Give Coach B credit

[regi]

We only signed 20 guys today, two guys left us holding the bag. There have been coaches at UA (Houston Nutt) who would have been scrambling starting Sunday night to sign five Arkansas kids just to get his recruiting ranking up, knowing they probably could not help us win the SEC. Kids from Arkansas signed with TT, OSU, Mizzou (2), Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa State, BYU, Memphis and LaTech. They evaluated all of these guys, did not offer prior to Sunday, and when things fell off at the end, they didn't scramble back to any of these guys. Got to give credit to a guy who doesn't doubt his plan. Hope it works for him.

[regi]

Lol HE better be the one hoping.

I am sure he his, but he will walk away from this job about 18-20 million richer, so he will be okay.

[jgphillips3]

I give him credit for not panicking.  However, he should have had better back up plans in place.  I'll give Bielema a B- grade for this class.  Great beginning and middle, but went all in on some kids without adequate back up plans.  He'll do better next time.  He has shown he learns from mistakes.

[buldozer]

He got his head handed to him this last couple weeks and it sounds like he did not like it.... thats good! Every time he has had something like this wake him up he has rose to the occasion. Hope this is no different.

[longpig]

Lets keep track of these kids that Bielema passed on, be interesting to see if they succeed.  BTW how good were these program's recruiting classes that took them?

[regi]

Lets keep track of these kids that Bielema passed on, be interesting to see if they succeed.  BTW how good were these program's recruiting classes that took them?

Arkansas finished ahead of all of them, with only 20 scholarship players,

[regi]

He got his head handed to him this last couple weeks and it sounds like he did not like it.... thats good! Every time he has had something like this wake him up he has rose to the occasion. Hope this is no different.

Could be the only silver lining, he seems to bounce back when he gets knocked down and pissed off. He looked pissed at every interview today.

[Hambunctious]

Could be the only silver lining, he seems to bounce back when he gets knocked down and pissed off. He looked pissed at every interview today.

Yeah, I agree.  He's learned another lesson on how the SEC is different from recruiting at wisky.

[hawginbigd1]

Lets keep track of these kids that Bielema passed on, be interesting to see if they succeed.  BTW how good were these program's recruiting classes that took them?

We may not want to, I just seen a couple of in state guys we didn't recruit or barely recruit help beat us tonight in BB!

[Hambunctious]

You would hope he had figured that bit out well before now.

Maybe he's a trusting guy. Besides, what could he possibly have done to keep pupu, or cleveland, on signing day?  Can he truly be blamed for some weak minded kid who listened to the wrong guy at the last minute?  He took them at their word.

[hollywood hog]

I give him credit for not panicking.  However, he should have had better back up plans in place.  I'll give Bielema a B- grade for this class.  Great beginning and middle, but went all in on some kids without adequate back up plans.  He'll do better next time.  He has shown he learns from mistakes.

I think the plan b guys were good enough but we didn't start pressing hard enough til it was too late.  I don't have any inside info on Pennamon but everyone else here seemed to think he wanted to be a Hog.  Really hope we didn't hold him off while we were waiting on Devin White's decision.  We were really swinging for the fences when we could've been hitting some stand up doubles.  I want the staff to swing for the fences some too but don't hold off high quality kids waiting on a long shot 5 star. 

[moses_007]

I can assure all of you that Coach B isn't too happy with what happened today.  Sure, he's glad he got the 20 he got, but I know he isn't happy that we lost out on all these kids that visited the last two weekends.

Furthermore, no Arkansas fan, even a sunshine pumper, should be happy with what occurred today either.

[longpig]

Yeah, I agree.  He's learned another lesson on how the SEC is different from recruiting at wisky.

That's what I'm thinking, Bielema may not have the greatest foresight but it does appear that he learns from his mistakes.  He's done well at beating the top SEC recruiting schools early in the game, even for a few really good out of state kids.  He may have been a little overconfident going to the wire with LSU and Florida the way he did this goround, though.  I don't doubt he'll get an angle on it and fare better next time. 

[bphi11ips]

Bielema and his staff gave it their best shot, and that's all anyone can expect.  The key is simple - win more games and they will come.

[immahog]

Bielema and his staff gave it their best shot, and that's all anyone can expect.  The key is simple - win more games and they will come.

And have better in state talent...... Arkansas is the only school in the sec that can't walk out its back door and offer 10-15 kids every yr.

[ChitownHawg]

Furthermore, no Arkansas fan, even a sunshine pumper, should be happy with what occurred today either.

So I have to wallow in the grandiose self pity that you guys are having? I don't think so. I see improvement in our recruiting classes, in the classroom, on the field, and out of the jail.

So to rag on these recruits by calling their class a failure and feeling as a fan it is all about you and your feelings. I think I will pass on that and enjoy my life.

[lefty08]

So I have to wallow in the grandiose self pity that you guys are having? I don't think so. I see improvement in our recruiting classes, in the classroom, on the field, and out of the jail.

So to rag on these recruits by calling their class a failure and feeling as a fan it is all about you and your feelings. I think I will pass on that and enjoy my life.

Agree, these hogs deserve better than what is given to them on hogville

[ChitownHawg]

Agree, these hogs deserve better than what is given to them on hogville

These young men are heading into a huge challenge. The jump from high school to the Hogs is huge. They are going to sweat their butt off and face mental challenges to quit. And to top it off they are expected to be a student before a football player. Most probably have never felt that kind of pleasure.

A true fan supporting the team would now move from the recruiting process and onto cheering these young men on to surpassing these challenges in glorious style. If these players do then our team will be better on the field.

I'm not sure how a fan thinks calling these young men failures is going to translate to success on the field. Or in the next recruiting class. Our goal should now be to get behind these guys and encourage them to be their best. To be #uncommon.

[lefty08]

we did pretty much what we always do in recruiting. The difference this year is we had some hats on the table for signing day studs. It's a building process. Short of handing out bags of cash or having more instate guys highly ranked, it's the way it has to be done here.

One more thing, if 1 guy like Agim decided to wait and announce on Signing day, most opinions would be completely different about how today went. Think about that, isn't that rather stupid? We still got Agim in the end.....

[Exit Pursued by a Boar]

And have better in state talent...... Arkansas is the only school in the sec that can't walk out its back door and offer 10-15 kids every yr.

Mizzou? UK? Vandy? I'm not even sure UT can do that. Now, if you'd have said SEC West, I would have been with you.

EFBAB

[ceegar]

In response to the folks who think there should have been a back up plan.  How do you think CBB was to handle that?  Tell the Plan B guys to wait until the Plan A guys sign and if they don't sign with us then they can have their schollie.  Do you really think those guys are going to wait around just to see.  I don't.  Besides who knows what these Plan A guys were telling CBB.  I think CBB really thought we had a chance with a couple of the guys.  If your solution is to first sign the Plan B guys and then go after the Plan A guys then I don't think that works either.  It is a tough spot to be in.

[LRHawg]

I'm torn in how I think it should be handled. On the one hand, you have attention whoring like what Ole Miss does. They absolutely will wait to go public with a commit until it's the most marketable for them. Take the kid sydiving his commit. While I find this asinine, you can't knock the results. You've got to be creative, and bags of cash alone are not what Ole Miss is using, some of it is clever marketing.

[JaketheSnake]

Getting the #1 RB in Texas and stealing a player from Ok State is really getting it handed to him.  Why can many only focus on the last 4 recruits?  Harris visited Bama the last weekend and Guidry AZ St and they are Hogs. 

I give him credit for not panicking.  However, he should have had better back up plans in place.  I'll give Bielema a B- grade for this class.  Great beginning and middle, but went all in on some kids without adequate back up plans.  He'll do better next time.  He has shown he learns from mistakes.

[Sooie71923]

Coach B is an outstanding coach and has built an amazing recruiting staff. IF this staff was at FLA, ALA, TX, he would have a top 3 class every year. what he is bringing to Arkansas, the recruits that are considering, going head to head with BAMA, FLA, LSU, TX etc, is light years ahead of where any other staff has ever been.

facts of life that will never change;

recruits have free will = no matter what happens they will ultimately do what they want to do
Arkansas is very difficult to recruit to. It is not like any other SEC town.
Arkansas is a clean program. no fancy recruiting pitches. nothing fancy. brutally honest staff that demands hard work and accountability.

Arkansas is being built the right way. a way that will outlast the flavors of the week in the long run.


other than holding a recruits family hostage or losing bags of cash at their front door, there is nothing ANY coach in the country can do cleanly to sign an elite kid to Arkansas.  winning championships is the only thing that can totally change the perception of the name ARKANSAS.

free will always wins.

[rljjr]

Just win, baby.
We made tremendous inroads into LA. Continued progress into Fla. Got a guy from GA. Scored big in Texas. Kept Arkansas kids we wanted. Went out on the West Coast and elsewhere. It's all ok. We will continue to up our game and play football and win.

[SDZ_Hog]

Plain and simple.  We have a geographic disadvantage in proximity to talent.   Not only do most powerhouse teams have high numbers of top flight talent in their home state but they are also surrounded by states that have high numbers of blue chippers with maybe exception being California which has enough anyways.

NWA needs to have a population explosion even more so then in the past.  When was the last time that we didn't sign anyone from the region?    Little Rock needs to develop more athletes and get them off the streets. 

A top 25 class  with only 20 signees is doing pretty good for where the UA is located.

2016 0
2015 2 Fayetteville, 1 Charleston, 1 Fort Smith
2014 1 Springdale, 1 Bentonville
2013 2 Fayetteville, 1 Greenwood
2012 1 Fayetteville, 1 Pottsville (Russellville)

[bphi11ips]

And have better in state talent...... Arkansas is the only school in the sec that can't walk out its back door and offer 10-15 kids every yr.

Alabama signed 6 in-state players.  That's typical for them.   Population and location are issues, true.

[Sooie71923]

Little Rock needs to develop more athletes and get them off the streets. 

A top 25 class  with only 20 signees is doing pretty good for where the UA is located.

this times a million!

Central Arkansas is not producing like they once did.

[Hawgndaaz]

I give him credit for not panicking.  However, he should have had better back up plans in place.  I'll give Bielema a B- grade for this class.  Great beginning and middle, but went all in on some kids without adequate back up plans.  He'll do better next time.  He has shown he learns from mistakes.

If you don't think he's got a good idea already of who he wants to slide into those spots, you don't pay attention. He's already said he would look at some grad transfers. There's also kids that didn't sign on NSD. He knows each and every one of these situations and has more than likely already made a move on them.

He'd rather have a few extra scholarships in his back pocket for contributing walk ons that earn them, or gray shirts. He doesn't like dead weight (except on his gut ha).

[JayBell]

Most of the players who went out of state were linemen.  This was a strong year for the state, but Arkansas can't sign 16 linemen just because the state produces a bunch in one year.  I think Beasley would have been good for secondary depth though.

I think most are happy with the 20 players Arkansas signed for the reasons you mentioned.  Any disappointment is largely based on the way Arkansas lost pretty much every recruiting battle over the final week.

[MJ2]

We only signed 20 guys today, two guys left us holding the bag. There have been coaches at UA (Houston Nutt) who would have been scrambling starting Sunday night to sign five Arkansas kids just to get his recruiting ranking up, knowing they probably could not help us win the SEC. Kids from Arkansas signed with TT, OSU, Mizzou (2), Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa State, BYU, Memphis and LaTech. They evaluated all of these guys, did not offer prior to Sunday, and when things fell off at the end, they didn't scramble back to any of these guys. Got to give credit to a guy who doesn't doubt his plan. Hope it works for him.

I'm in favor of the scramble approach.    We need LOCAL bodies.   The further a recruit is away from their home, the less likely they are to stay.

[DeltaBoy]

It is a good class but we really needed at least one CB and we did not get one.  The Staff did the best they could do bottom line.

[prattville pig]

all of these signing day studs have baggage, we nedd to watch over the next few years and see how they fare.  we may have dodged some bullets.
and Poter decided he did not want any of Whaley, he pretty much said so.

[onebadrubi]

We only signed 20 guys today, two guys left us holding the bag. There have been coaches at UA (Houston Nutt) who would have been scrambling starting Sunday night to sign five Arkansas kids just to get his recruiting ranking up, knowing they probably could not help us win the SEC. Kids from Arkansas signed with TT, OSU, Mizzou (2), Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa State, BYU, Memphis and LaTech. They evaluated all of these guys, did not offer prior to Sunday, and when things fell off at the end, they didn't scramble back to any of these guys. Got to give credit to a guy who doesn't doubt his plan. Hope it works for him.

Haven't read all the way down, but have to factor in that we started this recruiting season where signing a full class meant numbers were going to have to "work out", meaning some guys that suited up last year would have been asked to move on.  That makes the decision to not pursue "longshots" a little easier.

[JayBell]

all of these signing day studs have baggage, we nedd to watch over the next few years and see how they fare.  we may have dodged some bullets.
and Poter decided he did not want any of Whaley, he pretty much said so.

I don't see it that way.  A lot of elite recruits have baggage, but that's why Bielema and his staff don't go after a lot of them.  They went after the ones they felt were "uncommon."  I haven't read anything about Cleveland or Fulton to think they won't have success in college.

It says a lot about Porter, especially, to stay away from social media and avoid the recruiting circus altogether.  He's the one I'm most disappointed Arkansas missed.  They could have had another two-headed monster like DMac and Felix or J-Will and AC.

[hogman99]

And have better in state talent...... Arkansas is the only school in the sec that can't walk out its back door and offer 10-15 kids every yr.

The talent in Arkansas is just as good as any other state in our region.  The problem is they are not playing sports because they either don't want to put in the time that it takes, they don't want to be told what to do or they are not willing to sacrifice their existing free time to do God knows what.

The majority of the best players are playing sports in NWA, but they are not playing in the rest of the state. As an example, I live in Conway and see guys walking around school events, around town and on playgrounds that look just like the studs that Alabama, Auburn and LSU get every year. The city of Conway produces 2-3 elite SEC type talent every year, but they are not playing sports based on the items I listed above. 

In today's society I see a very slim chance that this trend will change. It would take an outstanding coach/leader to get some of the guys into sports. If that does happen the results would be unreal.

[prattville pig]

the kids may very well be uncommon, their baggage is not.  and you have to not be afraid of compition to have a 2 headed monster

[cardinalandwhite]

the kids may very well be uncommon, their baggage is not.  and you have to not be afraid of compition to have a 2 headed monster

What is RWIII? Chopped liver?

[prattville pig]

he is a very good running back, that obviously is NOT afraid of competition

[pigskenG]

I think the plan b guys were good enough but we didn't start pressing hard enough til it was too late.  I don't have any inside info on Pennamon but everyone else here seemed to think he wanted to be a Hog.  Really hope we didn't hold him off while we were waiting on Devin White's decision.  We were really swinging for the fences when we could've been hitting some stand up doubles.  I want the staff to swing for the fences some too but don't hold off high quality kids waiting on a long shot 5 star.

We could do like Alabama, Michigan, + , and accept a commitment from recruit 'A' until someone better 'B' wants to commit, then tell them 'A' right before signing day 'thanks anyway', but they won't fit in the plans.  Or, do like some      ( I think TN does it ) and encourage former highly recruited players that can't crack the starting lineup to transfer so they can sign more.  Is that better ?

[HogNDas]

And have better in state talent...... Arkansas is the only school in the sec that can't walk out its back door and offer 10-15 kids every yr.

[To be honest, there is not much talent in MO, KY, or for that matter, TN.....the best athlete to ever come from KY was named "Secreteriat"....just sayin'....]

[go hogues]

So to rag on these recruits by calling their class a failure...

No one is calling it a failure! SMH

[pigskenG]

We only signed 20 guys today, two guys left us holding the bag. There have been coaches at UA (Houston Nutt) who would have been scrambling starting Sunday night to sign five Arkansas kids just to get his recruiting ranking up, knowing they probably could not help us win the SEC. Kids from Arkansas signed with TT, OSU, Mizzou (2), Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa State, BYU, Memphis and LaTech. They evaluated all of these guys, did not offer prior to Sunday, and when things fell off at the end, they didn't scramble back to any of these guys. Got to give credit to a guy who doesn't doubt his plan. Hope it works for him.

Two comments:
How may former Arkansas high school kids did well after going out of state ?  Very few. The only ones I can think of (and I won't mention their names) were from several years ago that got pulled out of Arkansas by Switzer and Johnson.

And did anyone notice that some coaches showed up for their signing announcements wearing suits and smiles, and Coach B looked like someone who had been working hard for the last few days. If he isn't happy with the way things went at the end, I'll bet he does things differently next year. I think Coach B is the best all around coach in the country.   :razorback:

[outlawhogeywells]

The talent in Arkansas is just as good as any other state in our region.  The problem is they are not playing sports because they either don't want to put in the time that it takes, they don't want to be told what to do or they are not willing to sacrifice their existing free time to do God knows what.

The majority of the best players are playing sports in NWA, but they are not playing in the rest of the state. As an example, I live in Conway and see guys walking around school events, around town and on playgrounds that look just like the studs that Alabama, Auburn and LSU get every year. The city of Conway produces 2-3 elite SEC type talent every year, but they are not playing sports based on the items I listed above. 

In today's society I see a very slim chance that this trend will change. It would take an outstanding coach/leader to get some of the guys into sports. If that does happen the results would be unreal.

IT's not talent if they are not eligible to play football.  You can't offer a kid that does not play football.  And every state has kids that might have the ability to play but don't.  Thing is those other states have 10-15 that you can actually offer

[jcharkansas]

And have better in state talent...... Arkansas is the only school in the sec that can't walk out its back door and offer 10-15 kids every yr.

You know, that's true but it sure seems like there are alot of guys that don't get ranked or anything in arkansas that could really contribute to the hogs. Just what I've seen watching arkansas high school ball

[Vantage 8 dude]

We only signed 20 guys today, two guys left us holding the bag. There have been coaches at UA (Houston Nutt) who would have been scrambling starting Sunday night to sign five Arkansas kids just to get his recruiting ranking up, knowing they probably could not help us win the SEC. Kids from Arkansas signed with TT, OSU, Mizzou (2), Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa State, BYU, Memphis and LaTech. They evaluated all of these guys, did not offer prior to Sunday, and when things fell off at the end, they didn't scramble back to any of these guys. Got to give credit to a guy who doesn't doubt his plan. Hope it works for him.

Perhaps, as some have suggested CBB and the staff could have been better prepared with more "back plan" guys than we did. However, we had one who flipped pretty much out of the blue-Putu (although we made up for that with one of our own from Okie State) AND we ended up missing out on everyone of the real big four-Jones, Cleveland, Porter and Fulton-that we were hoping for and I believe may have been in serious contention for.

While this class did fall somewhat short in numbers, overall I'm impressed with the quality of the kids we got. Are there tweaks and improvements that could be made next year-absolutely. I think CBB learns fast and will do what he believes necessary to continue improving our success. Keep in mind one thing: Had we landed any of these four kids mentioned above I have a strong hunch that the overall "buzz" would have been much stronger. At least we truly went head-to-head with the "big dogs" and didn't back down. Now it's a matter of taking it to the next level.

[ChitownHawg]

No one is calling it a failure! SMH

I thought I heard something rattling. Must of been when you were shaking your head. 

[Iamjacksleftnutt]

I hope CBB shows swamp donkey that ogres like onions have layers.

[HOGINTENNESSEE]

Mizzou? UK? Vandy? I'm not even sure UT can do that. Now, if you'd have said SEC West, I would have been with you.
EFBAB

UT and UK are right next to talent rich areas. Especially UT. That talent just happens to be in other states but distance wise still very close.

[Justagp]

Perhaps, as some have suggested CBB and the staff could have been better prepared with more "back plan" guys than we did. However, we had one who flipped pretty much out of the blue-Putu (although we made up for that with one of our own from Okie State) AND we ended up missing out on everyone of the real big four-Jones, Cleveland, Porter and Fulton-that we were hoping for and I believe may have been in serious contention for.

While this class did fall somewhat short in numbers, overall I'm impressed with the quality of the kids we got. Are there tweaks and improvements that could be made next year-absolutely. I think CBB learns fast and will do what he believes necessary to continue improving our success. Keep in mind one thing: Had we landed any of these four kids mentioned above I have a strong hunch that the overall "buzz" would have been much stronger. At least we truly went head-to-head with the "big dogs" and didn't back down. Now it's a matter of taking it to the next level.

Great assessment! +1 if I could