Ridgeview QB to Play Football at Arkansas

ORANGE PARK, FL -- It's been almost 6 weeks since National Signing Day, but one of the best quarterbacks on the First Coast has finally decided where he'll play college football.

This past fall, Derek Hatcher led Ridgeview High to the best season in school history. The Panthers won two playoff games before losing to Daytona Seabreeze in the Regional Finals of Class 4A.

Hatcher had started at quarterback for Ridgeview since he was a sophomore, and he had a very productive senior season in '08, but most major schools weren't interested in offering him a scholarship.

Derek did receive interest from some smaller colleges, but in the end he is choosing to attend the University of Arkansas as a preferred walk-on with the hopes of earning a scholarship down the road.

The Razorbacks are in need of a quarterback since one of their recruits at that position, Will Secord, backed out of his commitment to Arkansas just days before Signing Day and chose to sign with Florida State instead.

Hatcher began drawing interest from Coach Bobby Petrino around that time thanks in large part to Alex Wulfeck, a punter from The Bolles School who will attend Wake Forest as a preferred walk-on. Hatcher and Wulfeck are friends, and when Alex visited Arkansas, he delivered a highlight tape of Derek to Coach Petrino.

On Tuesday morning, in front of hundreds of fellow students and a handful of faculty members and former coaches, Hatcher announced that he'll become a Razorback. To watch an interview with Derek, click on the link on the right side of this screen.

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