Zack Pianalto talks with Hogville.net about his recruiting

[The Recruiting Guy]

I had the opportunity to talk with Springdale's 6'4" 220lb TE Zack Pianalto today.  Here is a bit from the conversation.

TRG:  What did Mack Brown and Texas do that impressed you so much?

Zack:  I wasn't gun ho on Texas in the beginning.  We just sent out a bunch of tapes on me everywhere and Texas was the first to respond.  I really hit it off with their TE coach, Coach Chambers.  He is a really great guy.  I always felt comfortable with him.

TRG:  So it wasn't really Mack Brown that sold you on Texas?

Zack:  No, it was Coach Chambers, I didn't meet Coach Brown until later in my visit with them. 

TRG:  How was your visit with Texas, what all happened while you were there?

Zack:  We went on the visit a couple of days early and spent the weekend.  On Monday, they took us on a tour the facilities and we got to watch a spring practice.  I really got a feel for how they do things there by watching that and I really liked what I saw.  After practice we were invited to Coach Brown's office and I had the chance to talk to him.  That's also when they gave me the offer.

TRG:  I had heard the offer had a time limit on it, was that true?

Zack:  Yes, Coach Brown explained to me that they knew the situation with Coach Malzahn at Arkansas and they didn't want me to wait and commit to Arkansas at the last minute.  He said that they only wanted players that know they want to be at Texas and it shouldn't be something that should take a long time to decide on.

TRG:  It probably didn't hurt that they are the National Champions either did it?

Zack:  Laughing.  No, that never hurts.

TRG:  I know you currently have offers from Tulsa, Texas, and Arkansas.  Have any other schools tried to come in after you?

Zack:  No, not really.  I had heard that Nebraska was pretty interested in me but I think my coach pretty much told them that they would be wasting their time.

TRG:  How is it now seeing your former coach at Arkansas now? 

Zack:  It's kind of weird now when I see him.  I want to go up to him and have a conversation with him like I used to but I know I can't now.  Especially since he is still recruiting me.

TRG:  Would you say Arkansas is recruiting you hard?

Zack:  Yes sir.

TRG:  What about your season last year, what was your numbers?

Zack:  I had 17 catches for somewhere around 350 yards.  I think it averaged out to around 21 to 23 yards a catch.

TRG:  Zack I appreciate your time and I wish you all the luck in your future, but I don't think you are going to need it.

Zack:  Thank you and you're welcome.


Its no wonder why Texas is so high on this kid.  If you haven't seen him since last year, I think you will be surprised.  I am looking forward to seeing Zack in action next year and doing a follow up on him in the next couple of months.  We should also be getting some video on him very soon.  Stay tuned.

[An old hog fanatic]

To think this kid will be wearing burnt orange and playing for the Cows should make every Hog fan everywhere want to throw-up!

How in the heck did our coaching staff allow this to happen??

[The Recruiting Guy]

I forgot to mention that Zack's 40 time is now 4.63. 

And yes, it will get interesting in the next couple of months.

[idochog]

Thanks alot HDN, cant believe we continue to overlook this mess w/ HDN

[PIGINAPOKE]

This move is not wierd..We almost lost all of them? I do not blame any kid no matter where he is from to go play football..Any where he wants. Thats life in the U.S.A awesome..

[GrizzledHogFan]

Can Gus work his magic again?  I say yes.

[The real Hogules]

The bottom line is that "IF" Zack Pianalto "REALLY" wants to be an Arkansas Razorback, he has been given the opportunity to do so.
If he sticks with his original commitment and signs with Texas, then we know that being a Longhorn meant more to Zack than representing his home state university.
Either way he certainly has my best wishes for a great future.............................even at Texass.

[Oklahawg]

Three reasons to not worry.

1. Mitch Mustain. Commits. Decommits. Recommits.
2. Ben Cleveland. Commits to FLA. Decommits to UA.
3. Damian Williams. Commits to FLA. Decommits to UA.

There is history there.

Expect Brown to pull the offer if it appears Pianalto gets anywhere close to really considering UA. Openly. Zach and UA will have to be rather discreet about this.

[ClubChubby]

How is it that texas offers a kid 10 minutes from our campus, a kid who played for our offensive coordinator only last year?

[Tomhog™]

I have a feeling that Zach would be more comfortable as a Hog considering all the players that will be there by the time he'd get there.  Not to mention a certain coach and a possible FG kicker.  Add the fact that it's only 10 minutes from home, where family and friends can see every home game.  I'd say we'll get another Springdale athlete.  At least I hope so...

[CampuspostmanHOG]

I have a feeling that Zach would be more comfortable as a Hog considering all the players that will be there by the time he'd get there.  Not to mention a certain coach and a possible FG kicker.  Add the fact that it's only 10 minutes from home, where family and friends can see every home game.  I'd say we'll get another Springdale athlete.  At least I hope so...

True and besides, if he goes to Texas he'll have to learn to dip or be an outcast.

I'll bet he hasn't even considered that!

[southeasthog]

The bottom line is that "IF" Zack Pianalto "REALLY" wants to be an Arkansas Razorback, he has been given the opportunity to do so.
If he sticks with his original commitment and signs with Texas, then we know that being a Longhorn meant more to Zack than representing his home state university.
Either way he certainly has my best wishes for a great future.............................even at Texass.

Agreed. If he really wants to be a Hog, he will. Some kids want to get away from home when they get to be 18,19.

[DirectorM]

Work the magic Gus.

[T-Bag Hawg]

The kid works at a burger joint right by my  house.  He is lean and cut.  Makes a great burger too.

[Arazorbackguy1]

There is still almost a full year left of recruiting...  Arkansas will end up with this kid.  HDN didn't mess up just yet!  Get off his back and worry about yourselves for once.

[BirmingHam]

There is still almost a full year left of recruiting...  Arkansas will end up with this kid.  HDN didn't mess up just yet!  Get off his back and worry about yourselves for once.

OK Danny, calm down.  BTW, how's fixin' that leak coming along?

[hog caller]

lets just wait and see who offers the kid then we can make ours if some good d1 school offers him if not maybe we can get him to walk on lets wait and see. just say all this in one breath.

our recruiting philosophy needs to change

[werehog]

I got my fingers crossed that we can land Zack Pianalto. We can't afford to lose great kids from Arkansas. I've been sore ever since I was a nine or ten year-old kid and Ole Miss snaked Charlie Flowers out from under our nose. Charlie is the only Arkansas kid to ever figure in the Heisman voting (he lost to Billy Cannon) and he winds up in an Ole Miss jersey. Flash forward to Cedric Houston from Clarendon, he winds up being a thousand yard rusher for the vile Vols. I crim when I think about D'Angelo Williams playing for Memphis. I would like to see some Texas school on our schedule every year, either Tulsa or Oklahoma State and Memphis. We need to recruit these area better. How come we never play Missouri?  I want to see a fence around Arkansas and us plundering neighboring states and big cities within an easy drive such as Kansas City, Tulsa, Memphis, St. Lous, Dallas-Fort Worth and Shreveport-Monroe and Bolger City. Go Hogs Go!

[The Recruiting Guy]

Working on the dvd I received from Zack and will have this up over the weekend or that is the plan.

[mossfan3]

I just think if Gus was overly impressed with this kid we would have been on him much quicker and more aggressive with his recruiting.  Don't tell me it wasn't his call b/c we all know that when it comes down to it he is the one that is going to be recruiting that portion of the state.  He has a relationship with most of the coaches and some players in that area.  If we want him we will get him, IMO.

[thahawg]

If Gus evaluated him for 2 years and approved then Nutt should have let him offer the kid.

[jreaganhog]

Mossfan,

The failure to offer was not Gus' call.  If the interview by Kurt Voight below is accurate - and he quotes the kid - Gus was, in fact, impressed and did want to offer but Nutt stood in the way.  The failure to offer, or evaluate, this kid on time should be placed squarely on the head coach, not Gus Malzahn.

By Kurt Voigt
The Morning News • kvoigt@nwaonline.net
SPRINGDALE — When Zack Pianalto and his parents traveled to Austin, Texas last weekend to meet with the Longhorns coaching staff, he didn't know what to expect.
When the Springdale High junior was offered a college football scholarship by Texas coach Mack Brown, he knew exactly what to do — take it.
That's just what he did in a phone call to Brown on Thursday afternoon, becoming the first member of Springdale's junior class to commit, and the first to foray into the recruiting process since six Bulldogs seniors signed national letters of intent on Feb. 1.
"I'm very excited," Pianalto said. "I know it's early, but I like the fact that it's done."
Pianalto (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) played sparingly on defense as a sophomore for the Bulldogs, moving to wide receiver his junior season as Springdale went 14-0, winning the Class AAAAA state championship and finishing the season ranked No. 2 in the nation.
He spent much of the year lined up as an inside receiver, often the third or fourth option on a Springdale offense which had three other receivers (Ben Cleveland, Andrew Norman and Damian Williams) sign with the University of Arkansas. Pianalto caught just 14 passes for 323 yards in 10 regular season games, but it was his blocking which most often drew the praise of then Springdale coach Gus Malzahn and helped spring countless big plays for the Bulldogs.
"I knew what I had to do to help us win," Pianalto said. "I knew we had Damian and Andrew and Ben and Mitch (Mustain) and (Matt) Clinkscales.
"I just accepted my role, and I wasn't going to be selfish. This was their glory year, and I had no problem just doing what needed to be done."
Pianalto toured the campus in Austin on Monday, and his day was capped by the offer from Brown that afternoon.
"I was expecting just to see the campus and get a feel for the coaches," Pianalto said. "In the back of my mind, I thought they were going to offer, just because of the way everything was going, but I wasn't totally sure."
During their meeting, Pianalto said Brown doubted whether or not the Longhorns, the defending national champions, had a realistic shot at the receiver after watching four of the Springdale seniors a year ago wind up at Arkansas.
"They said, 'We know we probably won't get you,'" Pianalto said. "They said 'We watched the other Springdale kids say they'd never go to Arkansas and end up there in the end. We think you'll do that, but you have an offer here and you have until Saturday to take it.'"
It was a decision which didn't take Pianalto long to make, and it's one he doesn't plan on revisiting.
"Texas wants me to be solid, and they said if you're solid with us, we'll be solid with you, so that's the way I'm looking at it," he said.
So, what if other offers come in?
"I'm done," he said.
Pianalto's only other offer was Tulsa, one which came last summer, though others were likely to come as the summer approached. Pianalto said he talked with Malzahn this week, now the University of Arkansas offensive coordinator, and he didn't think an offer was coming from the Razorbacks, the team he grew up cheering for.
"(Malzahn) said, 'I like you and I'd like to get you an offer, but coach (Houston) Nutt just thinks we have too many tight ends and receivers," Pianalto said. "I respect that.
"The only reason I think I'm in this situation is because of coach Malzahn. He got Springdale on the map, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for coach Malzahn.
"I think this is the best fit for me."
Pianalto is one of several Springdale players who was likely to be recruited this upcoming year, despite the loss of so many talented seniors a year ago.
"I'm very excited for him," Springdale coach Kevin Johnson said. "To be offered and going to play for the defending national champions, it doesn't get any better than that.
"It's a great opportunity."
Bulldogs linebacker/tailback Jamie Jones has also been offered by Ole Miss, and kicker Alex Tejada and safety Eric Jones are also expected to receive attention.
"I know a lot of people think we've gone dry," Johnson said. "But, we've not gone dry."

[Oklahawg]

There is something foul about how HDN doles out offers. I suspect that long-term recruiting hasn't been structured very well. Gus, Wood and Herring should be fixing that, but it will be another year before its totally repaired.

Clearly, Gus/Wood have a very different idea of the type of player they want than the old guard. As the new system and its champions becomes more comfortable we'll see the shfit in recruiting. It can't hurt that the old recruiting coordinator is off of the staff.

Still would like to see us be in the hunt for HS AA types from outside of Arkansas sometime before mid-November of their Senior year.

[IndiosHeadCoachGreenfro]

i hope we get Zach, that is just more and more talent for us as far as im concerned...and it would be a shame if we dont try to fight for him...so hear MY PRAYS GET ZACH PIANALTO...

[fortcityhog]

gus knows this kid probably better than anybody in the country.... if he needs him, he'll get him... with all the other commits at TE, i've got a feeling we've got all the young tight ends we can handle now.  just a thought?  but on the other hand, i love to see highly recruited players at any position come to arkansas.

[HedgeDweller]

It is an unfortunate fact that you have to recruit to fill specific needs.
We ARE in pretty good supply of TE/WR.   We have much more pressing needs at OL DL LB.
If we hadn't gotten Cleveland last year, perhaps Pinalto would had an offer and been a Hog commit by now.

[CarolinaHog1176]

We ARE in pretty good supply of TE/WR.

we're in good shape at WR but not TE.  cleveland can't run block that's why he moved to WR.  freeman will be an OT... dj williams could possibly end up at DE if we don't get going on recruiting that position.

[HedgeDweller]

We ARE in pretty good supply of TE/WR.

we're in good shape at WR but not TE.  cleveland can't run block that's why he moved to WR.  freeman will be an OT... dj williams could possibly end up at DE if we don't get going on recruiting that position.

You are correct that Cleveland is not ready to play full time TE this year, but he was too good of a receiver to keep off the field and redshirt.  I really feel after a year in the weight room he will be a full time TE ultimately.
Also, don't forget about Andrew Davie at TE...

[CarolinaHog1176]

You are correct that Cleveland is not ready to play full time TE this year, but he was too good of a receiver to keep off the field and redshirt.  I really feel after a year in the weight room he will be a full time TE ultimately.
Also, don't forget about Andrew Davie at TE...

good point... has davie played any this year?  I haven't been looking for him