Come next April, I fully expect to hear glowing reports extolling how “great” the progress, the enthusiasm and the learning curve are coming along for the football team. Such has been a well-established pattern of publicity and propaganda for many years. However, - over the course of the past five seasons in particular, - we have rather quickly become disabused of the false preseason hype, - - and painful reality has inevitably set in. I do earnestly hope and pray that such aggrandized false hype comes to a screeching halt as of now, and that true assessments can - and WILL - be realistically submitted, - - - without the liberal applications of superficial glossing over.
I agree with the off season koolaide press every year and we need a straight up evaluation and not more fake news.
The fact of where our program is now and what it has to do to take a quantum leap forward starts and stops with recruiting and actually being able to sign better players.
All one needs to do is take a look at the current ESPN Top 300 recruiting board and it tells you all you need to know about the pathway to a successful program.
Everyone thinks that Alabama’s roster is filled with 5 star recruits and that’s simply not true. Sure, they get a few in each class, but the fact is that historically and with the 2018 class there are only about 15 - 5 star players awarded that rating most years.
What separates the top programs from the rest is the fact that they dominate recruiting and signing the 4 star talent which in this current class of 300 their are 286. The Hogs currently have 1 ESPN 4 star recruit signed for 2018.
Until we can consistently get 7 or 8 of these 4 Star recruits per class we will struggle to compete and win games against teams with that type of talent.
Hopefully, the new staff will be able to sell their vision for the program and convince many of the players to sign and change the future of the Razorbacks in the SEC and Nationally.
Go Hogs!