Does it really change anything?

[Lake City Hog]

I believe that our just signed class finished with a team ranking of #29, correct? I also believe that if you go to Rivals(the only one with team rankings that go back that far) and average our team ranking for the last 12 or 13 years you will find that it comes out to #29!

So, does it really change anything to rail on former classes? Does belittling the accomplishments of former teams really soothe your feelings after a 3-8 0-8 season?

The simple fact is that this class is almost exactly an average of what we have done for forever! Certainly no worse, but not much better. We missed on some critical gets and we connected on some wonderful players. Why not just be happy with this class? I am.

[DEVIL DOG HOG]

All recruiting things are just a guideline. Any team can get on a roll and win the NC. I don't believe that FSU and Auburn had the highest rated recruits the last 4 years.

[HiggiePiggy]

All recruiting things are just a guideline. Any team can get on a roll and win the NC. I don't believe that FSU and Auburn had the highest rated recruits the last 4 years.

No they didn't, but they did have averages of top 10 classes. 

FSU
2014- 4
2013- 10
2012- 6
2011- 2
2010- 10


Auburn
2014- 9
2013- 8
2012- 10
2011- 7
2010- 4

[Hogarusa]

I would say those are high ranked recriting classes.  FSU average rank is 6 over the 5 years, Auburn is 7.  Pretty impressive to maintain through head coaching changes/replacing a legend (Bowden final year was 2009) and losing assistants.

[DoctorSusscrofa]

Most of our classes over the last 8 years were not #29.  Maybe our average is during all of Rivals history.  Be that as it may - the same thing can be said of this year's class. Does anybody need to belittle a class that has no totally unrated players, no 1 stars, and no 2 stars.  The folks who are professing disappointment in our class are directly belittling incoming Freshmen, to what noble purpose exactly?

[deedster84]

What's different in this class is the type of athletes the staff recruited. Seems they are going for long and lean with speed on defense and tall rangy receivers. They seem to like the tall athletic OL too.

[seasonhog]

Most of our classes over the last 8 years were not #29.  Maybe our average is during all of Rivals history.  Be that as it may - the same thing can be said of this year's class. Does anybody need to belittle a class that has no totally unrated players, no 1 stars, and no 2 stars.  The folks who are professing disappointment in our class are directly belittling incoming Freshmen, to what noble purpose exactly?

Rival's has us having four 2 stars & 3 four stars.

Did anyone see what USA TODAY...today said abt our recruited class ?

[Lake City Hog]

We don't just do this with recruiting rankings, we do it with players and coaches. Many on this board seem happy with the failures or perceived failures of others.

As soon as Ryan Mallett left town we had people begin trashing him. Ash, who I did not like as DC, has been gone for a week and we have people taking shots at him because he may have taken a demotion to go to TOSU.

[footballfan]

All recruiting things are just a guideline. Any team can get on a roll and win the NC. I don't believe that FSU and Auburn had the highest rated recruits the last 4 years.

Not true at all. Every team that's won the bcs-every single one-has had a topnfive class in the three years before they won it.

[DoctorSusscrofa]

Rival's has us having four 2 stars & 3 four stars.

Did anyone see what USA TODAY...today said abt our recruited class ?

My team's players are good players. Others can choose to bad mouth them if they want. But if they are Razorbacks I will not run them down before they even start practice.

[MJ2]

I believe that our just signed class finished with a team ranking of #29, correct? I also believe that if you go to Rivals(the only one with team rankings that go back that far) and average our team ranking for the last 12 or 13 years you will find that it comes out to #29!

So, does it really change anything to rail on former classes? Does belittling the accomplishments of former teams really soothe your feelings after a 3-8 0-8 season?

The simple fact is that this class is almost exactly an average of what we have done for forever! Certainly no worse, but not much better. We missed on some critical gets and we connected on some wonderful players. Why not just be happy with this class? I am.

If it'll make you feel better we are paying much more for this 29th ranked class than we ever did in the past - and more payments to come too.

[Wildhog]

Not if you rely solely on recruiting rankings.  But only an idiot would do that.

[hambone]

Actually this class was ranked 30th by 247.

What is a little scary about that is that it is also the average rank for the classes of guys that weren't talented enough to make CBB's system work here this past season.

As a matter of fact, a team full of guys with the average recruiting class rank of 30 just turned in the worst season since WWII.

[Atlhogfan1]

49th The ranking of the 2010 class that almost totally disappeared before their eligibility would have been up whether leaving the program or not seeing the field.  A bad class when signed and it turned out to be a bad class with attrition.  That is like Arkansas having major sanctions for a year and having to try and recover.  This would have been our upperclassmen last season.  They should have been contributing heavily to our last two teams.  This class is being conveniently ignored this week.

Arkansas cannot have anomalies with bad classes and not suffer greatly on the field especially when you consider all of the coaching changes.  A bad class may be identified by ranking or not.  If our current class suffers the attrition some of our recent classes have and provides so few contributors as some of our recent classes, then it will be a bad class.  Since we don't recruit many ready to step in 4 and 5 star players, we won't know about this class for a while. 

4 classes ranked around 30 with a stable coaching staff developing players and limiting attrition is much better than having a class like 2010 surrounded by 3 better than 30 classes.  We have to maintain consistency and stability especially on the defensive side as again we aren't going to sign 4 and 5 star players ready to play on an SEC level. 

[Wildhog]

The stupidity in this thread makes me want to put a gun in my mouth.

[hambone]

49th The ranking of the 2010 class that almost totally disappeared before their eligibility would have been up whether leaving the program or not seeing the field.  A bad class when signed and it turned out to be a bad class with attrition.  That is like Arkansas having major sanctions for a year and having to try and recover.  This would have been our upperclassmen last season.  They should have been contributing heavily to our last two teams.  This class is being conveniently ignored this week.

Arkansas cannot have anomalies with bad classes and not suffer greatly on the field especially when you consider all of the coaching changes.  A bad class may be identified by ranking or not.  If our current class suffers the attrition some of our recent classes have and provides so few contributors as some of our recent classes, then it will be a bad class.  Since we don't recruit many ready to step in 4 and 5 star players, we won't know about this class for a while. 

4 classes ranked around 30 with a stable coaching staff developing players and limiting attrition is much better than having a class like 2010 surrounded by 3 better than 30 classes.  We have to maintain consistency and stability especially on the defensive side as again we aren't going to sign 4 and 5 star players ready to play on an SEC level.

South Carolina had a bad class in with their team this year. They had very few seniors.

ONE class should be overcome.

By the way, South Carolina scored 52 unanswered on us.

[mckinneyhog5]

The stupidity in this thread makes me want to put a gun in my mouth.

I don't want to go that far but it does make me want to gouge my eyes out so I don't have to read this stupid crap.

[Atlhogfan1]

South Carolina had a bad class in with their team this year. They had very few seniors.

ONE class should be overcome.

By the way, South Carolina scored 52 unanswered on us.

Why did you change your username nextlevel?

SC's 2010 - 2013 classes
24
18
19
16

[OTTER]

I don't want to go that far but it does make me want to gouge my eyes out so I don't have to read this stupid crap.

No matter what you do, ya can't fix stupid.

[hambone]

Why did you change your username nextlevel?

SC's 2010 - 2013 classes
24
18
19
16

You whine about retention and you get shown that ONE class being lost is not the end of the world you said it was.

According to you, we lost half of nothing to begin with. Carolina actually lost better rated recruits and hung 52 unanswered on us while losing their division to a program whose recruiting rankings for the time in question were LOWER than ours.

You see what you want to though.

[Gonzo]

I believe that our just signed class finished with a team ranking of #29, correct? I also believe that if you go to Rivals(the only one with team rankings that go back that far) and average our team ranking for the last 12 or 13 years you will find that it comes out to #29!

So, does it really change anything to rail on former classes? Does belittling the accomplishments of former teams really soothe your feelings after a 3-8 0-8 season?

The simple fact is that this class is almost exactly an average of what we have done for forever! Certainly no worse, but not much better. We missed on some critical gets and we connected on some wonderful players. Why not just be happy with this class? I am.

Nature of the beast.  Any coach who one favors doesn't need the most stars since his eye for talent is so much better than the recruiting services, while any coach one favors not has no idea what he's doing and thus better be grabbing the highest rated kids and hopefully isn't so incompetent as toe screw them up. One of the basic axioms of internet, even general, fandom. Pretty close to any fan who agrees with me is absolutely brilliant while any who don't are imbeciles who frankly surprise me that they manage to make it thru the day alive.


Go Hogs!

[Lake City Hog]

Several threads on page 1 just reinforce the title of the thread!

Some people pull articles that favor what BB is doing and others pull stats that back-up their own view. One uses Scout to prove a point, another uses Rivals to dispute that point and still another says rankings don't mean anything and pulls a few stats to back that up!

Some people think that if they cut Petrino low enough it will make BB look better, while we have another group pissing on Ash, I presume to make the hew hire look better. Yet, some of these same people defended Ash all year by throwing our players under the bus.

The really sad thing is that IF BB fails these same defenders will toss his ass under the bus so fast that it will make his head spin!

[DOGALUM]

The stupidity in this thread makes me want to put a gun in my mouth.

Trust your gut bro......if it feels right, it must be right.   

[Dirty]

Trust your gut bro......if it feels right, it must be right.   

Good one!

[bphi11ips]

I don't want to go that far but it does make me want to gouge my eyes out so I don't have to read this stupid crap.

Now you know why there is a separate Recruiting Forum.

[Chief Mac]

If we look back in two years and lose the top rated players out of this class then it will be on par with 2010/2011 classes. If it doesn't, regardless of the ranking, it will be better.

[smb]

I will say this we might end up in the top 20 with these classes but wining a SEC title may just be stretching it. Being in the toughest conference in the nation doesn't change a whole lot. That's just the way it is.

[Pork Twain]

I believe that our just signed class finished with a team ranking of #29, correct? I also believe that if you go to Rivals(the only one with team rankings that go back that far) and average our team ranking for the last 12 or 13 years you will find that it comes out to #29!

So, does it really change anything to rail on former classes? Does belittling the accomplishments of former teams really soothe your feelings after a 3-8 0-8 season?

The simple fact is that this class is almost exactly an average of what we have done for forever! Certainly no worse, but not much better. We missed on some critical gets and we connected on some wonderful players. Why not just be happy with this class? I am.

Depends on how many make it to campus and how many stick.

[PorkSoda]

What's different in this class is the type of athletes the staff recruited. Seems they are going for long and lean with speed on defense and tall rangy receivers. They seem to like the tall athletic OL too.

which is the same mantra Petrino had.  Both are good coaches, both struggled their first year.  Petrino was a few points from being 3-9 and BB was a few points from 5-7.  I just want to see how things develop.

[12247]

Usual thread.  Some far left and some for right, some near the middle and none too bright.

[hogcard1964]

which is the same mantra Petrino had.  Both are good coaches, both struggled their first year.  Petrino was a few points from being 3-9 and BB was a few points from 5-7.  I just want to see how things develop.

8 wins this year...looking forward to being respectable again.

[Lake City Hog]

Now they are even coming on this thread  to try and persuade people to their way of thinking! Guys, why is it so hard to understand? You can spin things any way that you want and when the dust settles guess what? We still have the 29th or 30th ranked recruiting class in the nation. No amount of if's, ands or buts will ever change it!

Petrino finished 5-7 his 1st year and BB finished 3-9 his 1st year, both are losing records! Is it really that important to try and make BB's 1st year closer to 5-7? It would still be a losing record.

ONE MORE TIME---- It really won't change anything!

[12247]

Seriously, we are about where we'll be next year or in 5 years.  I believe these coaches worked hard to bring in what we got.  Some years will be better and some won't.  BB loves the lines and power football and you can see that in the recruiting.  If we had a super base in Texas like we once did, we might recruit a little better but we don't.

BB and company will get a lot out of these recruits because they are his kind of recruits.  While we didn't get the superstars, we did get some very good linemen and I hope the WRs, CBs and LBs are good enough to improve along the way. 

At the end of the day it will still be like most years, our improvement will depend more on our competitin than on us.  If they fall off, we'll look better.  Thats how we've IMPROVED forever except for 2006, 2010 and 2011.  Those improvements were due to coaching decisions more than outright talent or the competition faltering.

We should run the ball over more folks this comiing season, the QB will be a little bit better and the D backfield will be better.  Hunter Henry will be a stud that will carry the passing game as far as it goes.  Injuries will ruin us if we get 1 or 2 at the right positions.  Our HC will still not be on the same page as the OC or visa a versa and the play calling will cost us from1 to 3 games.
We aren't likely to refine the starting QB much and the #2 won't have any chance at all to learn the system.  We may scare some folks but not enough to beat them and we'll be very lucky to reach 6 wins.

We will see more wins in 2015, maybe 8 or 9, once again depending on the quality of play produced by our competition and the fact we'll improve marginally each year and level off in year 4.  Doubt we'll ever see a 10 win regular season with this staff just due to the scheme they like to operate on O.  Expect our D to startle some folks by year 4 as they will be in the top 5 in the conference, but still not good enough to overcome a very average offense and special teams. 

[SPAL]

Now they are even coming on this thread  to try and persuade people to their way of thinking! Guys, why is it so hard to understand? You can spin things any way that you want and when the dust settles guess what? We still have the 29th or 30th ranked recruiting class in the nation. No amount of if's, ands or buts will ever change it!

Petrino finished 5-7 his 1st year and BB finished 3-9 his 1st year, both are losing records! Is it really that important to try and make BB's 1st year closer to 5-7? It would still be a losing record.

ONE MORE TIME---- It really won't change anything!

You post a thread on a message board with 10k members and then gripe because they comment? You are 5 kinds of stupid.

[Lake City Hog]

Talk about stupid! It's not griping, it is simply trying to point out the lengths that people will go to in an effort to make things look like they want them to look.

I tried to type this slow so you could read it and maybe have time for it to sink in through that case hardened layer!

[Pork Twain]

BP signed some good classes but had a high wash out rate.  If not for that, who knows what could have been

[hogcard1964]

Talk about stupid! It's not griping, it is simply trying to point out the lengths that people will go to in an effort to make things look like they want them to look.

I tried to type this slow so you could read it and maybe have time for it to sink in through that case hardened layer!

There's an obvious revolving door or "evolving" list of excuses.  A month ago, BB was the better recruiter, now since it's obvious he's not, it's "don't pay attention to the ratings". 

I do wonder if our recruiting could have improved if we had a DC in place a few weeks ago?

[Chief Mac]

There's an obvious revolving door or "evolving" list of excuses.  A month ago, BB was the better recruiter, now since it's obvious he's not, it's "don't pay attention to the ratings". 

I do wonder if our recruiting could have improved if we had a DC in place a few weeks ago?

was a DC going to change our academic stature compared to Stanford?  If so, I suspect you are correct

[Pork Twain]

There's an obvious revolving door or "evolving" list of excuses.  A month ago, BB was the better recruiter, now since it's obvious he's not, it's "don't pay attention to the ratings". 

I do wonder if our recruiting could have improved if we had a DC in place a few weeks ago?

We closed on those we had a realistic chance with and even got a couple we didn't think we would.  By all accounts, BB is our best closer.  At least based on what the recruits have said.

[hoghiker]

was a DC going to change our academic stature compared to Stanford?  If so, I suspect you are correct

I'm one of the biggest Hog fans on planet earth but I always cringe when we go up against Stanford for a prospect. The academic stature is first rate and then there is the weather, the atmosphere and a great job at the end of 4 or 5 years. Would be hard for me to turn down. My sister living in Fayetteville would matter, but not much.

[Chief Mac]

I'm one of the biggest Hog fans on planet earth but I always cringe when we go up against Stanford for a prospect. The academic stature is first rate and then there is the weather, the atmosphere and a great job at the end of 4 or 5 years. Would be hard for me to turn down. My sister living in Fayetteville would matter, but not much.

100% agreed on this.  We lost two prospects this year, Thomas and Mike, that chose institutions that are known more for their academics.  While there are some things Arkansas staff can overcome, this is something that few would be able to beat.

[hogcard1964]

was a DC going to change our academic stature compared to Stanford?  If so, I suspect you are correct

It couldn't have hurt, but what's done is done.  Hopefully we'll do better next year.

[Lake City Hog]

So now our academic stature is a recruiting obstacle? We went against Stanford on 1 player.

Why can't you just accept it as it is? I feel like next year's class could be somewhere around the 17 to 22 level. Why? Because we seem to have a pretty strong in-state class. Again, a pretty normal fluctuation. We have several 4* kids in-state and our team ranking goes up.

We talk about recruiting obstacles and one is normally location, one that I actually agree with, and yet we continue to focus on recruiting over 500 miles from campus. Last night I found a map sight that allows you to draw a radius of your choosing centered around a given point. I did that with Fayetteville and found that Kansas City, St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Memphis and Dallas are all within a 250 mile radius or very close.

Should we give up South Florida? Absolutely not! But, we really need to focus more in the Dallas/Ft. Worth/Plano area. There are literally tons of D1 prospects in that area alone. St. Louis and Kansas City are 2 more LARGE cities that we need to hit and hit hard. In short, try to take the location thing out of play.

Either way our coaches from Frank to BB have had to coach with the kids that they can get. Seldom have we ever played against top teams with a perceived to be equal talent level.

[Chief Mac]

It couldn't have hurt, but what's done is done.  Hopefully we'll do better next year.

wouldn't have hurt but definitely would not have changed where Thomas signed no more than having Pittman changed Mike from signing with Vandy.  Those kids are outliers in that it is not just talk when they say academics are important.  Kudos to them and sucks for us

[Chief Mac]

So now our academic stature is a recruiting obstacle? We went against Stanford on 1 player.

Why can't you just accept it as it is? I feel like next year's class could be somewhere around the 17 to 22 level. Why? Because we seem to have a pretty strong in-state class. Again, a pretty normal fluctuation. We have several 4* kids in-state and our team ranking goes up.

We talk about recruiting obstacles and one is normally location, one that I actually agree with, and yet we continue to focus on recruiting over 500 miles from campus. Last night I found a map sight that allows you to draw a radius of your choosing centered around a given point. I did that with Fayetteville and found that Kansas City, St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Memphis and Dallas are all within a 250 mile radius or very close.

Should we give up South Florida? Absolutely not! But, we really need to focus more in the Dallas/Ft. Worth/Plano area. There are literally tons of D1 prospects in that area alone. St. Louis and Kansas City are 2 more LARGE cities that we need to hit and hit hard. In short, try to take the location thing out of play.

Either way our coaches from Frank to BB have had to coach with the kids that they can get. Seldom have we ever played against top teams with a perceived to be equal talent level.

because I am not talking about the whole class with hogcard, I'm only talking about one player.  One player that happens to be a five star or high four star dependent upon what site you look at.  Thomas and Mike are two high rated kids that didn't choose us, whether you and others want to acknowledge it, because of academics.  The reasons behind other misses in this class, are varied. 

We do need to do better at recruiting Texas.  We should get at least 5 kids from there every year.  The pipeline to Texas was damaged when we moved to the SEC.  Ford started to rebuild it, Nutt had mixed results, and Petrino got a few but also, according to Jim Harris, pissed off more than a few coaches in Texas.  This staff has only one guy with connections to Texas (Thomas).  We need one more that is as good in Texas as Shannon is in Miami.  Otherwise we are not going to be successful in Texas

[hogcard1964]

wouldn't have hurt but definitely would not have changed where Thomas signed no more than having Pittman changed Mike from signing with Vandy.  Those kids are outliers in that it is not just talk when they say academics are important.  Kudos to them and sucks for us

Nonsensicle, since Vandy's recruiting class was devastated after Franklin left.  There's also no comparison academically between Vandy and any other SEC school.

[Chief Mac]

Nonsensicle, since Vandy's recruiting class was devastated after Franklin left.  There's also no comparison academically between Vandy and any other SEC school.

so why did Mike choose Vandy?  Is it because he likes the Nashville nightlife and country music or because he likes Vandy's academic reputation above what they do on the field?

[hogcard1964]

So now our academic stature is a recruiting obstacle? We went against Stanford on 1 player.
Why can't you just accept it as it is? I feel like next year's class could be somewhere around the 17 to 22 level. Why? Because we seem to have a pretty strong in-state class. Again, a pretty normal fluctuation. We have several 4* kids in-state and our team ranking goes up.

We talk about recruiting obstacles and one is normally location, one that I actually agree with, and yet we continue to focus on recruiting over 500 miles from campus. Last night I found a map sight that allows you to draw a radius of your choosing centered around a given point. I did that with Fayetteville and found that Kansas City, St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Memphis and Dallas are all within a 250 mile radius or very close.

Should we give up South Florida? Absolutely not! But, we really need to focus more in the Dallas/Ft. Worth/Plano area. There are literally tons of D1 prospects in that area alone. St. Louis and Kansas City are 2 more LARGE cities that we need to hit and hit hard. In short, try to take the location thing out of play.

Either way our coaches from Frank to BB have had to coach with the kids that they can get. Seldom have we ever played against top teams with a perceived to be equal talent level.

Well said.  Should end the discussion but I suspect it won't.   

[hogcard1964]

so why did Mike choose Vandy?  Is it because he likes the Nashville nightlife and country music or because he likes Vandy's academic reputation above what they do on the field?

Not sure.  What I do know is we were out recruited and also barely out recruited several teams in the SEC, that shoud never be near us in recruiting.  Kentucky, Ole Miss, Miss St., Mizzou and Vanderbilt being those schools.

[Chief Mac]

Not sure.  What I do know is we were out recruited and also barely out recruited several teams in the SEC, that shoud never be near us in recruiting.  Kentucky, Ole Miss, Miss St., Mizzou and Vanderbilt being those schools.

lets see if Kentucky can maintain it.  So, you aren't sure why and don't care why.  Just want something to biotch about.  Got it....nothing more to see here.