Excited or not?

[JJHog]

Why should one be so excited about recruiting this year?

19 commits  2.58 avg stars

Some history--
2007 2.78 avg #34
2006 2.65 AVG #30
2005 2.67 avg  #32
2004 2.44 avg #27

The  bright spot I see is usually if we offer a guy early then the coaches really want thim. Obviously these guys were high on the coach's wish list.

Note: Juveniles-- resist the urge to post something that wastes space, thank you.

[sechog]

Look at who we are recruiting against to get these guys that matters more than stars. We are not competing against ASU,LMU, or North Texas like past years. We are against Texas A&M, Florida, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Auburn, and other top D-1 schools. So someone else must the think they are pretty good too.

[ThisTeetsTaken]

The reason I'm excited is because of the defensive players we're getting.  Herring has a plan of taking tall speedy guys and building them up into good position players.  These kids may not be as polished as some of their 5* peers, but if Herring can redshirt them and slowly make them players as the older guys graduate or leave we'll have really solid defenses year in and year out.

[Hogstocking]

The current star average is 2.89, not 2.58
http://rivals100.rivals.com/teamrank.asp?SID=880

JC Shurburtt has already said Eoff will move up.   Rivals also said Smiths stock was rising.  There's no way Shuler stays a 5.2 2 star.   Rivals is in the infant stages of the rankings.

Not to mention the 3 star guys who's RR rating should go up (thus giving us more points).  Guy was the defensive back MVP at the West Lafayette NIKE camp which national analysts witnessed, Cruz was the MVP at every camp he attended, Askew is the highest rated 5.6 3 star in the nation etc.etc....These rankings are far from concrete now, they will change another 3 times atleast before Feb 08

[tophawg19]

true a player may not be a 5 star at his position but may be great at another . often an average rb makes a great db or wr. qb is where this is most common . many H.S teams put their best athelete at qb.

[Razorhog2006q]

Why should one be so excited about recruiting this year?

19 commits  2.58 avg stars

Some history--
2007 2.78 avg #34
2006 2.65 AVG #30
2005 2.67 avg  #32
2004 2.44 avg #27

The  bright spot I see is usually if we offer a guy early then the coaches really want thim. Obviously these guys were high on the coach's wish list.

Note: Juveniles-- resist the urge to post something that wastes space, thank you.

Where do you see 2.58? I'm looking at Rivals.com front page and see us at 2.89.

[JJHog]

 scout--glad to see rivals is higher!

[piggingout]

We should be excited about this class because this is the most commitments we've had this early in a long time, which helps bring in other recruits.  Plus we are getting skilled position recruites with some quaility talent.  Building a successful program starts with recruiting and we are keeping the kids in state excited about staying home...that is a big deal, especially when you have teams giving them the chance to leave the state of arkansas for something "bigger and better".  Well, back to my poker tournament....WPS.

[HighonSwine]

AVG Stars will be well above three once the revised rankings come out in a few weeks.  The only player that may not be a three star is Chris Gragg.  Shular may jump to a 4 but for sure a high 3 and all the other 2 stars will go to atleast a 3 star with a 5.5 rating if not a higher three star rating.

[Cresthog]

Getting this many committs so soon gives us more time to recruit for next years class that could have the potential to be even better with a good season this year. Gaining as many committs before the season starts is a new trend in college football. Started by Texas and USC mostly, it gives a head start to the next years class. I for one am extremely happy with our recruiting right now. Like many said above these guys will rise. Hardly ever will you find a recruit that drops in the rankings. I love the class the staff is pulling in for us. It can only get better as the season progresses.

[coach, my back hurts]

The avg stars might be same as past seasons, but i'm willing to bet that some of the 2/3 stars in this class are head and shoulders better than the 2/3 stars in the past.  I would guess that Youngblood will move to a 4*, Cruz to a 4/5*, and Curtis could be a 5* as well.  Come signing day, i wouldnt be suprised to see this class close to a top 10 class.  Maybe more closer to a top 15, but this seems to be pretty good group of ball players.

[ThisTeetsTaken]

The avg stars might be same as past seasons, but i'm willing to bet that some of the 2/3 stars in this class are head and shoulders better than the 2/3 stars in the past.  I would guess that Youngblood will move to a 4*, Cruz to a 4/5*, and Curtis could be a 5* as well.  Come signing day, i wouldnt be suprised to see this class close to a top 10 class.  Maybe more closer to a top 15, but this seems to be pretty good group of ball players.

What makes you say this?

[coach, my back hurts]

The avg stars might be same as past seasons, but i'm willing to bet that some of the 2/3 stars in this class are head and shoulders better than the 2/3 stars in the past.  I would guess that Youngblood will move to a 4*, Cruz to a 4/5*, and Curtis could be a 5* as well.  Come signing day, i wouldnt be suprised to see this class close to a top 10 class.  Maybe more closer to a top 15, but this seems to be pretty good group of ball players.

What makes you say this?

I think Youngblood "could" be better than Nathan or Casey Dick.  I think Cruz and some of the other WR's are better than a few we have signed in the last few yrs giving the exception of Williams and Crawford.  Tim Dial is a 2*, maybe 3* and he "appears" freakishly athletic.  IMO i see ALOT of "possible" contributors out of this class.  Didnt we get a commit from a DT a few days ago that runs in the 4.7's and is only a 3*?  Pretty big kid too.

Without a list of recruits setting right in front of me at this second, i cant for sure say that the other classes didnt have 2/3* recruits turn out good, but i bet/hope that this class far exceeds the others. 

Help me out.  Who are some other 2/3* recruits in the last 2-3 yrs that are better than some of these?  I also feel that alot of these prospects have a good deal of upside to them.  No way Cruz is a 3* or whatever he is.  I think Curtis should be a 5* and he might turn out to be one. 

Hell i dont care what star they are.  If their height and weight, forty time, and strength numbers are accurate, then i have no problem signing a 6-3'' 300lb lineman that runs a 4.6.  I dont care if he's a 1*......IF ITS ACCURATE. (that was just an example)   I dont want him showing up at school 2inches shorter and 20lb lighter running a 5.2

[coach, my back hurts]

Correction to post above....Dial will be on campus this fall not next.

[ThisTeetsTaken]

The avg stars might be same as past seasons, but i'm willing to bet that some of the 2/3 stars in this class are head and shoulders better than the 2/3 stars in the past.  I would guess that Youngblood will move to a 4*, Cruz to a 4/5*, and Curtis could be a 5* as well.  Come signing day, i wouldnt be suprised to see this class close to a top 10 class.  Maybe more closer to a top 15, but this seems to be pretty good group of ball players.

What makes you say this?

I think Youngblood "could" be better than Nathan or Casey Dick.  I think Cruz and some of the other WR's are better than a few we have signed in the last few yrs giving the exception of Williams and Crawford.  Tim Dial is a 2*, maybe 3* and he "appears" freakishly athletic.  IMO i see ALOT of "possible" contributors out of this class.  Didnt we get a commit from a DT a few days ago that runs in the 4.7's and is only a 3*?  Pretty big kid too.

Without a list of recruits setting right in front of me at this second, i cant for sure say that the other classes didnt have 2/3* recruits turn out good, but i bet/hope that this class far exceeds the others. 

Help me out.  Who are some other 2/3* recruits in the last 2-3 yrs that are better than some of these?  I also feel that alot of these prospects have a good deal of upside to them.  No way Cruz is a 3* or whatever he is.  I think Curtis should be a 5* and he might turn out to be one. 

Hell i dont care what star they are.  If their height and weight, forty time, and strength numbers are accurate, then i have no problem signing a 6-3'' 300lb lineman that runs a 4.6.  I dont care if he's a 1*......IF ITS ACCURATE. (that was just an example)   I dont want him showing up at school 2inches shorter and 20lb lighter running a 5.2

I should have asked the question like this:  What do you base this statement on?  Have u seen them play first hand?  I'm not trying to be a wiseass but I don't see how anyone could compare these commitments to any other player unless they had seen them play.

[Hawg_Heaven]

I am excited just for the fact that we are keeping our top instate recruits. That is a big plus in my book.

[Tomhog™]

I'll say it before and I'll say it again, I'm excited because we are landing plan A players.  We have yet to even start offering plan B players.  This really excites me!

[ksrazorback]

Excited!!
Maybe that should be Elated!!

With 19 verbals, that should let us be free to chase those 2 or so more players that could make a difference immediately as Freshmen.

I am ready for some Razorback Football rat-about-now!!

:razorback:  Sooooooooooo Piggggggggg Razorback    :razorback:    :razorback:

[coach, my back hurts]

I should have asked the question like this:  What do you base this statement on?  Have u seen them play first hand?  I'm not trying to be a wiseass but I don't see how anyone could compare these commitments to any other player unless they had seen them play.

Na, i didnt take it as you being a wiseass.  I just thought that maybe you knew more than i did and felt differently about the recruits.

No i havent seen any of these players play.  I just think that some of these player, about 5-7 of them, are a star or two too low.  And i think it will play out as their HS season goes on.  I just cant see how Cruz, Curtis, Youngblood, Askew, Wright, and maybe a few more shouldnt be a star higher.  Maybe they will move up.....OR, maybe the talent is just that much better across the country.  Either way i think this is going to be Nutts best class.  And if the "avg" is close to being the same, how can that be?lol

I also wasnt a member of this site this time last yr and didnt have the excellent knowledge that some of the members of this board present us with about these young men.  Because of that, maybe i just "know" more about this class from what i've read.

[coach, my back hurts]

I'll say it before and I'll say it again, I'm excited because we are landing plan A players.  We have yet to even start offering plan B players.  This really excites me!

Thats exactly what i was thinkin.  I'm tryin to explain why "I" feel this class is better than some of the past yrs and that is exactly the answer.  They might be 3* players, but we went after them like they Parade All-Am's.  As did some other top notch programs.  They were absolutely Plan A players.

[hawgwash]

Here are some things which I think are different (better) this year than in prior years:

1.  Getting the top players instate.  Getting Warren's 4 players is huge, given our past experience there.
2.  Signing this many players early is not only a good indication that they were who our staff really wanted, but it also means they can spend the rest of the recruiting year focusing on a small number of hopefully "home run" type recruits.  It seems like in years past we were scrambling in January to come up with some names among what was left so HDN could introduce a full class to the media.  We got some good players late in the game in prior years, no question, but I also think we took some stretches.
3.  I don't know this for a fact, but I certainly get the impression that we are getting commitments from players who both want to be at Arkansas and will academically qualify.  It's not fair to compare final star ratings from prior years' classes to preseason ratings with this class.  But also, if you want to compare classes, you need to compare who actually got into school and stayed there.  I may be totalliy wrong about this class, but I've liked a lot of what I've read in the Richard Davenport interviews.  A lot of well spoken kids who seem to have thought a lot of things through and seem to be interested in an education, not just football.

[SoTexHog]

From what I can tell this is shaping up to be our best class in terms of both athletic ability and academic achievement that we have had in years.  So yes, I am excited for the future.

[Realist]

We will finish above 3.0 because of the reasons people said.  Our recruits will be moving up.  We MIGHT have two 2 star players

[Wu Tang Clan]

We will finish above 3.0 because of the reasons people said.  Our recruits will be moving up.  We MIGHT have two 2 star players

We will finish above 3.0 because of the reasons people said.  Our recruits will be moving up.  We MIGHT have two 2 star players

I think Arkansas will finish with more than two 2 stars, simply because they always identify a sleeper who know one knows about.  I don't expect Arkansas to finish this class out will all guys who have a high profile.  Chris Gragg is the only current commit who may remain a 2 star. 

[notreseveredname]

I've kept up with Arkansas recruiting for around 17 years.  I used to huddle around the radio at night listening to the local sports talk and Bob Bell and Bill King (now with rivals radio on Sirius) 1510 am out of Nashville, TN hoping they gave some Hog recruiting updates along with other SEC recruiting dramas. You could only get it in around Oct through April and hope no one in the house used the microwave or hair drier if Arkansas news came on.  My wife calls me a nerd for getting into recruiting but its differently the second season.  I'm excited about our fast start to recruiting but it's really hard to get to excited about a prospect until they sign in Feb and then you have to hope they are qualified. If they aren't, it always seems like it comes down to the last minute.  Sorry i digress.  Depending on injuries, I bet a few of these guys will end up higher ranked then they are.

[AirForceHog]

What was the star rating for Felix and Darren's class? It looks like that class was a little under rated. Darren Mcfadden Heisman candidate. Felix could be a starter at any college in the U.S. Not sure who else was in the class but, my point is stars are not everything.

[TOWNSHOG]

JJHOG, it looks as if you brought this thread from the Hawgsillustrated Scout recruiting premium board.  This was the same thread was started yesterday.  I guess you have access to that board, as I do as well.  Were the answers there not satis factory enough or did you just want a different perspective from another source?

[TX HOG]

:razorback:  Sooooooooooo Piggggggggg Razorback    :razorback:    :razorback:

You might want to try that again

[PigWig]

The avg stars might be same as past seasons, but i'm willing to bet that some of the 2/3 stars in this class are head and shoulders better than the 2/3 stars in the past.  I would guess that Youngblood will move to a 4*, Cruz to a 4/5*, and Curtis could be a 5* as well.  Come signing day, i wouldnt be suprised to see this class close to a top 10 class.  Maybe more closer to a top 15, but this seems to be pretty good group of ball players.

I don't see any Arkansas player being rated as a 5*.  Cruz may be a 4*, but only the top 28 players in the country get a 5* rating.  I am not being negative, but I do not think we will see any Arkansas 5*'s.

[TX HOG]

Curtis is our best shot, if he blows up this year I think he could crack the 5 stars. 

[cardinalhawg]

I mentioned this in another thread, how it may be that more of those two stars become three stars, instead of the three stars moving up to four stars.  One or two moving to a four star will help, but just having less two stars will be a big help in the recruiting rankings as well.

[PigWig]

I mentioned this in another thread, how it may be that more of those two stars become three stars, instead of the three stars moving up to four stars.  One or two moving to a four star will help, but just having less two stars will be a big help in the recruiting rankings as well.

Agreed.

This is where I see the most improvement coming.  If we only finish with 2-4 2*'s and sign 3-5 4*'s, our average star rating will be over 3, even if we have 15 3* commits.

[Realist]

We will finish above 3.0 because of the reasons people said.  Our recruits will be moving up.  We MIGHT have two 2 star players

We will finish above 3.0 because of the reasons people said.  Our recruits will be moving up.  We MIGHT have two 2 star players

I think Arkansas will finish with more than two 2 stars, simply because they always identify a sleeper who know one knows about.  I don't expect Arkansas to finish this class out will all guys who have a high profile.  Chris Gragg is the only current commit who may remain a 2 star. 

The reason I say that is because we have so long to go, and about 7 spots left to fill.  We wont need to resort to trying to find a sleeper last minute like Patrick Jones (Even though I am very happy with him)