Football

Mallett for Heisman

Gloriously done by BiggHurtt

Class of 2011 Offers

This is a list of all players with an Arkansas offer, as listed on Rivals.com.  It will be updated over time so check back every now and then.

Offense:
Brandon Allen: 6′2″/214/4.7 Pro-style Quarterback from Fayetteville, AR (Committed to Arkansas)
Chris Barnett: 6′6″/245/4.52 Tight End from Euless, TX. (Committed to Oklahoma)
Austin Beck: 6′8″/285 Offensive Tackle from Nowata, OK
Mike Bellamy: 5′10″/174/4.4 Running Back from Punta Gorda, FL
Trey Braun: 6′5″/270 Offensive Tackle from Tallahassee, FL
Jake Brendel: 6′4″/260/4.9 Offensive Tackle from Plano, TX
Malcolm Brown: 6′0″/210 Running Back from Cibolo,TX
Josh Cochran: 6′6″/270 Offensive Tackle from Hallsville, TX (Committed to Texas)
Brey Cook: 6′7″/314/5.2 Offensive Tackle from Springdale, AR
Marcus Danenhauer: 6′5″/315/5.4 Offensive Guard from Bentonville, AR
Demetrius Dean: 6′3″/245/4.7 Wide Receiver from Fayetteville, AR (Committed to Arkansas)
Dylan Dismuke: 6′6″/292 Offensive Tackle from Duncan, OK
Spencer Drango: 6′6″/264/5.1 Offensive Tackle from Cedar Park, TX
Kiehl Frazier: 6′3″/212/4.59 Dual Threat QB from Springdale, AR
Jafus Gaines: 6′0″/170/4.5 Wide Receiver from Houston, TX
Marcus Hutchins: 6′3″/254 Offensive Tackle from DeSoto, TX (Committed to Texas)
Matt Keifer: 6′3″/283 Offensive Tackle from Chattahoochee, GA
Marquis Jackson:  6′0″/205/4.4 Wide Receiver from Fort Worth, TX
Kyler Kerbyson: 6′5″/290 Offensive Tackle from Knoxville, TN
Daniel Lasco: 6′1″/190/4.4 Running Back from The Woodlands, TX
Jay Lee: 6′2″/191/4.95 Wide Receiver from Allen, TX
Eric McClain: 6′5″/267 Tight End from Fayetteville, NC
Dayvon McKinney: 6′1″/166 Wide Receiver from Forrest City, AR
Trey Metoyer: 6′2″/198/4.42 Wide Receiver from Whitehouse, TX
K.C. Nlemchi: 6′0″/215/4.6 Running Back from Katy, TX
Miles Onyegbule: 6′4″/200/4.54 Wide Receiver from Arlington, TX (Committed to Texas)
Gregory Robinson: 6′5″/296 Offensive Tackle from Thibodeaux, LA
Jermichael Selders: 5′11″/177 Running Back from Houston, TX
Herschel Sims: 5′10″/190/4.4 Running Back from Abilene, TX
Mitch Smothers: 6′4″/280 Offensive Lineman from Springdale, AR
Derrick Thorpe: 6′4″/250 Offensive Tackle from Neptune Beach, FL
Kody Walker: 6′0″/228/4.7 Running Back from Jefferson City, TX
Christian Westerman: 6′5″/288/5.0 Offensive Tackle from Chandler, AZ
Kasen Williams: 6′2″/197/4.6 Wide Receiver from Sammamish, WA

Defense:
Jimmy Bean: 6′5″/215/4.6 Strongside Defensive End from Denton, TX (Committed to Oklahoma State)
Artez Brown: 6′1″/175/4.5 Cornerback from Newport, AR
Devonta Brown: 6′4″/265 Defensive Tackle from Fayetteville, NC
Steve Edmond: 6′3″/225 Linebacker from Daingerfield, TX. (Committed to Texas)
Deshazor Everett: 6′0″/170/4.5 Safety from DeRidder, LA
Erique Florence: 6′2″/181/4.47 Safety from Valley, AL
Lonnie Gosha: 6′3″/245 Defensive Tackle from Lake Butler, FL
Jalen Grimble: 6′3″/250/4.89 Weakside Defensive End from Las Vegas, NV
Zeph Grimes: 6′0″/205/4.5 Safety from Bamberg, CS
Rob Hankins: 6′1″/215/4.5 Inside Linebacker from Dallas, TX
Nathan Hughes: 6′5″/245 Strongside Defensive End from Klein, TX
Desmond Jackson: 6′1″/278/5.0 Defensive Tackle from Houston, TX (Committed to Texas)
A.J. Johnson: 6′3″/226/4.65 Inside Linebacker from Gainesville, GA.
Lyndell Johnson: 6′3″/190/4.45 Safety from Plano, TX
Mickey Johnson: 6′1″/310/5 Defensive Tackle from Covington, LA
Kellen Jones:  6′1″/206/4.6 Outside Linebacker from Houston, TX
Jeffery Lark: 6′2″/207/4.4 Safety from Ashburnham, MA
Pat Martin: 5′11″/196/4.6 Safety from Greenville, SC
Tremayne McNair: 6′2″/225/4.6 Outside Linebacker from Jacksonville, NC
Jordan Montgomery: 6′1″/195/4.5 Safety from Groveland, FL
Grady Ollison: 6′5″/273/4.9 Strongside Defensive End from Malvern, AR
Nico Ornelas: 6′3″/190/4.65 Outside Linebacker from North Richland Hills, TX
Jermauria Rasco: 6′3″/227 Strongside Defensive End from Shreveport, LA
Cedric Reed: 6′5″/240/4.9 Strongside Defensive End from Cleveland, TX
Sheldon Richardson: 6′4″/290 Defensive Tackle from College of the Sequoias, Visalia, CA (Committed to Missouri)
Quayshun Smith: 5′8″/145/4.4 Cornerback from Tallahassee, FL
Terrell Stanley: 6′0″/242 Strongside Defensive End from Southport, North Carolina
Tony Steward: 6′2″/225 Outside Linebacker from St. Augustine, FL
Bernard Thomas: 5′11″/172/4.4 Cornerback from Blue Springs, MO
Robert Thomas: 6′1″/310 Defensive Tackle from Coffeyville CC, KS (Committed to Arkansas)
Kendall Thompson: 6′3″/232/4.65 Inside Linebacker from Carthage, TX
Josh Turner: 6′0″/185/4.45 Cornerback from Oklahoma City, OK
Nick Waisome: 5′10″/171/4.4 Cornerback from Groveland, FL
Anthony Wallace: 6′2″/220/4.55 Inside Linebacker from Dallas, TX

Athletes:
Artez Brown: 5′11″/175/4.4 Athlete from Newport, AR
Quandre Diggs: 5′10″/188/4.4 Athlete from Angleton, TX
Kelvin Fisher, Jr.: 5′10/182/4.55 Athlete from Gilbert, AZ
Hakeem Flowers: 6′2″/173 Athlete from Greenville, SC (No longer with an offer)
Desmond Roland: 6′2″/199/4.64 Athlete from Dallas, TX
Tino Thomas: 6′0″/190 Athlete from Memphis, TN

Walt Williams, Pinnacle Preps Sued

For Breach of Contract and Fraud. Lindsey Smart of Rogers signed his son, DJ Smart, up for the services of Pinnacle Preps.  According to the complaint, Pinnacle Preps didn’t live up to their end of the deal.

Read the complaint.

I consider this a PSA for all parents that may be considering using Pinnacle Preps services in marketing their student-athlete children.

Walt Williams runs Pinnacle Preps.

Mallett out up to 4 months with broken bone

Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett is expected to miss the next three to four months because of a broken bone in his left foot, the University of Arkansas announced Wednesday night.

The junior-to-be broke the bone during conditioning drills Wednesday, according to a university news release. He’s expected to miss spring practices.

“It is unfortunate since Ryan works extremely hard and has made a commitment to the Razorbacks,” Coach Bobby Petrino said in a statement. “I am confident in our athletic trainers and medical staff and believe they are the best in the country. Ryan is a strong competitor who I know will put all his effort into overcoming his injury and continuing to lead this team.”

Mallett set or tied 16 school records in his first year as Arkansas’ starting quarterback last fall and turned heads along the way. He threw for 3,624 yards and 30 touchdowns with 7 interceptions in leading Arkansas to an 8-5 record and win in the Liberty Bowl. He was a second-team selection on the All-SEC teams picked by the media and league’s coaches. [Read More]

Recruiting Rankings Don't Matter? Inexactly.

It’s that time of year again; the time for college football fans to love or hate their coaches for how well they did at convincing 18 year old kids to come hang out with them. It’s the time for fans that are happy with their class to brag to everyone else about how many 5-star or 4-star players they signed. It’s the time for fans that didn’t sign a lot of 5-stars to brag about how well they added depth and met needs.

No matter what your opinion is of the most recent group of recruits, you have to have some facts to back it up. The most obvious way fans do this is with the “star system” of their favorite recruiting site. The problem is, recruiting is an inexact science. While one site may list a class as one of the best, another will list that same as one of the worst. And beyond that, none of the ranking systems take into account how a team met their needs, which is really the ultimate goal of recruiting.

To dig into this a little more, I wanted to look at some various ranking sites and see how they varied.  

First, we’ll look at national class rankings from 4 major websites. ESPN, Max Emfinger, Scout.com, and Rivals.com.

I notice two things about this right away.

First of all, the top 10 is almost a consensus. While the teams are in a different order, each of the four services have almost identical lists for the top 10. The only exceptions being:

• Scout.com has Penn State in the top ten, and Tennessee at #15.
• The other three all have Tennessee in the top 10, and Penn State at #11 or #12.

It makes sense, but it would seem that the services, despite their varying techniques for rating teams, are pretty much in agreement on the top 10.

The next thing that pops out, is how different the rankings are once you get past the top 10. For instance:

• North Carolina, Arkansas, Texas Tech, Georgia Tech, BYU, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Missouri, and Nebraska each show up on one of the lists of 25, but nowhere on the other three lists of 25.
• Washington is at #11 from Scout and #20 from ESPN, but doesn’t make the top 25 of the other 2 lists.
• California is at #11 on Rivals, #15 on ESPN and #13 on Emfinger, but doesn’t show up at all on Scout’s top 25 list.
• Oregon is all the way up to #13 on Scout and Rivals, but they are only #22 on ESPN and don’t even show up on Emfinger’s top 25.
• Oklahoma State shows up at #17 on Emfinger and #18 on Scout, but not at all on ESPN or Rivals.

There are a few more examples, but those are the ones that stick out the most. Clearly, these 4 sites are very much in disagreement about the #11-#25 classes, and there is no discernible relationship between any of them. When I started digging in to the numbers I expected some services to have similar results all the way down, but it’s interesting that one service might list “Team A” high and “Team B” not at all, but another service will list “Team A” high and “Team B” equally high. It seems like a logical conclusion that the top 10 is pretty solid, but after that it is mostly a guess.

Next, we will take a quick look at how the same four recruiting services ranked the top 10 players in the country. This seems like a small sample, but when you consider most of these only give out a 5-star ranking to 3 or 4 per position at the most, and about 20 overall, 10 is a reasonable sample to look at.

• In these 4 lists of top 10 players, there are over 20 different players listed.
• Jordan Hicks, Lamarcus Joyner, Matt Elam and Jonathan Dowling show up in the ESPN rankings but none others.
• Demarcus Millner only shows up in the Emfinger rankings
• Jake Heaps is #1 on Scout but doesn’t show up in the top 10 anywhere else. Scout also includes Xavier Grimble, Jake Matthews, Chris Martin and Mike Hull who are not in any other top 10 lists.
• Rivals.com includes Da’Rick Rogers, while he doesn’t show up in any other list.

As you can see, these 4 services can’t even agree with the top 10 players in the country, naming a total of 11 players that don’t show up on any other list. How can Jake Heaps be the number one player in the country with one service, but not even be top ten with anyone else? Clearly, these rankings are inexact and should be taken that way. While useful for message board discussion, they should not be seen as proof of a player’s quality. Obviously, a big problem with this is the sheer number of recruits across the country and the fact many of them never play each other. How do you compare a QB in Issaquah, Washington with a DE in Moreno Vally, California? There is no real comparison of the two positions or the competition faced, yet the services have to choose some players to give the top ranking, and none of them can agree on which player deserves that mark.

Beyond the lack of continuity between the various recruiting services, there are a many other factors involved in a recruit that these services could never measure. Using Arkansas as an example, their class received a great boost on signing day when DT Calvin Barnett, who Rivals had as a 4-star recruit and the #1 player in Oklahoma. However, there is a great chance he will not qualify and will have to go to a JUCO or Prep school. It’s possible he may never step foot in the UofA locker rooms, and he certainly won’t for at least a year, yet he brought their recruiting class up significantly in the rankings.

There is also the problem of character. A player might qualify but then get in trouble and get kicked off. Or, a player might never get to play and transfer. Jevan Snead helped Texas’ ranking as a HS senior, yet he ended up at Ole Miss.

This brings me to my final and most important point. Recruiting is not about signing a big name player or pleasing the fans. It is about building a team. A team with 6 RBs on their team can sign a 5 Star RB and get a boost in the rankings, but it doesn’t really help their team. A team can recruit 6 QBs in one year and only have 2 of those end up playing. This helps recruiting rankings but not the team. I have never seen a recruiting ranking system that includes team depth and needs in their rankings, yet this is the whole point of recruiting.

Sure recruiting is fun to keep up with and the only real way to compare classes is with an online service’s rankings, but in the end that is all for the fans to talk about, not for actual results. They don’t give out trophies or bowl bids in February, it’s what you do in the fall that really matters. Just like any other sport, winning cures all and recruiting rankings are fun but they’re just that…something fun for discussion, and a very inexact science.

So am I saying recruiting rankings aren’t important? Inexactly.

BCIR Year 2 - Ranking the Coaches

Some of you may remember me starting a new coach-ranking system last year – I would link it, but I lost most of the old stuff when I changed over to breastfedmoonshine.com 2.0. In case you forgot, this is what happened to make me want to do this –

Tom Dienhart, possible animal rapist and columnist for CNNSI, recently wrote a column ranking the SEC head coaches. The list was, as is to be expected from national sports journalists, rife with innacuracies, and generally retarded. So, as I have nothing else pressing to do, I sat down and did my Sagarin thing, and created an algorithm for judging coaches.

My formula is imperfect, to be sure, as it is impossible to factor in things like “Poor bastard coaches at Vandy” or “Attacks his own players”. It is, however, preferential to many rankings in that there are no extra points here for being a nice guy, having funny press conferences, or being King Lord Bullshitter. This is a list based SOLELY ON RESULTS. You coach at a perennial underachiever with no resources to speak of? Tough shit, talk to Jim Grobe. You graduate your students? That’s nice, but National Championships are nicer.

I included only years coached at D-1A (FBS if you’re a tool) schools, and tried to accurately weigh the things coaches are supposed to do…win games, get to and win bowls, make and succeed in BCS bowls, finish ranked, and win national championships. My numbers came from the great bastion of accurate information, Wikipedia, and “rankings” refers to final AP rankings.

If you are interested in how I got my numbers, the formula is at the bottom. But if you actually ARE interested enough to take the formula and check the numbers, you should stop wondering why you never get laid.

Some of these rankings will seem downright retarded (sorry, Sarah), but remember – this is not what I think is the proper ranking. This is what I got when I decided to create a dispassionate system to judge career success of a coach, based solely on his accomplishments since the day he became a head man at a Division 1A school. The equation and legend are at the bottom of this page.

1.) Urban Meyer (Florida)
breastfedmoonshine.com Coach Index Rating (BCIR) : 49.843

I assumed the last national championship would bring Saban to this spot, but this year’s calculations provided a little more insight as to the effects of the system – Meyer is still WAY in the lead because the formula rewards someone with consistency and a higher winning percentage more than someone with less consistency, but more top-end success. And Meyer certainly is consistent – he has gone to seven straight bowls, winning six, while collecting three BCS wins in three BCS games, and two national championships. His career winning pct. as a D1A coach is a ridiculous 84%, 80% in conference. Assuming he doesn’t have a heart attack or resign again between now and August, he will begin next year as the BCIR King.

2.) Mark Richt (Jawja)
BCIR : 43.348

Rabble rabble rabble! There are six national championships spoken for amongst the current SEC head coaches, and Richt has none of them – yet here he is, above the coaches who won four of those six. Again, consistency is king, and as long as Richt is going to bowls and winning games, his numbers will remain decent. Another thing that has helped him immensely is the consistency with which he has made Jawja a top-ten team, so if he can’t return them to that level after last year’s disappointment, don’t expect him to stay among the elite forever. As it is, his argument is made by three BCS invites (including two wins) in nine years as a head man, nine years that all have ended with bowls, seven of them won. He also has the second-highest annual AP ranking average, behind only Meyer. If you prefer a coach to maintain a top-level program, it’s hard to imagine a better candidate than the fivehead in Athens.

3.) Nick Saban (Bammer)
BCIR : 41.936

In the interest of full disclosure, this list would have started with Saban if I was going off of my own opinion. Saban is the only person in the league to make powerhouses out of two of its programs. The only reason he isn’t number one, judging by the numbers, is probably the fact that he has been a rebuilder – those crappy years while you rebuild get counted in as well. Again, this system does not take into account things like “where the program was before” or “what obstacles the coach faced at that program”. Maybe for next year I will find an objective, numbers-based way to do this, but I’m not there, yet. It is a testament to the SEC’s coaching power that ANY number-based system could deliver him third. Saban has won national titles at both LSU and Alabama, was successful at Michigan State and Toledo, and has won three times in his four BCS invites, while finishing in the top six of the AP three times in the last five years he’s coached. Unfortunately for Saban, he also was a coach for seven seasons before his first bowl win, and still has only five bowl wins in 14 seasons as head honcho. Also, he’s a total prick, so I’ve heard.

4.) Les Miles (LSU)
BCIR : 40.813

I’ll be the first to say it – he’s not that good of a coach. But he has brought some big classes to what was already a training ground for the pros in Baton Rouge, and Jimmies and Joes often outpace X’s and O’s. As much as it pains me to see my system spit out a guy who doesn’t understand basic clock management theory as a top-four coach, Miles does have quite a bit of success to point to at Oklahoma State and LSU. Miles, of course, has a national championship, but he also has another victorious BCS game coached, has won 11 or more games three times, and has seven wins in eight bowl games in nine years as a HC. I have to think he will continue to drop in a division where he may in fact now be the worst gameday coach.

5.) Steve Spurrier (South Carolina)
BCIR : 39.375

The final of four national championship winners on this list, Spurrier is a first-ballot hall-of-famer, and revolutionized college football in the 90’s with Florida. Spurrier has finished in the top ten of the AP 10 times, and has won a list-best seven conference titles, including six in the SEC, and one at Duke, of all places. Unfortunately for the ol’ ball coach, as pertains to this list, anyway, Spurrier has never finished ranked in eight seasons outside of Florida, including his last five with Carolina, and has just seven bowl wins in 20 seasons as a head man. This seems to be a case where longevity hurts, and if Spurrier can’t make the Cocks into what the Gators were during his tenure there, he will continue to move south on this list.

6.) Bobby Petrino (Arkansas)
BCIR : 33.371

The guy most likely to be moving up in the top half, Petrino finished the second year of his rebuilding phrase with the first Liberty Bowl win for Arkansas in quite some time. Petrino was a monster in the Big East with Louisville, and has made some noise at Arkansas in his two seasons there, but he still has no national championships, only one BCS invite (a win), and has lost 12 of his 25 games so far coaching in the SEC. Here is another guy I would have higher, but the numbers aren’t there, yet. Considering he is my favorite coach on the list, I hope his placement on it speaks to the system’s objectivity.

7.) Houston Nutt (Mississippi)
BCIR : 23.718

As has been explained in this space before, the poster-child for “less with more”. Nutt and his supporters pimp his record as that of an elite coach, but he again proves his own mediocrity when looking at the big picture. Nutt has never been to a BCS game, has won 10 games only once, and has been at or below .500 in conference 8 times in the last 12 seasons while losing at least three games every year as a head coach at this level. This gap is likely to widen after next year, as Groundhog Coach turns Ole Miss ‘10 into Arkansas ‘00, the same way he turned time back 10 years and moved it to Oxford in ‘09 and ‘08.

8.) Rich Brooks (Living Room)
BCIR : 17.497

He’s off the list because he’s out at Kentucky – Brooks retired last month, and was succeeded by Joker Phillips. Since I was already breaking the rules by including Brooks after his retirement, I decided to break the rules on his ranking, as well – these numbers come ONLY off of Brooks’ career at Kentucky, since the rest of his career occurred at Oregon over 15 years ago. It seems unfair considering guys like Saban being dragged down by the old days, but let’s be honest – you didn’t look at this list to see where Brooks fit anyway, so kiss my porcine posterior.

9.) Derek Dooley (Tinnersee)
BCIR : 16.261

The only coach on the list to have never coached in the SEC, Dooley therefore has numbers that are perhaps inflated – which isn’t a great sign, as he compiled a 17-20 record at Louisiana Tech. If you get to compare your win/loss results with SEC coaches, and you coach in the WAC, you need to be above 9th in the resulting rankings. On the positive side for Dooley, who had one winning season in three as the jefe for Tech, at least he isn’t a soulless douchebag like his predecessor (to my knowledge). I won’t say anything about nepotism where the two are concerned, though.

10.) Gene Chizik (Auburn)
BCIR : 15.236

I included Chizik last year only for the purposes at laughing at his “0″ score, but he certainly earned his way up a couple of spots by actually beating a few teams that weren’t primarily comprised of female mimes, something he was never able to do at Iowa State, or whatever cracker school it was he came from. I’m a big believer in Gus Malzahn, as is anyone with a passing acquaintance with reality, so we’ll see what happens when Gus gets his next gig. As it is, Chizik and his staff were able to put up an incredible recruiting class this offseason, including many players that aren’t treated as meal tickets by Walt Williams. Whether they will be able to compete with the giant across the state remains to be seen.

11.) Dan Mullen (Cowbell State)
BCIR : 7.917

Dan Mullen is a good coach. Starkville is the worst college town in the South. Something’s got to give, you would think, though Mullen had a very standard year for the rock farmers, going 5-7 in his first season as a head man after being, apparently, Urban Meyer’s only offensive mind for several years. There are so many independent clauses in that last sentence, that it’s like a sentence with a whole shitload of independent clauses in it (not all the analogies are gold). Mullen’s spread offense will require players, but the Klansmen in Oxford can’t be happy that Mullen is already beating Nutt on the field, considering the talent available to each coach seems to be headed in different directions from where each is currently. If I had to guess, 5 years from now Mullen will be ahead of Nutt, assuming the laughable proposition that both will be with their current employers in 5 years.

12.) Bobby Johnson (Vanderbilt)
BCIR : 7.428

Bobby Johnson can coach, but he’s at Vanderbilt, bless his heart. Johnson has been at his current school longer than any coach in the league other than Mark Richt, despite being just 12-52 in conference in his 8 years at Vandy. Why? Trying to win football games at Vanderbilt is like trying to win Miss America pageants with girls from New Jersey. Quadriplegic girls from New Jersey, who hate black babies.

To avert the possibility of FOI’s, here is the formula -

BCIR = 10*{[(w/g)+(o/c)]+[(b+s+3n)/y]+[(25l+25i+f)/25t]}

where

g = games coached
w = games won
c = conference games coached
o = conference games won
b = BCS game appearances
s = BCS game wins
n = National Championships won
y = seasons coached during bcs era
t = total seasons coached
l = bowl games coached
i = bowl games won
f = final ranking total*

* final ranking total is found by taking a final ranking for a season and subtracting it from 26 (making a #1 ranking worth 25, a #25 ranking worth 1, and an unranked team worth nothing), and adding them up for all seasons coached.

http://www.breastfedmoonshine.com/home/2010/02/10/bcir-year-2-ranking-the-coaches/

Arkansas Razorbacks: Two Hogs coaches lead list of top paid state employees

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.–He’s atop a list all too familiar to Arkansans.

University of Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino ranks as the highest paid state employee for 2010.

Petrino earned $2.7 million dollars.

Razorbacks basketball coach John Pelphrey is the second highest paid employee at $1.245 million a year.

However, both report incomes of much more because of coaches shows and endorsements.

Arkansas reported a jump of workers earning more than a $100,000, mostly from higher education.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences accounts for 925 of the $100,000-or-more employees. That’s up by 56 from a year ago.

You Wanted Defensive Tackles?

Well, you got ‘em. After weeks of woe is me in the Recruiting Forum about how the Razorback commitment list was woefully short on defensive linemen, Bobby Petrino closed like the freight train that most of us expected.  At the end of the day, Rivals ranks Arkansas’ DT class as #3 in the nation.

Jeremiah Jackson was the first of the group to commit back in June of 2009. Ranked the #45 DT by Rivals, Max Emfinger listed him on his top 100 list. You always lust after the four-star guys but Jackson was thought of as a solid start. Coming from Hoover (Spain Park), AL, he played in the Alabama-Mississippi All Star game and had a really good practice week, outshining some higher rated players there. Jackson had three tackles and an assist on a tackle for loss. With his performance bringing him more to the forefront, there was worry that he’d end up switching to a different SEC school.  It was definitely a possibility as he had offers from Auburn, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Vanderbilt.  Jeremiah stayed true to his commitment and was one of the first commits to send his LOI in.

LaCraig Brown committed on 12/18 and is an unranked three star prospect by Rivals.  His senior year, he had 51 tackles, nine sacks,  and twelve tackles for a loss.  He has really good height for his position at 6′4″.  With that height, you have to wonder if his future is at DE or DT.  He’s the right size for an end, but his 40 time is 4.9, which isn’t as quick as one would want.

The “whew” moment came when four star and #19 ranked Byran Jones of Junction City.  Hog fans have hoped for a long time that he would be a Razorback, but his status was uncertain until the day before signing day.  Auburn fans thought he was going to be a Tiger.  Jones was named to the ArkansasVarsity.com’s All Decade team for the 2000’s. He was also named the 2A state championship game MVP as a junior and a senior.

CBS’ Tom Lemmings rates him the #5 DT and the #67 player in the country regardless of position. At 6′3″ 300, he comes in with the size to play immediately.  Typically I wouldn’t expect a true freshman to contribute on the defensive line, but with Zach Stadther and D.D. Jones’ performances the last two years, I don’t see why he can’t be an impact player right off the bat.

Calvin Barnett signing with Arkansas was one of Rivals.com’s top five surprises on signing day, flipping from Oklahoma State.  Hog fans had hoped that Barnett would end up a Razorback and always held onto whatever they could that supported that feeling.  Barnett never really seemed to waiver, but then he couldn’t make it to Stillwater on the last official visit weekend due to weather.  Then word started leaking out that he was going to sign with Arkansas.  He made it official on signing day.

Barnett was one of three four star recruits to sign.  He’s the #1 ranked player in Oklahoma and the #13 ranked DT by Rivals.  He’s even bigger than Byran Jones, coming in at 6′3″ and 330 pounds.  He would be a force as an interior defensive lineman.

“He and Byran Jones could give them one of the best defensive tackle combos in the country,” Lemming said of Barnett, who played in the U.S.Army All-American Bowl in January. “Calvin really looked good for us down in San Antonio. He’s a big kid but with exceptionally quick feet.”

I’d look for at least one of these guys to contribute immediately, maybe two (guess which).  There’s no question that this DT class, plus Stadther’s experience and D.D. Jones quickly becoming a vital cog in the defense, will be a strength for the Razorback defense very soon.

2010 Football Signees

Here’s a list of all of the 2010 Razorback Football Signees. Clicking each player’s name will take you to his profile page.

Calvin Barnett: 6-3/330 DT from Tulsa OK.
Jatashun Beachum: 6-2/275 ATH from Dallas, TX.
Eric Bennett: 5-10/176 ATH from Tulsa, OK.
LaCraig Brown: 6-4/261 DT from Monroe, LA.
Eduardo Camara: 5-8/155 K from Cedar Hill, TX.
Daunte Carr: 6-3/207 S from Gainesville, GA.
Luke Charpentier: 6-4/305 OL from River Ridge, LA.
Cam Feldt: 6-5/290 OL from Pilot Point, TX.
Courtney Gaston: 6-3/205 OLB from Fort Gibson, OK.
Brad Hefley: 6-5/255 ATH from Joplin, MO.
Jay Herndon: 6-1/170 WR from Jacksonville, FL.
Zach Hocker: 6-0/165 K from Russellville, AR.
Julian Horton: 6-1/182 ATH from Norcross, GA.
Maudrecus Humphrey: 6-2/185 WR from Hoover, AL.
Jeremiah Jackson: 6-2/265 DT from Hoover, AL.
Byran Jones: 6-3/300 DT from Junction City, AR.
Jarrett Lake: 6-2/205 ATH from Jenks, OK.
Braylon Mitchell: 6-2/210 ATH from Heber Springs, AR.
Denton Simek: 6-6/260 OL from Prague, OK.
Chris Smith: 6-2/230 DE from Mount Ulla, NC.
Darrell Smith: 6-2/185 S from Port Saint Joe, FL.
Alan Turner: 5-11/181 ATH from Junction City, AR.
Garrett Uekman: 6-4/235 TE from Little Rock, AR.
Marquel Wade: 5-11/180 WR from Jacksonville, FL.
Jacoby Walker: 6-2/210 QB from Spring, TX.

2010 Signing Day

We’ve got a couple of Signing Day threads going on the board.  One is the Letter of Intent thread where we’re posting who has signed LOI’s. The other is just Signing Day Discussion.  Things are going to be very interesting.  Will we fill those critical positions? Will we get any high profile flips or surprises.  Come check things out.

Since the traffic is always high on Signing Day, board access is for registered members.

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