Arkansas could be landing spot for Vols DB Doneiko Slaughter

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas hosted former Tennessee defensive Doneiko Slaughter for an official visit and could be closing in on landing a verbal commitment from him.

Slaughter, 6-0, 190, arrived Wednesday and left Thursday. As a senior in 2023, Slaughter finished with 32 tackles, 26 solo, a sack and one pass breakup. He had 11 tackles against Georgia. Following the official visit, Slaughter talked about Arkansas.

“It is going great,” Slaughter said. “It’s a beautiful city. Getting to know the coaches, the defensive staff for real. Great guys. I feel they can develop me a lot here knowing their past. We have some history and that makes me feel good about coming here.”

Slaughter is from Roswell, Ga., and talked about what stood out on the visit.

“The cost of living is very cheap,” Slaughter said. “I can bring my family here and have no problems off the field. That and Coach Pitt. He’s a great character guy. He don’t tell you what you want to hear all the time. Him as well. He really believes in me as well. He can build my character off the field too. I think I can have a connection with him past football.”

This was Slaughter’s first and only official visit.

“No, I will go home and pack some things up,” Slaughter said. “I have a baby on the way.”

What is it about Arkansas that has led Slaughter to visit and not look at other schools?

“I love the defense here,” Slaughter said. “The defensive staff they’re not new. They know how to develop guys. I have a good connection here with the coaches that’s for real. That’s a big thing for me going into my last season. I’ve got to make the most of it. The coaches will be developing me throughout the whole process.”

Slaughter is a mature recruit who seems to have all his priorities in order. He has a baby on the way and tries to surround him with positive people.

“It’s not always good to beat people up off of negative things,” Slaughter said. “You never know they messed up one time out of a 100 reps. You hang around negative people you eventually feel less confident. That’s how I feel about that.”

Slaughter said he has a date in mind to go public with his college decision.

“Probably Sunday,” Slaughter said. “This week, just get it over with.”

From 2020-23, Slaughter had 82 tackles, 66 solo, three sacks, a fumble recovery, one interception and seven pass breakups.

Slaughter was a four-star recruit out of Roswell High School with Rivals.com.

Out of the portal, Arkansas has three commitments.

Taylen Green, QB, 6-6, 221, Boise State

Keyshawn Blackstock, OL, 6-5, 315, Michigan State

Andreas Paaske, TE, 6-6, 255, Eastern Michigan