overall in the ESPN300 … Consensus top three player in the state of Arkansas by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports … Rated as the No. 2 player in Arkansas by ESPN and 247Sports … Graded as the No. 14 pocket passer by ESPN … Four-star recruit, No. 333 nationally and the No. 12 pro-style quarterback by the 247Sports Composite ranking … Coached by Rick Jones at Greenwood HS … Threw for 61 touchdowns and 5,768 yards in his career at Greenwood … Played in the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas … Led the Bulldogs to a perfect 13-0 record and a Class 6A state title as a senior … Threw for 304 and four touchdowns on 20 of 27 passing in Greenwood’s 52-14 win over Pine Bluff in the state title game … Named the Hooten’s Arkansas Football Class 7A/6A Offensive Player of the Year … Completed 225 of 333 passes for 2,801 yards and 34 touchdowns in 2017 … Added 239 yards rushing and five touchdowns … As a junior, he completed 151 of 229 passes for 2,095 yards, 18 touchdowns … Rushed 122 times for 553 yards … Helped lead Greenwood to a 12-1 record … As a sophomore, he completed 73 of 103 passes for 872 yards and 9 touchdowns with 431 rushing yards and four touchdowns … Chose Arkansas over Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Missouri, Kentucky, Penn State, UCLA, North Carolina, Memphis and others.

Billy Ferrell 
Defensive Lineman 
6-3 | 331 
Fordyce, Ark. | Fordyce HS 
Twitter: @7_BjFerrell

HIGH SCHOOL
Consensus three-star prospect by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports … Ranked the No. 53 defensive tackle in the nation and the No. 7 player in the state of Arkansas by Rivals … Displayed his athleticism as a senior at Fordyce with 63 tackles, including 8.0 for loss, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries on defense to go along with 12 kick returns for 419 yards … Also added 136 yards rushing and three touchdowns … As a junior, he registered 37 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, four sacks for the Redbugs … Hauled in six receptions for 68 yards and three touchdowns … Also plays first base for Fordyce’s baseball team … Chose Arkansas over Alabama, Wisconsin, Louisville, Memphis, Colorado State and others.

Bumper Pool
Linebacker
6-2 | 213
Lucas, Texas | Lovejoy HS
Twitter: @bumperpool10

HIGH SCHOOL
Four-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals … No. 236 ranked overall prospect by 247Sports … No. 12 inside linebacker in Texas by 247Sports and No. 14 according to Rivals … Top-40 player in Texas by 247Sports (No. 27) and Rivals (No. 37) … Recorded more than 300 tackles in his four-year career at Lovejoy … As a senior, totaled 166 tackles (108 solo), recorded 14 tackles for loss, broke up four passes, forced three fumbles, had three interceptions and blocked one PAT … Also was used in a wildcat role on offense and found the end zone six times … Tallied 12 tackles, blocked a PAT, broke up a pass and returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown in a 63-15 win over Forney … Registered 30 tackles over the first three games of the season … Ran for 51 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries in a 45-29 win over Sulphur Springs … Accepted an invitation to participate in The 88 Offense-Defense All-American Bowl featuring 88 of the top high school recruits in the 2018 class … Among 51 players on the Butkus Award’s high school watch list … Named the linebacker MVP out of 31 other prospects at his position at the Nike Football The Opening Regional Dallas … As a junior in 2016, had 110 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2 pass deflections, 1 pass breakups, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble and 1 recovered fumble … Earned a spot on the 15-5A Football All-District second team … As a sophomore in 2015, collected 148 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, four sacks, a quarterback hurry, six pass breakups, five forced fumbles and two recovered fumbles … Coached by Todd Ford … A four-sport athlete who also wrestles, plays golf and competes in track … Chose Arkansas over Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M, USC, Michigan, Oklahoma State, TCU, Arizona, Maryland and SMU.

Silas Robinson
Offensive Lineman
6-4 | 300
Yoakum, Texas | Yoakum HS
Twitter: @SilasQb3

HIGH SCHOOL
Three-star recruit by ESPN and Rivals … No. 80 ranked offensive guard by ESPN … No. 176 ranked player in Texas by ESPN … As a senior, paved the way for 4,262 yards on the ground, including two 1,000-yard rushers … Blocked for a rushing attack that averaged 304.4 rushing yards per game and 9.2 yards per carry … Cleared paths for three different players who combined for 11 100-yard rushing games … Part of an offense that produced 5,565 yards of total offense for a 397.5 per-game average … Provided time for his quarterback to throw for 1,303 yards and 20 touchdowns … Yoakum racked up 56 rushing touchdowns and grounded out 300 or more yards in eight different games … The Bulldogs scored 30 or more points in 11 of 14 games and racked up 40-plus five times … Helped his offense rush for a season-high 665 yards and eight touchdowns on 33 carries in the 56-28 win over Giddings … Yoakum rushed for 467 yards in a 40-7 Class 3A, Division I quarterfinal playoff win over Goliad to send the Bulldogs into the semifinals for the second straight year … Helped the Bulldogs to a 13-1 record with a 6-0 mark in district play and advance to Texas’ Class 3A D-I semifinals … As a junior in 2016, earned first-team all-state honors at offensive tackle from the Texas Sports Writers Association last season after grading out at 96 percent with 111 knockdown blocks and not allowing a sack during the Bulldogs’ run to the Class 3A, Division I state final … Also played on the defensive line and had 79 tackles and six sacks … Part of an offense that averaged 339.8 yards per game … Paved the way for an offense that that rushed for 4,075 yards with a 254.7 per-game average and 47 touchdowns … Provided time for his quarterback to throw for 1,362 yards and 20 touchdowns … Cleared paths for a 1,000-yard rusher and three players who combined for nine 100-yard games on the ground … As a sophomore in 2015, landed on the Texas Associated Press Sports Editors Class 4A All-State first team … Opened holes for five players to combine for 34 rushing touchdowns … Has a 340-pound bench press, 650 squat and 365 hang clean … Chose Arkansas over Virginia, Brigham Young, Rice, Army, Texas State and others … His father, Bo Robinson, is the head coach and athletic director at Yoakum and played football at Texas and was an All SWC defensive end for the Longhorns in 1992 … His late grandfather, Wendell played center at Oklahoma and was long time high school coach and is in the Texas High School Hall of Fame.

Michael Woods
Wide Receiver
6-2 | 180
Magnolia, Texas | Magnolia HS
Twitter: @TheMikeWoods

HIGH SCHOOL
Three-star recruit by ESPN and 247Sports … No. 464 ranked overall player in the class by 247Sports … No. 58 ranked prospect in Texas by 247Sports … No. 74 ranked wide receiver by 247Sports … For his career, recorded 155 receptions for 2,988 yards and 41 touchdowns to go with three touchdowns on the ground in 31 games played … Averaged 19.3 yards per catch and 96.4 yards per game … Longest catch was 75 yards twice … Posted 1,000-yard receiving seasons in his junior and senior seasons … Also returned punts and kicks … Totaled 527 kickoff return yards and 193 punt return yards … Racked up 3,832 all-purpose yards for a 123.6 per-game average … Logged 10 100-plus yard receiving games, including three with 200-plus yards, in three seasons … As a senior in 2017, helped Magnolia to a 6-3 record with a 5-2 mark in conference play … Caught 51 passes for 1,018 yards and 15 touchdowns … Averaged 20.0 yards per reception and 101.8 per game … Topped the century mark through the air four times … Caught a touchdown pass in eight of 10 games … Posted four multi-touchdown catch games … Had a season-high 269 yards and four receiving touchdowns on nine catches to go with a rushing score in the season opener against A&M Consolidated … Longest catch of the season was 74 yards against Waller … As a junior in 2016, named to the Texas Sports Writers Association All-State third team … First-team All-Montgomery County selection … Posted career highs in catches (75) and receiving yards (1,456) and touchdown catches (21) … Tallied five 100-plus yard receiving games, including two with 200-plus yards … Averaged 121.3 receiving yards per contest … Recorded seven multi-touchdown catch games … Had a 50-plus yard catch in seven games … Set single-game career highs in receptions (18) and receiving yards (291) and caught four touchdown passes in a 75-54 win vs. Tomball … Had 29 receptions for 514 yards and five scores as a sophomore in 2015. Chose Arkansas over Vanderbilt, Washington State, Colorado State, Houston, Iowa State, Louisiana Tech, Minnesota, Northwestern, Rice, SMU, Texas State, Texas Tech, Tulsa, UTSA and Virginia.

Ladarrius Bishop
Defensive Back
6-0 | 190
Ashdown, Ark./Ashdown HS
Twitter: @Ladarrius_09

HIGH SCHOOL
A four-star recruit according to Rivals … Rated as the No. 2 player in the state of Arkansas and the No. 28 cornerback in the nation by Rivals … Three-Star prospect by ESPN and 247Sports … Rated by 247Sports composite rankings as the No. 5 player in the state and No. 49 cornerback nationally … Ranked as the No. 69 cornerback nationally by ESPN … Will play in the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in New Orleans on Dec. 29 … Clocked under 4.4 in the 40-yard dash … As senior, rushed for 249 yards and three TDs on just 25 carries … Added 29 receptions for 485 yards and five touchdowns … Averaged 13.6 yards per touch on offense … Had nine tackles and two interceptions on defense … As a junior, registered 36 tackles, one INT and five pass breakups … Added 406 receiving yards and four TDs to go along with 136 rushing yards and one TD … Chose Arkansas over Florida, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Memphis, Purdue, Illinois, Iowa State and others.

Isaiah Nichols
Defensive Lineman
6-3 | 265
Springdale, Ark./Springdale HS
Twitter: @IsaiahNichols93

HIGH SCHOOL
Consensus three-star prospect by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports as both a strong-side defensive end and defensive tackle …Rated the No. 6 player in the state of Arkansas by ESPN and the No. 59 defensive tackle in the class … 247Sports Composite ranking tabbed him the No. 37 ranked strong-side defensive end and No. 8 player in the state … Coached by Zak Clark at Springdale High School … Produced a staggering 43 tackles for loss his final two seasons … Finalist for the Hooten’s Arkansas Football Class 7A/6A Defensive Player of the Year … Despite being double and triple-teamed as a senior, he finished with 73 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and 49 quarterback hurries … As a junior, he totaled 54 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks … Chose Arkansas over Mississippi State, Missouri, NC State, Kansas State, Iowa State, UCF, Memphis, Louisiana Tech, Kansas, Tulsa and others.