Top college football recruiting teams of the internet ratings era

[HBTHogs]

Arkansas #25

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2018/2/14/17003548/recruiting-rankings-all-time-history#ampshare=https://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2018/2/14/17003548/recruiting-rankings-all-time-history

[factchecker]

The problem is that #25 equals around #10 in the SEC.

[redeye]

The problem is that #25 equals around #10 in the SEC.

Before Saban took the Alabama job, things were quite different.  The SEC just blew up after that point.

I remember Arkansas regularly finishing 7th behind the Big 6 before then.  Ole Miss was nearly always behind Arkansas and MSU wasn't even close, so things have changed a lot since Saban arrived.  South Carolina never recruited well until Holtz arrived there and was always behind Arkansas, too.

Arkansas has never recruited much different, but other SEC schools have just turned it up.

edit: I checked rivals rankings back to 2002, since rivals was the main site back then.  Ole Miss, MSU and South Carolina all had some years that were much better than I remember.  But I also know there have been some changes to older rankings in hindsight, so now I'm not sure what to think now.

[bphi11ips]

The problem is that #25 equals around #10 in the SEC.

Yet Arkansas is 11-5 against Ole Miss, 7-6 against South Carolina, and 3-2 against Tennessee since 2002.  We're 6-10 against LSU and 7-9 against Auburn since 2002. We've beaten every team on the list ahead of us during that time. All of this is after the worst 6 year stretch since 1948-53.

Arkansas's natural position in the SEC over time is about 6 to 8. The first four are now Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Florida. Auburn may have replaced Tennessee for fifth. Arkansas can quickly be back in the middle of a group that includes Auburn, Tennessee, and Texas A&M. That's where they belong. Ole Miss, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Missouri are in a group at 9-12. Kentucky and Vanderbilt bring up the rear.

This is the way it was before internet recruiting rankings, which year-in-and-year-out just tell us what we've always known - the best college football teams over time recruit the best.  That's why they've always been good.

[razorpimp]

Yet Arkansas is 11-5 against Ole Miss, 7-6 against South Carolina, and 3-2 against Tennessee since 2002.  We're 6-10 against LSU and 7-9 against Auburn since 2002. We've beaten every team on the list ahead of us during that time. All of this is after the worst 6 year stretch since 1948-53.

Arkansas's natural position in the SEC over time is about 6 to 8. The first four are now Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Florida. Auburn may have replaced Tennessee for fifth. Arkansas can quickly be back in the middle of a group that includes Auburn, Tennessee, and Texas A&M. That's where they belong. Ole Miss, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Missouri are in a group at 9-12. Kentucky and Vanderbilt bring up the rear.

This is the way it was before internet recruiting rankings, which year-in-and-year-out just tell us what we've always known - the best college football teams over time recruit the best.  That's why they've always been good.

This should be the position if Arkansas concentrates on an area 500 miles around Fayetteville, specifically East TX and Dallas.

[Sportsguy]

This should be the position if Arkansas concentrates on an area 500 miles around Fayetteville, specifically East TX and Dallas.

Have to try and get into OKC/Tulsa/St. Louis/KC areas in a big way. Those areas have helped OU for a long time. I get it is hard to create new pipelines, but, for example, I don't expect us to beat out OU for a ton of kids. They are the Bama of this region. However, we should be able to beat out OSU, Mizzou, Kstate, Illinois and Kanas for the other elite kids in this region.

You do that and you will win a lot of games, imo. Especially, if you can pull some of the top kids out of Memphis/West Tennessee, Northern Louisiana and East Texas. DFW is so saturated and you have to contend vs OU, OSU, Baylor, TCU, Texas and Tech there. OU and Texas are gonna get most of them. Again, if you win some battles vs the others you will win a lot of games and if you hit every area I said and beat out the OSU/Mizzou/TCU of the world you are looking at a top 15-20 class every year.

That's how you turn a program around. Then you have the kids that go to Bama, OU and LSU's of the world ear. Build from there.

[imtad16]

Yet Arkansas is 11-5 against Ole Miss, 7-6 against South Carolina, and 3-2 against Tennessee since 2002.  We’re 6-10 against LSU and 7-9 against Auburn since 2002. We’ve beaten every team on the list ahead of us during that time. All of this is after the worst 6 year stretch since 1948-53.

Arkansas’s natural position in the SEC over time is about 6 to 8. The first four are now Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Florida. Auburn may have replaced Tennessee for fifth. Arkansas can quickly be back in the middle of a group that includes Auburn, Tennessee, and Texas A&M. That’s where they belong. Ole Miss, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Missouri are in a group at 9-12. Kentucky and Vanderbilt bring up the rear.

This is the way it was before internet recruiting rankings, which year-in-and-year-out just tell us what we’ve always known - the best college football teams over time recruit the best.  That’s why they’ve always been good.

What do you think we did in the 60's, 70's, and 80's to propel ourselves into the top tier nationally?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Arkansas_Razorbacks_football_seasons

[bphi11ips]

What do you think we did in the 60's, 70's, and 80's to propel ourselves into the top tier nationally?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Arkansas_Razorbacks_football_seasons

That's a loaded question that has been debated on Hogville for years.  Here are my two cents in an abbreviated version.

First, you have to consider that the 60's were an entirely different era of football than the 70's and 80's.  Rules limiting substitutions were abolished in the early 60's, which opened up the game substantially.  College football was beginning to integrate by the 60's in some conferences, but not in the south.  Darrell Brown in 1965 was the first African American player on Arkansas' s squad, but Jon Richardson was the first black player given a scholarship in 1969.  By 1975, many key players on Arkansas's Cotton Bowl team were black, and college football was well on its way to full integration.   But the rule changes and integration had major impacts on Arkansas football.

The other obvious difference between the 60's through 80's era and the SEC era is the level of competition.  That is not to say the SWC was a bad conference.  It was the equivalent of a P5 today in all respects.  If Texas was the 800 lb. gorilla of the SWC, Arkansas was 500 lbs.  In short, the Hogs were badass.  Broyles , Holtz and Hatfield were great coaches.

Arkansas entered the SEC at a bad time for it as a program.  So many bad, unlucky - whatever you want to call it - things have happened since that it's hard to list quickly.  But Arkansas has the potential to be an SEC power with the right leadership.

Frank Broyles built the Hogs on Arkansas and Texas athletes.  DFW, Houston and East Texas will be a key to future success.  So will reemphasis on Arkansas recruits.

[liljo]

and adding to what Mr. Phillips said, in the 60's they didn't have the roster restrictions they have now. Injuries were easier to overcome just from the volume of players you already had, all of which practiced just like everyone else. In these days, depth is a serious concern, and in the SEC it is extremely serious.

You know, Arkansas is not always that far behind even the best teams in the conference with its top-22 players. It's that second and third 22 where teams like Alabama really pull ahead.

[liljo]

Dr Fitz Hill's show last night...I was navigating the flooded back roads trying to get home and got a rare chance to listen in. He made an interesting remark about the DFW area in regards to recruiting high school players. Due to the ease of access; easy to fly in, rent a car, navigate around 635, and visit a lot of high schools in one area, then easy to fly out of. A really good player in Dallas will be evaluated and commented on and written about, and thus get more "stars" than a kid with equal talent that may be playing in Palestine, Grapeland, or Crockett.

The same kid, playing in the DFW area, if you attended his games it would look like a coaches convention. Arkansas is going to get some of those kids. They'll be of the unexciting to many here "3-star" variety, because, after all, in those little out of the way towns, many of those kids don't even have the technology or desire to make videos of themselves. A coach like Morris and Chavis come in, evaluate, and make an offer, and many of those kids are going to be quick to accept.

Sadly, it'll drop our star ratings to the massive chagrin of many. But it will certainly raise the actual talent level of the program, especially if this staff can get the top featured players from Arkansas and a few of those well-knowns from other places.

Think of Alabama. They don't have to fly someplace, then drive 5 hours to see a single kid. They can show up in the big cities of Birmingham, Dallas, Atlanta, Nashville, etc. They only have so many scholarships to give anyway. In the end they are literally turning away great talent simply because they just don't have any more room.