Arkansas needs immediate help on the offensive line, but it's never too early to start recruit future classes.
Fresh off an Arkansas 6A State Championship win a week ago, 2026 offensive lineman Cody Taylor out of Greenwood was in Fayetteville for a Prospect Day Visit.
Taylor said he had the chance to spend a lot of time with new offensive line coach Eric Mateos, who came to Arkansas from BYU after Cody Kennedy left for the same role at Mississippi State.
"Coach (Eric) Mateos is an awesome guy," Taylor said. "I got to see him at Baylor at a camp. Got to meet him in person which is a blessing. Congratulations to him and everything he has going on."
Mateos spent a lot of time with the prospects this weekend. Taylor and the other prospects had the chance to tour the facilities, which left him impressed.
"I got to tour the entire facility," Taylor said. "We got to go out to JJs and got to eat some good food. Sam PIttman was out with us for about 30 minutes. Coach Mateos got to sit with us the whole time. It was awesome to be able to talk to him about stuff."
"It's awesome and I'm sure it will get better and better over the years," Taylor said of the facilities. "This place is great."
Right now, Taylor holds eight Division I offers from schools like Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Memphis and others. He still does not, however, hold an offer from the Razorbacks.
Taylor said he'd like to get an offer from Arkansas because he would get the chance to play under Mateos.
"It would be awesome," Taylor said. "Coach Mateos is a really cool guy. To be able to play under him with the way he coaches and his love for Arkansas I would love it."
As for other visits in the offseason, Taylor isn't focused on that. He's focused on putting in the work to bring home another state championship next year.
"This really just came out of the blue when I got this one," Taylor said of his Prospect Day invite. "My focus is just to get stronger in the offseason and that means going to the gym every single day after practice. Eating the right foods and becoming a better O-lineman overall."
Fresh off an Arkansas 6A State Championship win a week ago, 2026 offensive lineman Cody Taylor out of Greenwood was in Fayetteville for a Prospect Day Visit.
Taylor said he had the chance to spend a lot of time with new offensive line coach Eric Mateos, who came to Arkansas from BYU after Cody Kennedy left for the same role at Mississippi State.
"Coach (Eric) Mateos is an awesome guy," Taylor said. "I got to see him at Baylor at a camp. Got to meet him in person which is a blessing. Congratulations to him and everything he has going on."
Mateos spent a lot of time with the prospects this weekend. Taylor and the other prospects had the chance to tour the facilities, which left him impressed.
"I got to tour the entire facility," Taylor said. "We got to go out to JJs and got to eat some good food. Sam PIttman was out with us for about 30 minutes. Coach Mateos got to sit with us the whole time. It was awesome to be able to talk to him about stuff."
"It's awesome and I'm sure it will get better and better over the years," Taylor said of the facilities. "This place is great."
Right now, Taylor holds eight Division I offers from schools like Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Memphis and others. He still does not, however, hold an offer from the Razorbacks.
Taylor said he'd like to get an offer from Arkansas because he would get the chance to play under Mateos.
"It would be awesome," Taylor said. "Coach Mateos is a really cool guy. To be able to play under him with the way he coaches and his love for Arkansas I would love it."
As for other visits in the offseason, Taylor isn't focused on that. He's focused on putting in the work to bring home another state championship next year.
"This really just came out of the blue when I got this one," Taylor said of his Prospect Day invite. "My focus is just to get stronger in the offseason and that means going to the gym every single day after practice. Eating the right foods and becoming a better O-lineman overall."
