The Truth about Recruiting...

[Coach V. Slocombe]

In my opinion CCM has done a good job so far recruiting considering the circumstances...that being said the bigger picture will be if CCM can coach up 3 & 4 stars because we are not gonna get many 5 stars...that's just the way it is...

[hawgdavis]

I'm sorry but I'm tired of this line of thinking. Have you ever been to the likes of Clemson, Auburn, even Tuscaloosa for that matter, or many other college towns scattered around the country. Most of these towns don't have as much to offer as Fayetteville. I know for a fact that Clemson and Auburn are in the middle of know where and they actually have a small town feel. Alabama has Birmingham close by . Birmingham is a real hopping place. You have to build a program to get these guys to come and that means you have to have a coach that can flat out coach. I hope CCM is that kind of guy if so the players will come as the record goes up.

[hawgdavis]

I don't mean anything in this in anyway as a smart ass response so please do not take it that way.

I just feel it's the wrong way to look at our beloved Hog program. I guess over time it has become a cultural issue in the state due to the state of the program over the last 30 some odd years. I remember when things were different. I wish we could go back and rank the classes that Frank and Lou brought in . I bet that many of those classes would be ranked rather high, well into the top 10. JMHO

[OnYourToes]

I'm sorry but I'm tired of this line of thinking. Have you ever been to the likes of Clemson, Auburn, even Tuscaloosa for that matter, or many other college towns scattered around the country. Most of these towns don't have as much to offer as Fayetteville. I know for a fact that Clemson and Auburn are in the middle of know where and they actually have a small town feel. Alabama has Birmingham close by . Birmingham is a real hopping place. You have to build a program to get these guys to come and that means you have to have a coach that can flat out coach. I hope CCM is that kind of guy if so the players will come as the record goes up.

I do not believe the OP was referencing anything about Fayetteville or NWA in any negative way.  What Tuscalosa, Auburn, and Clemson have in common are NC rings.  Those other schools get 4 and 5 star kids because of the program that has won at least 1 NC in the past 10 years.  Kids will naturally come to a place that is known for being the best. 

I agree with the OP, CCM and staff will have to do a good job of coaching up, hopefully they do such a good job where we, too, would be in a position with the likes of the aforementioned towns and schools; where we have 4 and 5 star talent knocking at our door because of our success.   

[Arthur pigby sellers.]

I'm sorry but I'm tired of this line of thinking. Have you ever been to the likes of Clemson, Auburn, even Tuscaloosa for that matter, or many other college towns scattered around the country. Most of these towns don't have as much to offer as Fayetteville. I know for a fact that Clemson and Auburn are in the middle of know where and they actually have a small town feel. Alabama has Birmingham close by . Birmingham is a real hopping place. You have to build a program to get these guys to come and that means you have to have a coach that can flat out coach. I hope CCM is that kind of guy if so the players will come as the record goes up.

Auburn is less than 2 hrs from Atlanta

[razorbackfaninar]

I'm sorry but I'm tired of this line of thinking. Have you ever been to the likes of Clemson, Auburn, even Tuscaloosa for that matter, or many other college towns scattered around the country. Most of these towns don't have as much to offer as Fayetteville. I know for a fact that Clemson and Auburn are in the middle of know where and they actually have a small town feel. Alabama has Birmingham close by . Birmingham is a real hopping place. You have to build a program to get these guys to come and that means you have to have a coach that can flat out coach. I hope CCM is that kind of guy if so the players will come as the record goes up.

I agree with the OP in part.  The only thing in my opinion that will drastically improve recruiting is winning, winning a lot and doing it consistently.  That means that yes, Morris will have to win with the talent he can bring to Fayetteville right now, which is not and has not traditionally been bad, but just not elite. He can get good talent, top 25 talent to Fayetteville, but he will have to be able to squeeze a little extra out of them if they want to recruit and compete at a truly elite level.  If he can do that and and win consistently for a few years then he can potentially start to attract some of the 5 star talent, but to think he is going to go out this year or next year and recruit a top 10 class when we have never done that is not being realistic. If he can get us into the top 15- 20 in recruiting within three years he will be outpacing all of his predecessors by a wide margin.   

[hawgdavis]

Auburn is less than 2 hrs from Atlanta
[/quote

No sir it's a little closer to 3. I live in north Ga and Did a job in Troy a few years back and traveled 85 from Home to Montgomery, the run between Atlanta to Auburn was the longest stretch.  I don't think many kids will go there with ATL being a draw. Montgomery isn't exactly a thriving metropolis going the other way either.

If you win the players will come.

On a side note though Auburn does pay really good though so the kids that do go there should have the money to road trip to ATL lol.

[hawgdavis]

I do not believe the OP was referencing anything about Fayetteville or NWA in any negative way.  What Tuscalosa, Auburn, and Clemson have in common are NC rings.  Those other schools get 4 and 5 star kids because of the program that has won at least 1 NC in the past 10 years.  Kids will naturally come to a place that is known for being the best. 

I agree with the OP, CCM and staff will have to do a good job of coaching up, hopefully they do such a good job where we, too, would be in a position with the likes of the aforementioned towns and schools; where we have 4 and 5 star talent knocking at our door because of our success.   

They didn't start with the 4 and 5 star kids they took the best they could get and coached them and won games , then the stars came. The exception being Bama they got the 5* coach and the players jumped ont the Saban train. Before Saban got there Bama's recruiting was not much better than ours over the previous 4-5 years.

Coaching and winning matter. You get that and you get the players.

[Piggfoot]

I'm sorry but I'm tired of this line of thinking. Have you ever been to the likes of Clemson, Auburn, even Tuscaloosa for that matter, or many other college towns scattered around the country. Most of these towns don't have as much to offer as Fayetteville. I know for a fact that Clemson and Auburn are in the middle of know where and they actually have a small town feel. Alabama has Birmingham close by . Birmingham is a real hopping place. You have to build a program to get these guys to come and that means you have to have a coach that can flat out coach. I hope CCM is that kind of guy if so the players will come as the record goes up.

Clemson may be described as a newly emergent team in the college football picture. However they do have a NC on record.
Alabama dilutes our claim I think unfairly but they do. What Alabama has is tradition.  When talk starts about who is going to be in the NC race. Alabama is there. When sports people talk about the NC we are not among the teams. It has been years since we have been relevant. Team who are talked about have tradition and support from relevant sports people. Some KidsWant to go to a school that has a chance of being talked about on the national level esp the 5 stars.
Fayetteville is s nice town but what does it have to offer to college kids? Many top schools are in close proximity to major metropolitan areas or close to major tourist attractions. Fayetteville is close to Dog Patch and Branson. I don't think many college kids want to hang with a bunch of Blue Hairs.

[HogHomer]

Auburn is less than 2 hrs from Atlanta
[/quote

No sir it's a little closer to 3. I live in north Ga and Did a job in Troy a few years back and traveled 85 from Home to Montgomery, the run between Atlanta to Auburn was the longest stretch.  I don't think many kids will go there with ATL being a draw. Montgomery isn't exactly a thriving metropolis going the other way either.

If you win the players will come.

On a side note though Auburn does pay really good though so the kids that do go there should have the money to road trip to ATL lol.

It's not about having somewhere to go in the players off time. It's about availability of talent in relation to schools.

[SooieGeneris]

As in real estate, it's all, or mostly about:
1. Location
2. Location
3. Location

You can have a beautiful mansion in a "faraway" place or one near population/media centers, which one will appraise for more $? That's the bad news.

The good news is that the "elite" programs can only take 25 players each per year, give or take. There are many more than 25 good players in TX, Fla. GA. LA and other states in or near the SEC.

It's very hard to get 5 star players to go several states away from their home or to get them out of their home state in many cases.

You hear and read constantly every year of the "surprise" by recruits when they see the town, the campus and the football facilities. Problem is these kids only get 5 official visits. If we can't get an official visit, or at least an unofficial visit first, they don't see or experience the above.

If you can't get a visit, they aren't signing with your school in the case of 5 stars and most 4's. Kids are more likely to go cross country to 'Bama or Clemson because of the constant media attention and hype those programs get, but especially in the case of Clemson, only after post season success at a very high level for a few years.

The biggest test CM will have is changing that narrative. First on the field, then in recruiting over a period of time. Anyone who thinks we should just be hauling in top 5-10 recruiting classes every year without sustained success first is delusional.

Not to say it can't be done, but recruiting at such a high level as that has never been done here in the era of recruiting services under several different staffs. That will be the biggest change that must take place for Morris to do here what Swinney has done at Clemson.

They are close to GA, we are close to TX, but there is even more competition in TX than GA with 2 Power 5 schools in the state plus Baylor and TCU and so on. Plus OU is seemingly in on nearly all the top players in TX and has been for many years.

To sum up, if we can get a kid to visit, we have a shot. It's just hard to get one of those coveted 5 official visits for the top players.

[Hogindasticks]

As in real estate, it's all, or mostly about:
1. Location
2. Location
3. Location

You can have a beautiful mansion in a "faraway" place or one near population/media centers, which one will appraise for more $? That's the bad news.

The good news is that the "elite" programs can only take 25 players each per year, give or take. There are many more than 25 good players in TX, Fla. GA. LA and other states in or near the SEC.

It's very hard to get 5 star players to go several states away from their home or to get them out of their home state in many cases.

You hear and read constantly every year of the "surprise" by recruits when they see the town, the campus and the football facilities. Problem is these kids only get 5 official visits. If we can't get an official visit, or at least an unofficial visit first, they don't see or experience the above.

If you can't get a visit, they aren't signing with your school in the case of 5 stars and most 4's. Kids are more likely to go cross country to 'Bama or Clemson because of the constant media attention and hype those programs get, but especially in the case of Clemson, only after post season success at a very high level for a few years.

The biggest test CM will have is changing that narrative. First on the field, then in recruiting over a period of time. Anyone who thinks we should just be hauling in top 5-10 recruiting classes every year without sustained success first is delusional.

Not to say it can't be done, but recruiting at such a high level as that has never been done here in the era of recruiting services under several different staffs. That will be the biggest change that must take place for Morris to do here what Swinney has done at Clemson.

They are close to GA, we are close to TX, but there is even more competition in TX than GA with 2 Power 5 schools in the state plus Baylor and TCU and so on. Plus OU is seemingly in on nearly all the top players in TX and has been for many years.

To sum up, if we can get a kid to visit, we have a shot. It's just hard to get one of those coveted 5 official visits for the top players.

BS BS BS....again...that's that mediocre attitude again.....just giving up and saying that's the way it is...is bullony.

[hawginbigd1]

I don't mean anything in this in anyway as a smart ass response so please do not take it that way.

I just feel it's the wrong way to look at our beloved Hog program. I guess over time it has become a cultural issue in the state due to the state of the program over the last 30 some odd years. I remember when things were different. I wish we could go back and rank the classes that Frank and Lou brought in . I bet that many of those classes would be ranked rather high, well into the top 10. JMHO

This has very little to do with it. We are not a top notch football school right now, that's strike one, there are about 30-35 5 stars in a given year, and about 90-110 elite 4 *s and 60 P5 schools, that means there is tons of competition for limited #'s that's strike 2, and lastly maybe the biggest recruits average staying inside around 300 miles from home, draw that radius around Fayetteville and there are very few of those athletes in that Radius, plus that territory includes 5 different states, and some of those limited #'s grow up their formative years dreaming of being a Sooner, Horn, Aggie, volunteer, or Rebel etc.

All of these things means we have to develop players and keep every SEC caliber player home, and we are losing out on 3 of those it appears. It has mostly nothing to do with Arkansas  or NWA or our history and future abilities.

[pghawg1]

 I heard two outsiders durning Football season Both say that with our facilities there is no reason Arkansas shouldnt be a force in recruiting . Pat Jones said it on the sports animal radio show in Tulsa, and Tommy Tuberville  said it at the Quarter club in Little Rock. Also somebody correct me if I am wrong Bob Stoops said the same thing at the NWA TOUCHDOWN CLUB meeting in Springdale. All 3 said Arkansas needs to get Players out of Texas and the other border state around  Ark. , looks like Morris and staff is working towards that.

[870rzrback]

Auburn is less than 2 hrs from Atlanta
[/quote

No sir it's a little closer to 3. I live in north Ga and Did a job in Troy a few years back and traveled 85 from Home to Montgomery, the run between Atlanta to Auburn was the longest stretch.  I don't think many kids will go there with ATL being a draw. Montgomery isn't exactly a thriving metropolis going the other way either.

If you win the players will come.

On a side note though Auburn does pay really good though so the kids that do go there should have the money to road trip to ATL lol.

It's not about being close to destinations people want to visit.  If that was the case Hawaii would get top classes every year. It's about being close to where the ELITE talent is coming FROM. Elite kids normally choose a school they are a fan of, a school fairly close home, or a school they feel like gives them the best chance to win and go to the NFL. There's way more ELITE talent around Alabama and Georgia than there is around Fayetteville

[Hogindasticks]

If you haven't seen the facility that Northwestern is building.......smh..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qbgoOSAmHE

[bphi11ips]

The Truth is, there is reason to believe Arkansas recruiting is About to Get Much Better ...

[redeye]

As others have noted, the only thing Arkansas lacks is location.  Alabama has many great instate players to choose from, but it doesn't end there.  They also have many great players from Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and Mississippi near by.

Fayetteville is just too far off the path, but that doesn't mean we can't do it.  Oregon played for the national championship in 2010 with fewer 4-5 star players than Arkansas had in 2010, and probably fewer than we have on the roster right now, too.  You can recruit well to schools off the path, but it's just harder.

The 2009 class for Arkansas was ranked 20th by the 247Sports Composite, compared to 36th for Clemson.  The 2011 class was Clemson's first with Morris and they finished 10th that year.  They followed that up with classes ranked 20th, 15th and 16th for the rest of Morris' duration at Clemson (their 2015 class finished 9th and I'm sure Morris contributed to that).  Morris obviously wasn't solely responsible for Clemson's improved recruiting, but as their OC, he was certainly part of the reason.  And with his ties to Texas, it may help that Arkansas is closer than Clemson.

Clemson won a national championship with those classes and the players Morris helped recruit.  Tbh, I don't know if Arkansas can sign a top-10 class, but I do think we can equal the average class rank Clemson signed preceding their national championship.  According to the 247 Composite, Clemson's best finish, in the past 10 years, was that 9th place finish in Morris' last year.  I believe our best ever finish is 14th, and I think we can come close to 9th, if not surpass it altogether.

[redeye]

On Twitter:

I think Morris understands the game.  Many here don't like Twitter, but it's a powerful recruiting tool, regardless.  Some coaches are reluctant to post on Twitter, while coaches like Bielema used it to draw attention, mostly to himself.

Bielema did fairly well on Twitter, imo, but I don't think he understands it like Morris.  Many are tired of the cute catch phrases for hash tags, like #Uncommon and #Hammerdown, but the point here is to make it fun for recruits and this is what Morris seems to understand better.  Morris looks like he's having fun and who doesn't want to be a part of that?

[Bkhardicars]

I've been to every SEC city and the only place that has anything on NW AR is Gainesville. The problem is not that NW AR is not a good place, but that more athletes are born and raised near the other SEC towns and the kids want to play close to home.

[HogHomer]

I've been to every SEC city and the only place that has anything on NW AR is Gainesville. The problem is not that NW AR is not a good place, but that more athletes are born and raised near the other SEC towns and the kids want to play close to home.

Gainesville is a s***hole of a town. It makes me a little sick to say but Knoxville and Neyland Stadium is #1 in the SEC from a scenery standpoint.

Fayetteville is a great town and is absolutely beautiful but when you're a 18-21 year old what can you envision yourself doing here if you're from a major metro area and aren't a big outdoor person?

[liljo]

The Truth is, there is reason to believe Arkansas recruiting is About to Get Much Better ...

+1

[mutt]

you get five stars the old fashion way pocket book

[OneTuskOverTheLine™]

If you haven't seen the facility that Northwestern is building.......smh..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qbgoOSAmHE

Dayumn...!

[Richard Davenport]

The biggest issues for Arkansas in recruiting is that 2/3 of your class has to come from out-of-state, very expensive airfare into Fayetteville for unofficial visits and for family flying in for games and lack of a strong tradition like upper tier SEC schools.

It's Coach Morris and his staff's job to overcome and develop the program where they can win at a pretty consistent level and entice top recruits to visit and sign. I like their chances, but time will tell.

[Kevin]

sure wish they would do something about the airfares. ridiculous

[rljjr]

sure wish they would do something about the airfares. ridiculous

The business brokers need to somehow find a way to make XNA a Southwest location. Lower fares, easy airline. You would think the businesses would want that, and over time I suspect that will happen.

[bphi11ips]

sure wish they would do something about the airfares. ridiculous

It's not just about the price of airfare.  It's about a number of factors that increase the time and expense of traveling to games.  Richard is correct.  Distance is a factor.  Parents want to see their son play.  So do grandparents and siblings.

Consider Myles Mason.  Trussville, AL is about 9 hours from Fayetteville by car.  Birmingham Airport is 30 minutes away.  There are no direct flights.  With one connection about 5 hours is the best you can do.  NWA Regional is 35 minutes from campus.  Factor in an hour minimum at Birmingham airport and 15 minutes at NWA Regional, and the flight takes over 7 hours door to door, best case.  What if flights are delayed?  Cheap tickets are $400.  A car for two days is another $100.  So that's $900 in travel alone by air for two.  Gas for the roundtrip by car is $200, but it's a long trip, and what if Myles has brothers or sisters?  What if his sister is cheering for Trussville Friday night and kickoff is 11:00 am Saturday?

Travel time and out-of-pocket expense are why metropolitan areas like Tulsa, Memphis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Shreveport, and of course, the DFW metroplex with its 7,000,000 residents, are so important.  If you wonder why TCU has re-emerged as a strong athletic program, consider this - DFW's population has grown by more than the current total population of Arkansas since the Hogs joined the SEC.  Gary Patterson is good, but he has comparatively more to work with than TCU's coaches did in the SWC days. 

Just because Arkansas is not in the Deep South doesn't mean it can't compete with the best in the SEC on a regular basis.  It just needs to recruit smarter within that 5 to 6 hour radius where over 20,000,000 live. 

[go hogues]

The business brokers need to somehow find a way to make XNA a Southwest location. Lower fares, easy airline. You would think the businesses would want that, and over time I suspect that will happen.

I agree but are there enough casual/leisure travelers using XNA each day?

That airport was seemingly thrown up overnight to cater to the booming business crowd and the last minute, expensive airfare they buy with corporate $. That's why a ticket from XNA to anywhere costs as much as flying from a hub to Europe.

Southwest also has a stigma (fair or not) of not being friendly to the business traveler (no first class, no airport clubs, etc) AND SWA flies into Tulsa, Kansas City and Little Rock.

I'll also say that SWA is not the cheapest option anymore. If Spirit or Jet Blue could come into XNA, it would be a true game changer.

[Cure]

On Twitter:

I think Morris understands the game.  Many here don't like Twitter, but it's a powerful recruiting tool, regardless.  Some coaches are reluctant to post on Twitter, while coaches like Bielema used it to draw attention, mostly to himself.

Bielema did fairly well on Twitter, imo, but I don't think he understands it like Morris.  Many are tired of the cute catch phrases for hash tags, like #Uncommon and #Hammerdown, but the point here is to make it fun for recruits and this is what Morris seems to understand better.  Morris looks like he's having fun and who doesn't want to be a part of that?

Morris understands that there is a need for it, but it's not Morris managing that Twitter or his staff's profiles. He hired some pretty talented younger guys to handle that and CBB would actually run his own Twitter.

[ricepig]

Morris understands that there is a need for it, but it's not Morris managing that Twitter or his staff's profiles. He hired some pretty talented younger guys to handle that and CBB would actually run his own Twitter.

CBB didn't run his Twitter account 100% of the time, just as Morris doesn't.

[Cure]

CBB didn't run his Twitter account 100% of the time, just as Morris doesn't.

I highly doubt any p5 coach is running their Twitter 100% of the time, but CBB was very active on his own.

Morris realizes it's a kid's game and did a great job of hiring younger guys to run all things digital, that's why you see John Chavis using emojis.

The schools with the best digital teams win in recruiting and I'm 100% sure Morris saw what they were doing at Clemson to dominate social media. The funny thing is that one of the best in the business was in the Razorback AD for quite some time.

[redeye]

Morris understands that there is a need for it, but it's not Morris managing that Twitter or his staff's profiles. He hired some pretty talented younger guys to handle that and CBB would actually run his own Twitter.

So you're saying that when @coachchadmorris tweets something, it's not really Coach Chad Morris?  I knew they had people doing their graphics and orchestrating everything online, but I figured they'd at least tweet for themselves.  I guess that does make sense.

[AlmaHog2011]

In my opinion CCM has done a good job so far recruiting considering the circumstances...that being said the bigger picture will be if CCM can coach up 3 & 4 stars because we are not gonna get many 5 stars...that's just the way it is...

Over and over just repeat Arkansas sucks Arkansas just can't get great recruits. Have a breakout year and who knows what can happen. But don't want to disturb you Arkansas can't recruit guys. Carry on.

[HogHomer]

Over and over just repeat Arkansas sucks Arkansas just can't get great recruits. Have a breakout year and who knows what can happen. But don't want to disturb you Arkansas can't recruit guys. Carry on.

I've been on the side that Arkansas has disadvantages that makes it difficult to attract high 4* and 5* consistently. IMO (which means absolutely nothing.) Top 15 classes may still be a reach. But from what I've seen from this staff, in the short amount of time, I'm cautiously optimistic.

Even if they don't pull in the 5* and elite 4*s at a constant rate I think they can still raise the average recruit that we have been getting. Those .81-.83 3*s could be replaced with .86 and up 3*s. Being able to win battles on a 3* against Auburn, Bama etc... Look at some of the 3*s we've been on this year. Having a good base of those players with a handful of 4* and an occasional 5* can provide a roster that can compete in the SEC with great coaching and development.