It's not every day a high school in Arkansas will feature offensive tackles like White Hall duo Nick Partridge and Brett Craine.

College coaches from schools such as Arkansas, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Louisiana Tech and Arkansas State have shown up during the spring evaluation that runs until May 31. Ole Miss was on campus Thursday, with Tulsa and Arkansas Tech also slated to visit.

Partridge, 6-5, 300, 5. 31 speed in the 40-yard dash, looks the part of an offensive lineman, with a good upper and lower body. His weight room numbers also are impressive with a 340-pound bench press and a 550 squat.

Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Tulsa, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State and Arkansas State are taking a serious look at Partridge.

"I got my first offer from Harding, and that was exciting," said Partridge, who has recorded a 4. 83 pro-shuttle time and a 29-inch vertical jump. "I'm still waiting for a lot of the offers to start rolling in. I would like to go to the Big 12 or the SEC, one of the major conferences, and show what I can do."

The Bulldogs work out three times a week in the weight room, but Partridge also lifts weights on Saturday and Sunday.

"The good Lord blessed him with a lot of size," White Hall Coach Mike Vaughn said. "When you're 6-4 and 300 pounds and you're aggressive and you're a hard worker, everybody is interested in you. He's got a great attitude.

" I can't say enough about him and the way he's improved during the off-season. He's really dedicated himself in the weight program."

Partridge focuses on fundamentals to achieve his goal of putting the defender on his backside.

"I try to focus on the small parts," said Partridge, who graded at 84 percent and had 35 pancake blocks last year. "Using the right footwork, making sure you get underneath their pads and firing off the ball and eventually putting the opposing player on his back."

Partridge has a busy summer planned. He plans to attend camps at Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Central Arkansas, Tulsa, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State and Ole Miss.

Oklahoma State has hinted a scholarship offer could come once he gets on their campus for camp in June.

Craine 6-6, 285, 5. 25, enjoys having college coaches focused on him.

"It's been a lot different," said Craine, who has recorded a 4. 68 pro-shuttle time and a 28-inch vertical jump. "It puts a little more excitement into practice. It's different from regular practice because you have people looking at you and you have to perform well all the time and do your best the whole time. It's definitely exciting."

Craine, who received a full scholarship offer from Harding on Monday night, is receiving attention from Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Tulsa, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. He plans to attend camps at all five of those schools, along with Harding.

This fall will be Craine's first season to play on the offensive line after playing on the defensive line last year. He had 53 tackles, 10 tackles for losses and 4 sacks last season. Even though he's a newcomer on the offensive side of the ball, Craine already has the right mentality.

"I like being physical and driving them downfield," said Craine, who bench presses 310 pounds and squats 500. "That's my best part, use my strength and overpower them."

Vaughn said Craine has worked hard in the weight room and developed physically.

"Brett came to us a couple of years ago and he wasn't but 260 pounds," Vaughn said. "His upside is that he's still growing, His wingspan is about 12 feet. He does the same thing as Nick. He spends the extra time in the weight room on the weekends."

TAKING IT SLOW Port Arthur (Texas ) Memorial cornerback Desmond Gardner, 6-0, 186, 4. 45, has seven scholarship offers, including one from the Razorbacks. Arizona State, Arizona, TCU, Texas A&M, Baylor and Houston are the others that have offered. Gardner recorded 47 tackles, 4 interceptions, 1 touchdown and 18 pass breakups while earning firstteam all-district honors last year. Gardner is taking a slow approach toward recruiting.

"I'm interested in Arkansas, but right now I'm just weighing my options," he said. "I'm taking the recruiting process one step at a time."

Assistant coach Kirk Botkin, who played his high school football about 57 miles from Port Arthur at Baytown Lee, is recruiting Gardner.

"He's cool, real laid-back and straightforward," Gardner said of Botkin. "I feel real comfortable with him. He lets me know what I need to know about recruiting." Gardner hopes to decide on a school before the beginning of the next school year.

WAITING ON MCDONALD Arkansas is waiting to hear from Cowley County Community College small forward Montrell McDonald. McDonald, 6-6, 185, orally committed to Texas Tech after visiting April 18-20 but made an official visit to Arkansas on May 2-4. Should the Razorbacks get his signature, it would soften the loss of Coffeyville forward Daniel Payne, who was academically ineligible to enroll at Arkansas. McDonald outscored Payne 56-28 and outrebounded him 26-19 in the three matchups between Cowley and Coffeyville this past season. The spring signing period runs until May 21. E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenp ort@arkansasonline. com