ESPN has the Hogs ranked #24

[Libertarian Hog]

ESPN at http://insider.espn.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/classrankings  has the Hogs ranked #24.

[RazrRila99]

In the top 19% of the FBS teams and still 9th in the SEC.  BRUTAL.  Just another reason why the SEC is so hard to win. 

[HiggiePiggy]

5th in the west.  Would be 5th in the east also if we were on that side.

[HogimusMaximus]

5th in the west.  Would be 5th in the east also if we were on that side.

Probably where we will finish this year, 5th in the West.

[PORKULATOR]

I heard 8th overall on Finnebaum.

[Cure]

It addresses some huge needs, very good haul by the staff.

[MtPorker]

Last ESPN top 25  I saw scrolling by no longer had us in the top 25.  Mississippi State was 24th.

[HiggiePiggy]

Probably where we will finish this year, 5th in the West.

Pretty much, depends on how the defense is and if our offense is going to continue to suck in the second half.  I don't expect to be first or second in the west, but 3rd is very possible with the offensive players we have coming back.

[hawginbigd1]

Last ESPN top 25  I saw scrolling by no longer had us in the top 25.  Mississippi State was 24th.

We have dropped to 26th, which is too low, we are getting jobbed by the number of athletes we have and the early commits IMO it's a 16-20 class, which is still 6 or 7th in "the" league.

[Hawghiggs]

 Would be 3rd in the Big 12. That just stuns me.  The bottom half of the Big 12 is garbage.

[HiggiePiggy]

Would be 3rd in the Big 12. That just stuns me.  The bottom half of the Big 12 is garbage.

Possibly we would be. The conference helps in our higher recruiting. 

[hawginbigd1]

Not related, but A-state #119, ouch, highest rated recruit.........3* OL Dwayne Fisher LOL. Kid must be smart, he just knew he had to get to Arkansas somehow!

[Hawghiggs]

Possibly we would be. The conference helps in our higher recruiting. 

No it doesn't.  A good case could be made that being in the SEC actually hurts more than it helps.

Reason #1, Recruits know that if they sign with Arkansas they are more than likely "not" to play in a big bowl game or national title.

Reason #2, Not being in a Texas based conference hurts our ability to recruit the state of Texas. We only hauled in 2 recruits from the state.

Reason #3, Winning percentage.  Recruits want to play on teams that give them the biggest chance of winning. Arkansas in the SEC fights a up hill battle.

[lutherheggs]

No it doesn't.  A good case could be made that being in the SEC actually hurts more than it helps.

Reason #1, Recruits know that if they sign with Arkansas they are more than likely "not" to play in a big bowl game or national title.

Reason #2, Not being in a Texas based conference hurts our ability to recruit the state of Texas. We only hauled in 2 recruits from the state.

Reason #3, Winning percentage.  Recruits want to play on teams that give them the biggest chance of winning. Arkansas in the SEC fights a up hill battle.

Half of every class was from Texas from 1960 to 1990. Screwed that pipeline deal up royally.

[Razorbackers]

We have dropped to 26th, which is too low, we are getting jobbed by the number of athletes we have and the early commits IMO it's a 16-20 class, which is still 6 or 7th in "the" league.

Nailed it. You take a couple of those late addition 3*s of the list, and we actually rise up the charts. I'd rather have the bodies than the ranking. I'm very happy with a top 25 ranking, especially with such a small in state group of kids.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

I heard 8th overall on Finnebaum.

I think when the dust settles and we are down the road a piece we may find that this class ended up being about 4th in the West and 6th overall in the SEC.

[DeltaBoy]

With TAMU in the SEC it hurts us cause we are not the only show in town. We got to do better especially since our largest Alumni group is in DFW!

[NuttinItUp]

With TAMU in the SEC it hurts us cause we are not the only show in town. We got to do better especially since our largest Alumni group is in DFW!

I think you mean largest out-of-state alumni group. Obviously, the Northwest Arkansas Chapter is larger.

[DLUXHOG]

I think you mean largest out-of-state alumni group. Obviously, the Northwest Arkansas Chapter is larger.

Link?  That's not what I've always heard.....(of course I've been asleep for a couple of decades)

[NuttinItUp]

Link?  That's not what I've always heard.....(of course I've been asleep for a couple of decades)

You are saying there are more Arkansas alumni near Dallas than in Northwest Arkansas region near the university? I think you are the one that needs to provide a link, haha.

[DLUXHOG]

You are saying there are more Arkansas alumni near Dallas than in Northwest Arkansas region near the university? I think you are the one that needs to provide a link, haha.

Well....... DFW is the 4th largest MSA in the USA, more people there than in 38 other states total population........ it wouldn't surprise me if the club was the largest in member count.....  but I don't know...

[secfan30]

You are saying there are more Arkansas alumni near Dallas than in Northwest Arkansas region near the university? I think you are the one that needs to provide a link, haha.

This used to be common knowledge back on the days before "provide links". I'm actually more surprised you've never heard this before.

[hogsrule44]

Not related, but A-state #119, ouch, highest rated recruit.........3* OL Dwayne Fisher LOL. Kid must be smart, he just knew he had to get to Arkansas somehow!

He was on a radio show in Jonesboro yesterday and said the hogs tried to get him to come back to them and play DL, but he is set on playing OL. Take it for what it's worth.

[NuttinItUp]

This used to be common knowledge back on the days before "provide links". I'm actually more surprised you've never heard this before.

I have heard it, plenty of times. It is always phrased as "Dallas has the largest out-of-state Arkansas alumni group". Hence, the out-of-state qualifier.

Edit: Even the Dallas chapter refers to themselves in several places as "the largest out-of-state chapter for the Arkansas Alumni Association". (link)

[NuttinItUp]

Well....... DFW is the 4th largest MSA in the USA, more people there than in 38 other states total population........ it wouldn't surprise me if the club was the largest in member count.....  but I don't know...

True. You could be right. I looked on the Arkansas alumni page and I couldn't find anywhere that they provide numbers. The closest I could come was the Greater Dallas Razorback Club on Facebook, which has 754 likes vs. the Northwest Arkansas Razorback Club on Facebook which has 4,907 likes. Of course, this provides no real data either way.

I just find it hard to believe that there would be more alumni in Dallas than in Northwest Arkansas, but who knows. I am sure the university or alumni association has info on alumni locations, but good luck getting them to share it.


Edit: I have found some stories online that say NWA and Little Rock are larger.
"The two Arkansas-based chapters which are larger than Dallas, Northwest Arkansas and Capital (Little Rock)..." (link)

According to the article, at least in 2009 it was around 22,000 alumni in the NWA group and 3,497 in the Dallas group. I assume both have grown since 2009, though.

[DeltaBoy]

In the top 19% of the FBS teams and still 9th in the SEC.  BRUTAL.  Just another reason why the SEC is so hard to win. 

YEP it Tough but worth 40 million a year !

[MemphisBossHog]

With TAMU in the SEC it hurts us cause we are not the only show in town. We got to do better especially since our largest Alumni group is in DFW!

this is spot on.   When the Aggies got in, they became the place for TX talent to go to play in the SEC.  LSU gets a few each year but we could get some stud recruits to give us a look.  Now the Aggies rake in those stud recruits who can stay in Texas to go to school and play in the best conference.

[MemphisBossHog]

YEP it Tough but worth 40 million a year !

agreed.  Now lets take some of that $40M and get some absolute stud assistant coaches/recruiters that can convince today's stud athletes to go to school in Fayetteville so maybe we can improve on our mid 20s recruiting ranking (9th in the SEC).  Its gonna cost some $$$ but if we arent going to do it the Ole Miss, Auburn way and throw $$$ at the players, then lets throw it at the stud assistant coaches and recruiters who can get these guys to come to Fayetteville and coach them up to get us to the big bowl game at the end of the season.

[goodguytex]

Hopefully our Oline keeps getting better and our defense shows monster improvement. Those 2 things happen 2017 could be a very good year for Hog football.

[lutherheggs]

Hopefully our Oline keeps getting better and our defense shows monster improvement. Those 2 things happen 2017 could be a very good year for Hog football.

Hopefully. Yes, good ole hope. No one can take our hope from us...or can they?

[ricepig]

He was on a radio show in Jonesboro yesterday and said the hogs tried to get him to come back to them and play DL, but he is set on playing OL. Take it for what it's worth.

Uh, it was the other way around, he called Smith on Monday to see if he could come in as a DL, we said no thanks.

[LJHOG]

It addresses some huge needs, very good haul by the staff.

More like a load. 

[Deep Shoat]

More like a load. 

You are a HORRIBLE fan.  All you do is bash our players and recruits.

[Al Boarland]

In 2/3 years we can look back and see why we can't really break through and consistently be in the top half of the SEC.

[SemperFi]

Stop your damn whining and give this class a chance! I wonder how many complained about 3 star Trey Flowers when he signed with the Hogs in 2011? 24/7 had him as a composite .8080, however he was one of the stars of the SB last night and will be one of the all time great Razorbacks.

[Pork Twain]

Mark it down, we finish no worse than third in the west this year

[Bubba's Bruisers]

Mark it down, we finish no worse than third in the west this year

Maybe that means we also finally beat A$M.  I'll take 3rd and run...should mean 9 regular season wins.

[NuttinItUp]

Maybe that means we also finally beat A$M.  I'll take 3rd and run...should mean 9 regular season wins.

I want to beat the Aggies so bad. That is the one team that really gets under my skin because we should have beat them several times.

[Al Boarland]

Stop your damn whining and give this class a chance! I wonder how many complained about 3 star Trey Flowers when he signed with the Hogs in 2011? 24/7 had him as a composite .8080, however he was one of the stars of the SB last night and will be one of the all time great Razorbacks.

What was the record when Flowers was with the program?

[hawgmasta]

If we finish in the top 25 we will have won 9 games most likely; I can dig that.