Who did we beat out for Torian Wilkins?

[Since 1894]

What other offers did Torian Wilkins have in hand when a picked Arkansas?

Who else was recruiting him?

Glad to see we are still getting players out of Texas.  IMO - We need to play even more games (both in football and basketball) in Texas.  too many fans there and too many fond memories (especially of Barnhill South).  How would everyone feel about scheduling home and home games against TCU, Houston, Rice, A&M,...?

[Bomis Hawg]

Houston, Baylor, Utah, TCU, and UTEP are some of the offers (that I read) from the guy.  Colorado was on the outside of the offer, but they were in on the guy.

I'm glad Arkansas has TCU on the schedule in two years.  I want Houston back on the schedule.  They'll be the favorite or in the running the next few years for the CUSA Title, as long as Art Briles is there.  That would definatley help Texas recruiting.

[JJHog]

The guy rushed for big numbers at a highly ranked 2A high school near Houston. TCU, Houston, UTEP were interested from whatI have heard

[Since 1894]

Wouldn't it strange to play Rice and see Ken on the other sideline?

[Bomis Hawg]

Brookshire Royal High, where Torian plays, is #3 in 2A courtesy of Dave Campbell's 2005 Texas Football Magazine .

3. Brookshire Royal (04 Record ~ 13-1, District 26-2A 5-0) 8/8 Returnees

[CarolinaHog1176]

did anybody watch Houston play last year?  I watched their game against Michigan and they run one of the funkiest offenses I've ever seen.  they ran about 40 different offensive sets and just about every trick play that I've ever seen.  they'd be a handful

[Bomis Hawg]

Carolina...

Houston's offense is great to watch, imo.  Their QB, Kevin Kolb, will be high draft pick in a couple of years.  He and Vincent Marshall are a freakin handful!  If anyone watched their game with Miami, you'll see what "lowly ole Houston" can do.  They played practically even with them.  It was a game nearing halftime.  But, two touchdowns (Fumble return; and Blocked Punt).  I believed the blocked punt broke the game open, with Miami winning 38-13. 

Very dynamic offense.  The way they use players like Vincent Marshall and the different sets with their RBs (Anthony Evans), I can see why some players that are ATHs (playing a couple of offensive positions) would look to them.

[JackJohnson]

Carolina...

Houston's offense is great to watch, imo. Their QB, Kevin Kolb, will be high draft pick in a couple of years. He and Vincent Marshall are a freakin handful! If anyone watched their game with Miami, you'll see what "lowly ole Houston" can do. They played practically even with them. It was a game nearing halftime. But, two touchdowns (Fumble return; and Blocked Punt). I believed the blocked punt broke the game open, with Miami winning 38-13.

Very dynamic offense. The way they use players like Vincent Marshall and the different sets with their RBs (Anthony Evans), I can see why some players that are ATHs (playing a couple of offensive positions) would look to them.

which is a reason all three of those schools (UTEP, TCU, and Houston) made my short list for possible replacements if worse came to worse

[hogwildinhouston]

Carolina...

Houston's offense is great to watch, imo. Their QB, Kevin Kolb, will be high draft pick in a couple of years. He and Vincent Marshall are a freakin handful! If anyone watched their game with Miami, you'll see what "lowly ole Houston" can do. They played practically even with them. It was a game nearing halftime. But, two touchdowns (Fumble return; and Blocked Punt). I believed the blocked punt broke the game open, with Miami winning 38-13.

Very dynamic offense. The way they use players like Vincent Marshall and the different sets with their RBs (Anthony Evans), I can see why some players that are ATHs (playing a couple of offensive positions) would look to them.

Bomis, I totally agree with you on Briles being the guy to bring UH back to being someone you don't want to play, and they definitely are fun to watch on offense.  Briles' will throw just about anything at you at any time.  In his 2 years at UH, he's made a disaster of a program into a competitive one, even taking them to a bowl game in his first year.

For the Malzahn detractors, please note that Art Briles was a successful high school head coach, then was hired directly as a position coach at Texas Tech, served for only 3 years, and then became head coach of a Division 1-A program.  If you can coach, you can coach.  All some need is a chance.  Briles got it.  Let's all hope Malzahn gets his start at Arkansas.

[hogsanity]

Carolina...

Houston's offense is great to watch, imo. Their QB, Kevin Kolb, will be high draft pick in a couple of years. He and Vincent Marshall are a freakin handful! If anyone watched their game with Miami, you'll see what "lowly ole Houston" can do. They played practically even with them. It was a game nearing halftime. But, two touchdowns (Fumble return; and Blocked Punt). I believed the blocked punt broke the game open, with Miami winning 38-13.

Very dynamic offense. The way they use players like Vincent Marshall and the different sets with their RBs (Anthony Evans), I can see why some players that are ATHs (playing a couple of offensive positions) would look to them.

So this, and I quote, "very dynamic" offense score a whopping 13 on a Miami D that gave up 35 or 38 to Louisville and that makes them dynamic.  Granted they are fun to watch, but fun to watch against East Carolina gets u beat 38-13 against a good team.

Carolina...

Bomis, I totally agree with you on Briles being the guy to bring UH back to being someone you don't want to play, and they definitely are fun to watch on offense. Briles' will throw just about anything at you at any time. In his 2 years at UH, he's made a disaster of a program into a competitive one, even taking them to a bowl game in his first year.

For the Malzahn detractors, please note that Art Briles was a successful high school head coach, then was hired directly as a position coach at Texas Tech, served for only 3 years, and then became head coach of a Division 1-A program. If you can coach, you can coach. All some need is a chance. Briles got it. Let's all hope Malzahn gets his start at Arkansas.

Malazahn COULD make the jump, but it is rare anymore to see a go go from HS directly to a d1 job.  I would like to see him get the chance.

I doubt many teams are looking to buy out their games with Uh so they do not have to play them.  Offenses like their get figured out.

[Bomis Hawg]

Dynamic = versitile; scores points; many formations.

The team can score.  Houston was a team that won 3 games last year.  I wouldn't compare them to Louisville.  They will go from 3 wins to probably winning their division in CUSA.  They run many different things with their offense.

A couple of years ago a friend of mine (Texas fan) was saying Art Briles should be their next coach -- when rumors were going around that Mack Brown might be fired.

[HogInGermany]

Carolina...

Houston's offense is great to watch, imo. Their QB, Kevin Kolb, will be high draft pick in a couple of years. He and Vincent Marshall are a freakin handful! If anyone watched their game with Miami, you'll see what "lowly ole Houston" can do. They played practically even with them. It was a game nearing halftime. But, two touchdowns (Fumble return; and Blocked Punt). I believed the blocked punt broke the game open, with Miami winning 38-13.

Very dynamic offense. The way they use players like Vincent Marshall and the different sets with their RBs (Anthony Evans), I can see why some players that are ATHs (playing a couple of offensive positions) would look to them.

So this, and I quote, "very dynamic" offense score a whopping 13 on a Miami D that gave up 35 or 38 to Louisville and that makes them dynamic. Granted they are fun to watch, but fun to watch against East Carolina gets u beat 38-13 against a good team.

Carolina...

Bomis, I totally agree with you on Briles being the guy to bring UH back to being someone you don't want to play, and they definitely are fun to watch on offense. Briles' will throw just about anything at you at any time. In his 2 years at UH, he's made a disaster of a program into a competitive one, even taking them to a bowl game in his first year.

For the Malzahn detractors, please note that Art Briles was a successful high school head coach, then was hired directly as a position coach at Texas Tech, served for only 3 years, and then became head coach of a Division 1-A program. If you can coach, you can coach. All some need is a chance. Briles got it. Let's all hope Malzahn gets his start at Arkansas.

Malazahn COULD make the jump, but it is rare anymore to see a go go from HS directly to a d1 job. I would like to see him get the chance.

I doubt many teams are looking to buy out their games with Uh so they do not have to play them. Offenses like their get figured out.

So how many points would our high powered offense have scored against Miami last year? I'm sure it was not hard to figure out.

[hogwildinhouston]

Carolina...

Houston's offense is great to watch, imo. Their QB, Kevin Kolb, will be high draft pick in a couple of years. He and Vincent Marshall are a freakin handful! If anyone watched their game with Miami, you'll see what "lowly ole Houston" can do. They played practically even with them. It was a game nearing halftime. But, two touchdowns (Fumble return; and Blocked Punt). I believed the blocked punt broke the game open, with Miami winning 38-13.

Very dynamic offense. The way they use players like Vincent Marshall and the different sets with their RBs (Anthony Evans), I can see why some players that are ATHs (playing a couple of offensive positions) would look to them.

So this, and I quote, "very dynamic" offense score a whopping 13 on a Miami D that gave up 35 or 38 to Louisville and that makes them dynamic. Granted they are fun to watch, but fun to watch against East Carolina gets u beat 38-13 against a good team.

I don't mean this to sound like a slam, but when you take the cupcake teams out of Arkansas schedule last year, look at how Houston Nutt's offense did against good defenses, even with Matt Jones.  I've seen it posted about how the defense was the main problem we had last year, but in retrospect, our offense didn't exactly light it up against quality opponents.

Texas - 20
Georgia - 14
LSU - 14

Against Auburn, it was 31-0 before we scored 20 cheap points against the second and third team D.  Against Florida, it was 38-7 before we mounted a comeback against second teamers.  In these 2 games, our offense did nothing until the second half when the game was out of hand and the other team was subbing big time.

Our offense was not good against decent teams with the game still in reach.  Texas was probably the best performance, and a lot of our yardage was on a couple of big plays.  We only had a couple of sustained drives in that game. 

Against crappy teams, Briles offense moved the ball much like Arkansas did against crappy teams.  They sputtered with youth all over the field against good teams, much like Arkansas did with their youth.

[Bomis Hawg]

I don't mean this to sound like a slam, but when you take the cupcake teams out of Arkansas schedule last year, look at how Houston Nutt's offense did against good defenses, even with Matt Jones. I've seen it posted about how the defense was the main problem we had last year, but in retrospect, our offense didn't exactly light it up against quality opponents.

Texas - 20
Georgia - 14
LSU - 14

Against Auburn, it was 31-0 before we scored 20 cheap points against the second and third team D. Against Florida, it was 38-7 before we mounted a comeback against second teamers. In these 2 games, our offense did nothing until the second half when the game was out of hand and the other team was subbing big time.

Our offense was not good against decent teams with the game still in reach. Texas was probably the best performance, and a lot of our yardage was on a couple of big plays. We only had a couple of sustained drives in that game.

Against crappy teams, Briles offense moved the ball much like Arkansas did against crappy teams. They sputtered with youth all over the field against good teams, much like Arkansas did with their youth.

I'll do the two years under Briles.

Houston hardly sputtered.  They had more first downs and yards than Miami.  Oklahoma killed them yards and points wise.  528 yards against South Miss (only giving up 338; a FD edge of only 3 at 25-22).  They had the most passing yards of anyone against Louisville (375).  The game was close until Louisvlle poured it on late, scoring 30 points in the 4th quarter.  I'd say those are fairly good stuff from a 3-win team. 

Michigan stuffed them.  519 yards against Miss State (gave up 472; FD edge of 24-19).  TCU was 8-0 when Houston played them; flirting with the BCS.  They racked up 684 yards whiel TCU had 783.  Again, they put up 363 against conference champion USM (gve up 373).  Louisville managed over 700 yards against them, but they did get 453 against them.

You may dispute those teams as "good teams," but they have had some success against teams of note.

[hogwildinhouston]

I don't mean this to sound like a slam, but when you take the cupcake teams out of Arkansas schedule last year, look at how Houston Nutt's offense did against good defenses, even with Matt Jones. I've seen it posted about how the defense was the main problem we had last year, but in retrospect, our offense didn't exactly light it up against quality opponents.

Texas - 20
Georgia - 14
LSU - 14

Against Auburn, it was 31-0 before we scored 20 cheap points against the second and third team D. Against Florida, it was 38-7 before we mounted a comeback against second teamers. In these 2 games, our offense did nothing until the second half when the game was out of hand and the other team was subbing big time.

Our offense was not good against decent teams with the game still in reach. Texas was probably the best performance, and a lot of our yardage was on a couple of big plays. We only had a couple of sustained drives in that game.

Against crappy teams, Briles offense moved the ball much like Arkansas did against crappy teams. They sputtered with youth all over the field against good teams, much like Arkansas did with their youth.

I'll do the two years under Briles.

Houston hardly sputtered. They had more first downs and yards than Miami. Oklahoma killed them yards and points wise. 528 yards against South Miss (only giving up 338; a FD edge of only 3 at 25-22). They had the most passing yards of anyone against Louisville (375). The game was close until Louisvlle poured it on late, scoring 30 points in the 4th quarter. I'd say those are fairly good stuff from a 3-win team.

Michigan stuffed them. 519 yards against Miss State (gave up 472; FD edge of 24-19). TCU was 8-0 when Houston played them; flirting with the BCS. They racked up 684 yards whiel TCU had 783. Again, they put up 363 against conference champion USM (gve up 373). Louisville managed over 700 yards against them, but they did get 453 against them.

You may dispute those teams as "good teams," but they have had some success against teams of note.

You and I are both arguing that Briles runs a great, deverse offense.  Just as far as design, I'll take it over Nutt's any day.  I will admit, I didn't realize they'd racked up as much yardage as they did in some of those games. 

[Bomis Hawg]

You and I are both arguing that Briles runs a great, deverse offense. Just as far as design, I'll take it over Nutt's any day. I will admit, I didn't realize they'd racked up as much yardage as they did in some of those games.

By design, its way up there near the top.  They produce yards in bunches.  But, their defense hasn't done much lately.  Giving up 700 yards isn't a good thing.  I say they are in a similar situation to move way up.  A Houston team, right now, at 3-8 is almost the same as the Hogs with 5 wins.  I say both teams are in-line for having a season that could be very good.

If Nutt gets the offenses of the Stoerner days or Hampton/Boo Williams/Ced Cobbs days, it could be good.  I want to see that. 

[Thehammer]

Houston, Baylor, Utah, TCU, and UTEP are some of the offers (that I read) from the guy. Colorado was on the outside of the offer, but they were in on the guy.

I'm glad Arkansas has TCU on the schedule in two years. I want Houston back on the schedule. They'll be the favorite or in the running the next few years for the CUSA Title, as long as Art Briles is there. That would definatley help Texas recruiting.

Christ on a crutch.  Those are the teams we beat out for Wilkins?!  Where's he ranked in rivals or scout.com?  Once again, we're not getting any blue chippers and people are trying to tell me that Nutt's "on a roll?"

Save that stuff for razorback newbies.   Maybe they'll buy it.  I don't.

[Cresthog]

Houston, Baylor, Utah, TCU, and UTEP are some of the offers (that I read) from the guy. Colorado was on the outside of the offer, but they were in on the guy.

I'm glad Arkansas has TCU on the schedule in two years. I want Houston back on the schedule. They'll be the favorite or in the running the next few years for the CUSA Title, as long as Art Briles is there. That would definatley help Texas recruiting.

Christ on a crutch. Those are the teams we beat out for Wilkins?! Where's he ranked in rivals or scout.com? Once again, we're not getting any blue chippers and people are trying to tell me that Nutt's "on a roll?"

Save that stuff for razorback newbies. Maybe they'll buy it. I don't.

What will you buy?

[Bomis Hawg]

Christ on a crutch. Those are the teams we beat out for Wilkins?! Where's he ranked in rivals or scout.com? Once again, we're not getting any blue chippers and people are trying to tell me that Nutt's "on a roll?"

Save that stuff for razorback newbies. Maybe they'll buy it. I don't.

Before you post, or post then hit enter 45 times, you notice Scout has Arkansas as ONE commit?  They haven't even started ranking most of their guys.  Rivals has done more, but still not that many. 

I'm glad some people can't be satisfied.  I'm sure you'd find SOMETHING wrong about USC or OU if you were a fan of their programs.

[Cresthog]

Christ on a crutch. Those are the teams we beat out for Wilkins?! Where's he ranked in rivals or scout.com? Once again, we're not getting any blue chippers and people are trying to tell me that Nutt's "on a roll?"

Save that stuff for razorback newbies. Maybe they'll buy it. I don't.

Before you post, or post then hit enter 45 times, you notice Scout has Arkansas as ONE commit? They haven't even started ranking most of their guys. Rivals has done more, but still not that many.

I'm glad some people can't be satisfied. I'm sure you'd find SOMETHING wrong about USC or OU if you were a fan of their programs.

Thank you Bomis....Thank you so much

[Thehammer]

Christ on a crutch. Those are the teams we beat out for Wilkins?! Where's he ranked in rivals or scout.com? Once again, we're not getting any blue chippers and people are trying to tell me that Nutt's "on a roll?"

Save that stuff for razorback newbies. Maybe they'll buy it. I don't.






And at the same time, I'm SAD you ARE satisfied with what's going on at UA.    There's a reason Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Florida, Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, Virgina Tech, Ohio State, Michigan and other "elite" programs didn't offer this young man.

I wonder what that "reason" is??   

Before you post, or post then hit enter 45 times, you notice Scout has Arkansas as ONE commit? They haven't even started ranking most of their guys. Rivals has done more, but still not that many.

I'm glad some people can't be satisfied. I'm sure you'd find SOMETHING wrong about USC or OU if you were a fan of their programs.

[Bomis Hawg]

And at the same time, I'm SAD you ARE satisfied with what's going on at UA. There's a reason Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Florida, Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, Virgina Tech, Ohio State, Michigan and other "elite" programs didn't offer this young man.

I wonder what that "reason" is??

You change subjects rather quickly...

[Thehammer]

And at the same time, I'm SAD you ARE satisfied with what's going on at UA. There's a reason Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Florida, Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, Virgina Tech, Ohio State, Michigan and other "elite" programs didn't offer this young man.

I wonder what that "reason" is??

You change subjects rather quickly...

The only thing that changes quickly is your responses to my posts when I pin you down Bomis.   If you think I wandred off the origin of my post and your response  -- fine.  I'll assume you're correct.   Point me back in the right direction.

[Bomis Hawg]

For one, you mention that Arkansas is not getting "blue chippers" in this class.  Not many rankings have been put out.  Scout has Arkansas as one commitment (Jim Hart).  I'm sorry if every commit to Arkansas has to be given offers from all the big name teams for them to be a "blue chipper."  See my post in the Recruiting Forum, not reapeating all of that. 

Those other teams might have other prospects they feel is better.  I don't think anyone questioned what guys like Ronnie Brown, Braylon Edwards, and Alex Smith brought to their team last year -- all not so touted; high draftees.

If you want to gripe and moan about every little thing that is linked to someone you don't like, that's your problem.  You'll be doing it for a few more years.  OU, USC, Texas, et al. aren't going to offer EVERY KID.

[Thehammer]

For one, you mention that Arkansas is not getting "blue chippers" in this class. Not many rankings have been put out. Scout has Arkansas as one commitment (Jim Hart). I'm sorry if every commit to Arkansas has to be given offers from all the big name teams for them to be a "blue chipper." See my post in the Recruiting Forum, not reapeating all of that.

Those other teams might have other prospects they feel is better. I don't think anyone questioned what guys like Ronnie Brown, Braylon Edwards, and Alex Smith brought to their team last year -- all not so touted; high draftees.

If you want to gripe and moan about every little thing that is linked to someone you don't like, that's your problem. You'll be doing it for a few more years. OU, USC, Texas, et al. aren't going to offer EVERY KID.

Yes Mr. Bomis, you are correct.    Jim Hart is a 5 star bonafied blue chipper.   Wilkins is the best thing since sliced bread and may well eclipse Batman's record for ints


Regarding all else you posted, you're 110% correct.   Nutt is recruiting five start blue chippers left and right and this upcoming season, he will fire Roy Wittke and Hire Gus Malazahn and make Gus the OC. 

We will beat USC and go 9-2, finally edging into a BCS bowl.  We are on a roll. 

At the end of the season I have to genuflect before HDN and cry "Salami, salami, Bolgona.


Houston is the solution.

[Oklahawg]

Hammer, Southern Cal doesn't recruit nationally. They focus on California and pick-and-choose from the top players nationally. Texas regularly signs all but one or two from Texas. Ditto for A&M. Notre Dame and Oklahoma recruit nationally because of the name; when they have a couple of losing seasons back-to-back they have to stay closer to home. Oklahoma gets a half-dozen in-state recruits every year under Stoops. Its a recipe for disaster should a 6-6 season befall him--too hard to get back in with those coaches after years of neglect (as said to me by a HS coach who OU doesn't even contact when he has an all-stater).

Hammer, here's a quick education on recruiting in Texas. Max Emfinger lives across the border in Louisiana. Any player "wanting" his expert evaluation can send in tape, do an interview, etc., and Max will "evaluate" them. For a fee. A good one, too. The University of Texas, during the middle of their "National Champs in February" run, was buying their recruiting database from Max.

Annually, 300 Texas players sign D1 scholies. Texas and A&M host huge, high-visibility camps that are magnets for recruiting "gurus" as well as players. Players get to compete against more top-notch athletes than at most camps nationally. Thing is, players have to have some interest in UT or A&M to attend since they are on those campuses. It becomes a giant circular argument. UT and A&M sign top classes because they recruit players who are annoited top players by the gurus, whose primary face-to-face evaluation is at a camp run by UT and A&M for players who express an interest in them.

After UT and A&M have identified their top 80, or so, the fight is on. They can pressure for commits early and pull tricks on recruits that are downright cruel, making HDN's poor showing with Slick Shelley, the Warren kids and the two Springdale kids who he backed off of...well, making it look "normal". Players not ready to be pressured--or so good they can tell UT and A&M to wait with the rest of 'em--are out of luck with those schools. HDN won't push recruits for commits and will continue to get beat by A&M (and not even get competitive with UT) as a result. But, for Texas players who are truly open he can be competitive. UT and A&M do a lot of that definition work for the players with the pressure thing.

Hammer, you ought to invest some disposable income in a couple of months subscription to the pay recruiting sites at either scouts or rivals. Read what the gurus are actually saying, firsthand, in realtime. Read actual interviews with dozens of players, and get access to their interviews with gurus from other schools besides UA. It won't make Wilkins a 5-star recruit. It won't make losing a top-flight finesse TE (Cleveland) any easier to explain or accept. It will give you a bigger perspective.

Yes, you'll encounter homers there like you do here. More, actually. Hogville has plenty of somewhat objective posters (we are all hog fans) with quite a bit of knowledge and football savvy about them. We can help sort through the hubris for the gems. It will help you understand that UT has a built in recruiting advantage because of its connection with the national gurus. Go to Jerry Reith's board (Hog50) and ask about comparing the walk-ons on the UA OL in 2003 vs. Texas' HS parade all-american DL. We manhandled them all day, and Jerry was in the thick of it.

I'm not blowing smoke, I'm not pumping sunshine. I am demanding that you shut up until you understand the bigger picture. There is nothing to prevent UA from having stolen a gem from underneath the noses of UT and A&M. We can thank our lucky stars that Wilkins was not enamored with either of those schools and let them know it. Otherwise, we'd never have had the chance to have him visit. A nasty habit those Texas and A&M coaches have--dropping offers to kids who visit elsewhere.

[The Coletrain]

Well said, Oklahawg.  Well said.