10 4 stars so far

[welchog]

WOW!!!  What is the most we have ever gotten in a given year?

[WarPig88]

WOW!!!  What is the most we have ever gotten in a given year?

This is the most I can remember. We had 9 in one class under Petrino once.

Doing work. :razorback:

[Piney Woods Rooter]

Yeah and we're not finished yet!!

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

At least 9, about half the class, had offers from Bama, FSU or Florida.

[redeye]

At least 9, about half the class, had offers from Bama, FSU or Florida.

All those offers are the real story with this year's class.  Almost every commit has an offer from a school like those you named.

[Hollywood_HOGan45]

Does that still include kj hill?

[ldfergu]

Does that still include kj hill?

Why wouldn't it?

[Demaghog]

I always thought it was impossible to consistently pull top players from Florida to Arkansas, but Pittman & Bielema are doing it. The OLine we are building will run over some SEC lines in 2015.

[popcornhog]

Does that still include kj hill?

Yes. He has not de-committed.

[Break & Run]

And I think we still have a great shot for 4 star OL Weathersby.

[Styflin]

WOW!!!  What is the most we have ever gotten in a given year?

Which recruiting service are you looking at?

[ZERO]

And 24/7 & Rivals don't even have us in the top 20 anymore. Kind of odd to me.

[bennyl08]

2002: 6
2003: 3
2004: 4
2005: 4 (1 5* included)
2006: 5 (1 5* included)
2007: 4
2008: 6
2009: 9 (1 5*)
2010: 4 (2 didn't make it to campus though)
2011: 7 (1 5*)
2012: 5
2013: 6 (1 5*)
2014: 7
2015: 9 (So far)

So, this is currently the best class since the 2009 class.

[ZERO]

Which recruiting service are you looking at?

Some services rate a player a 4* while the other services have the same player rated 3*. I think he's just counting every player that was given 4* by any one service.

[ZERO]

2002: 6
2003: 3
2004: 4
2005: 4 (1 5* included)
2006: 5 (1 5* included)
2007: 4
2008: 6
2009: 9 (1 5*)
2010: 4 (2 didn't make it to campus though)
2011: 7 (1 5*)
2012: 5
2013: 6 (1 5*)
2014: 7
2015: 9 (So far)

So, this is currently the best class since the 2009 class.

Do you know off the top of your head if we're reasonably in the running for any more players ranked higher than 3*? For some reason I was assuming that Merrick would be the last high profile player we signed.

[BoynamedWooPigSooie]

And 24/7 & Rivals don't even have us in the top 20 anymore. Kind of odd to me.

That's because we haven't had a commit in like 2 months.

Other schools have nearly filled up and there was a flurry of 4* commits in the last few weeks w/ the all-star games and early enrollments getting squared away.


Another board I frequent is positive we won't sign a full class to give us flexibility to oversign next year and to be able to take a transfer or two.

[redeye]

One thing I find interesting is how much signing higher rated 4-stars dictates movement in the top-25 of the rankings.  Take #17 Oregon in 247's composite, for example.  They have one more commitment, but two fewer 4-star players, and like Arkansas, zero 5-stars.  And yet, they're ranked 5 spots higher.  Even if we added Toby Weathersby, who would be our highest rated commit, Oregon would still be 3 spots higher.

Half of our class is probably rated higher then Oregon's, which is why their average player rating isn't that much higher then ours, but Oregon's 4-stars are rated considerably higher than ours.  Which all leads me to believe that if all our 4-stars were close to being 5-stars, we might rise as many as 10 spots in the rankings.

Btw, I'm not writing this to criticize our class.  In fact, I'm saying the exact opposite!  Jalin Barnett and Chris Warren are 2 guys we allegedly passed on, who also would be the highest rated players in our class, but our coaches chose Merrick and RWIII, instead.  So we know there's a big difference between high and low 4-star players in the rankings, but is there on the field?  I don't know, but if we flipped those players, then we'd now be ranked higher then Oregon (i.e. if Warren and Barnett were commitments and RWIII and Merrick were not.)  We'd move from #22 to #17 in the 247 composite or 5 spots higher.

I just find that interesting.

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

Jalin Barnett and Chris Warren are 2 guys we allegedly passed on, who also would be the highest rated players in our class, but our coaches chose Merrick and RWIII, instead.  So we know there's a big difference between high and low 4-star players in the rankings, but is there on the field?  I don't know, but if we flipped those players, then we'd now be ranked higher then Oregon (i.e. if Warren and Barnett were commitments and RWIII and Merrick were not.)  We'd move from #22 to #17 in the 247 composite or 5 spots higher.

I just find that interesting.

I certainly like the 2 that we got.

[redeye]

I certainly like the 2 that we got.

Same here.  I just think it goes to show that there may not really be that much difference between #15 and #25 in team rankings.  And while I don't consider the rankings worthless, I do think they tend to rank higher profile teams like Oregon higher, just because they're Oregon.  It's hard to argue that point, however, with all the success Oregon has had and I'm sure that factors in, too.

[bennyl08]

Do you know off the top of your head if we're reasonably in the running for any more players ranked higher than 3*? For some reason I was assuming that Merrick would be the last high profile player we signed.

No idea. I'm more of a numbers and tape guy. I don't do a very good job of following the actual recruiting process, though I typically try and watch tape to get an idea of the players that we are.

[jgphillips3]

Stars are important but it's the combination of stars plus who offered that is more indicative of worth.  If the kids offer list reads could just as easily be the top 10 in the poll, that kid is worth more as a 3 star than most 4 stars with very few high offers.  Few high offers or big schools that suddenly start backing away tells you he has talent but some kind of issue like grades, behavior, etc.

[HOGINTENNESSEE]

Do you know off the top of your head if we're reasonably in the running for any more players ranked higher than 3*? For some reason I was assuming that Merrick would be the last high profile player we signed.

Toby Weathersby 4 star OT visiting this weekend

[samurai]

Oh you star gazers im a believer in who else offered. Frank himself went after recruits that texas wanted, that was enough for him. We have battled southern miss, memphis, ulm, and other second tier schools for far too long or made offers on signing day just to boost the numbers. While having fantastic pickup basketball games instead of putting in the work of recruiting. Who else wanted them means more to me than stars ever will. Colton out of conway being the exception because if you are all hog you arnt gonna get many offers or stars either.

[jackflash]

I don't care what Rivals has us rated. This is a good class. We finished 7-6 this staff has done well. We could end up with 11 four stars. Who would have figured this.

[Simple Swineman]

2002: 6
2003: 3
2004: 4
2005: 4 (1 5* included)
2006: 5 (1 5* included)
2007: 4
2008: 6
2009: 9 (1 5*)
2010: 4 (2 didn't make it to campus though)
2011: 7 (1 5*)
2012: 5
2013: 6 (1 5*)
2014: 7
2015: 9 (So far)

So, this is currently the best class since the 2009 class.

Just for kicks and grins I pulled our average star rankings from Rivals. Based on that this is easily our most solid class top to bottom that we've had since the ratings began.

Arkansas average stars:
2002: 3.04
2003: 3.04
2004: 2.72
2005: 3.00
2006: 2.96
2007: 2.93
2008: 2.88
2009: 3.26
2010: 2.96
2011: 3.07
2012: 3.04
2013: 2.96
2014: 2.96
2015: 3.44

Not bad for coming off a 2-14 conference record over the past 2 years.

[welchog]

Some services rate a player a 4* while the other services have the same player rated 3*. I think he's just counting every player that was given 4* by any one service.

Yes.  I count like bama counts NCs.  If any service rates them 4*, so do I.

[Uncommon]

We have 11 4 stars and 8 3 stars with ESPN rankings.

[bennyl08]

Just for kicks and grins I pulled our average star rankings from Rivals. Based on that this is easily our most solid class top to bottom that we've had since the ratings began.

Arkansas average stars:
2002: 3.04
2003: 3.04
2004: 2.72
2005: 3.00
2006: 2.96
2007: 2.93
2008: 2.88
2009: 3.26
2010: 2.96
2011: 3.07
2012: 3.04
2013: 2.96
2014: 2.96
2015: 3.44

Not bad for coming off a 2-14 conference record over the past 2 years.

Going through the years (and I too am a superscore type ranker), it is interesting how up to around 2008 or 9, Rivals by far gave us the higher ratings. After that, Rivals was quite the lowballer for at least our commits. Years 11-14 are likely all lower w/rivals than with other services, fwiw. However, by no stretch would they compare with the 3.44 of this year you have listed.

[The_Iceman]

Just for kicks and grins I pulled our average star rankings from Rivals. Based on that this is easily our most solid class top to bottom that we've had since the ratings began.

Arkansas average stars:
2002: 3.04
2003: 3.04
2004: 2.72
2005: 3.00
2006: 2.96
2007: 2.93
2008: 2.88
2009: 3.26
2010: 2.96
2011: 3.07
2012: 3.04
2013: 2.96
2014: 2.96
2015: 3.44

Not bad for coming off a 2-14 conference record over the past 2 years.

If a player is rated no-star or zero-star, are you leaving them out completely from the averages or including them?

[Hoggish1]

Some services rate a player a 4* while the other services have the same player rated 3*. I think he's just counting every player that was given 4* by any one service.

Only way to do it is count them all.  And why not...?

[WorfHog]

That's because we haven't had a commit in like 2 months.

Other schools have nearly filled up and there was a flurry of 4* commits in the last few weeks w/ the all-star games and early enrollments getting squared away.


Another board I frequent is positive we won't sign a full class to give us flexibility to oversign next year and to be able to take a transfer or two.

Bielema did say he wants to sign a full class though. He is pretty upfront about that kind of stuff.

[redeye]

If a player is rated no-star or zero-star, are you leaving them out completely from the averages or including them?

I think he simply copied the data for each year from the rivals teams ranking page.  I don't know how they add unrated players, but we don't have any unrated players on rivals, anyway.

The point is that we have our highest average player rating in the history of the rivals service this year and it's not even close.  Having always followed this number myself, I find that very significant.  If rivals simply used player ratings to rank teams, then we'd be ranked #16 with our 3.44 average player rating.  We would be tied with Ole Miss and right behind #15 Texas A&M, who's average player rating is only 3.45.  You can see all this for yourself on their team rankings page by clicking/sorting on the "Avg" column header.

[Hogpkins]

Just for kicks and grins I pulled our average star rankings from Rivals. Based on that this is easily our most solid class top to bottom that we've had since the ratings began.

Arkansas average stars:
2002: 3.04
2003: 3.04
2004: 2.72
2005: 3.00
2006: 2.96
2007: 2.93
2008: 2.88
2009: 3.26
2010: 2.96
2011: 3.07
2012: 3.04
2013: 2.96
2014: 2.96
2015: 3.44

Not bad for coming off a 2-14 conference record over the past 2 years.

I expected that Petrino's first class in 2008 would have been his best, yet according to this Rivals ranking it was the worst class we've had in more than 10 years. Am I missing something, or is Rivals just that wrong?

For whatever reason, I've always viewed Rivals as the most arbitrary, least accurate, and most influenced-by-school-name of all the services. I'm not sure where this impression originated, but I've always had a disdain for Rivals that I don't feel for the other services. Can't explain it but it's very real to me.

[Hey Super]

Which recruiting service are you looking at?

I use Rivals and I think it was 9 four stars and 1 five star (Darius Winston) in 2009

[redeye]

I expected that Petrino's first class in 2008 would have been his best, yet according to this Rivals ranking it was the worst class we've had in more than 10 years. Am I missing something, or is Rivals just that wrong?

For whatever reason, I've always viewed Rivals as the most arbitrary, least accurate, and most influenced-by-school-name of all the services. I'm not sure where this impression originated, but I've always had a disdain for Rivals that I don't feel for the other services. Can't explain it but it's very real to me.

I think there may be some re-rating going on here.  I can remember thinking we always came so close to averaging 3.0 or better player averages, but we never seemed to get there, while all the best teams did.  A real good class would equate to a 2.96 for us, but if you look at the numbers today, it shows us receiving a 3.04 the first 2 years.  I specifically remember wanting to reach that plateau, so I think it's been reworked in recent years.

Also, our 3.44 average probably would have put us in the top-10, if not the top-5, back then.  But today, almost every team in the top-25 has an average player rating around there or higher.

Come to think of it, I find it odd that every team in the top-25 has an average player rating at least that high today, because it wasn't like that in the past.  For example, I randomly picked the 2007 rankings and California was ranked #22 with a 3.0 average.  West Virginia was #23 and had a 2.96.  Looks like rivals has either changed it's methodology some or top-25 teams are simply getting better players today, because those spots are occupied by Arkansas and Ole Miss in the 2015 rankings and both have a 3.44 average.  The only team in the top-25 that's not well over 3.0 is #25 TCU, who has a 2.95.

Update: Looking back at the 2002 year is interesting.  Texas is #1 with a 3.89 average, but Auburn's #6 with a 3.21 and Colorado's #10 with a 3.16.  Mississippi State was the highest team with an average below 3.0 at #17.

In this year's class, you have to go all the way down to #16 Mississippi State to find a team with a lower average then the 3.21 #6 Auburn had in 2002, and along with TCU, they're the only teams in the top-25 that are lower.

[Hogpkins]

Interesting. I wonder if they award more 4 and 5 stars now overall (i.e., grade inflation) or if it's simply the 4 and 5 stars are more concentrated in the top 25 teams, as you mentioned as a possibility.

If I recall correctly, the number of 4 and 5 stars awarded by each service fluctuates annually because the dividing line in between each number moves a bit. However, if you are consistently seeing more 4 and 5 stars than, say, 10 years ago, it sounds like grade inflation.

[redeye]

Interesting. I wonder if they award more 4 and 5 stars now overall (i.e., grade inflation) or if it's simply the 4 and 5 stars are more concentrated in the top 25 teams, as you mentioned as a possibility.

If I recall correctly, the number of 4 and 5 stars awarded by each service fluctuates annually because the dividing line in between each number moves a bit. However, if you are consistently seeing more 4 and 5 stars than, say, 10 years ago, it sounds like grade inflation.

Yep.

When you consider how the services have likely changed recruiting, I suspect the best players are more concentrated in top-25 teams.  I'm sure it's a lot easier for Saban to identify all the best recruits today with online services, then it was for Bear Bryant 40 years ago from word of mouth, so Alabama probably benefits from this a lot.

I've heard some say they also award more 4-5 stars today, but I haven't check for that myself.

[JaketheSnake]

2014 we finished 26 (?) according to 247 class rankings with 230 points.  We currently have 228 pts with 6 spots still to fill. We should finish inside the top 20

[Oklahawg]

The Nutt era corresponded with a time that the local gooroos (pre-RD) could "request" that the national guys re-evaluate a player or two. Inevitably, UA would have a mid-range 3-star guy get bumped to 4-stars. It made for good theater and helped drive traffic. That practice disappeared about the time Nutt left (not coincidental, just the way it worked out).

If you go factor in the stars AFTER you deal with players not making it to campus and things look even better under CBB. One whiff in 2 years is very good, given our track record.

[JaketheSnake]

Who was the one?

[redeye]

2014 we finished 26 (?) according to 247 class rankings with 230 points.  We currently have 228 pts with 6 spots still to fill. We should finish inside the top 20

That's right!  So we basically already have the same number of points as last year's class and everything from here on out are cherries on top of last year.

With all the over-signing going on, I wouldn't be surprised if Bielema doesn't use every schollies, to see if any good grayshirts, transfers, etc come available.