In my view, Arkansas has had some very good coaches over the years.
What Arkansas has rarely had in modern history is the talent to more consistently compete at top levels of the SEC.
To me this is not a coaching thing.
The most coveted programs to coach at are covered in large part because they have annual recruiting advantages.
I’m less concerned with a coaching personality and more concerned with having an AD and management that recognizes the systemic issue, and dedicates significant planning and resources to overcome our recruiting disadvantages.
An honest review likely reviews we simply have to dedicate two and three times what our competition does in R and D and resources in order to overcome.
We have had great coaches who if had more talent could win titles.
Now, how do we overcome recruiting disadvantages and is our AD management working on that as priority?
You speak a lot of truth here. I definitely feel we could do more to overcome disadvantages that our competitors EMPHASIZE to recruits. It is amazing how many players are SURPRISED if we can get them on campus, because they believed the narrative about Fayetteville. The false narrative keeps a lot of players from considering us in the first place, so we need ways to over come that with technology. I think the only thing that we can’t do much about is that we are like many university towns that while being diverse may not have an “urban” appeal. We are normal in that regard because many schools are in small towns.
Bush, I have seen you post about the AD and his impact on recruiting. I’ve always considered that more of a Coaching staff area of concern. Could you please explain what you are thinking needs to come from the AD and his staff? Maybe provide some examples where other schools are doing it. It might help me understand what exactly you are calling for.