Recuiting & Coaching

Football Insider Board
#1

IMO losing players to injury or the NFL plays a major factor in our success.
We have some players. But we DO not have the depth that a team like Alabama has. They are just stacked with players that when one gets hurt you just put in another player.
When we lose one OL one year, a running back the year before, 3 DL another year and a running back in another. That’s just covering 3 or 4 years. Sure the Tide can have 3 DL
or 4 go in the 2nd round but the difference is they have More depth. I guess I have finally come to the realization WE are a small state and only produce 10+ D-1 players every year.
I don’t know the average number per year but it’s by far the fewest of the teams in that upper group we are trying to reach. The question remains how do we get there?
Better recruiters and coaches. It was a perfect storm for the 1964 team in FB and the 1994 team in BB. Read that again folks. 1964 to 1994 to the present. A lot of coaches have never made it there.
Somehow we have got to keep every player in state. Then we need a few of those to be a D-Mac, OR lets say special. Then we have got to dig into some area like Texas or somewhere
and get not only better players (Some 4 and a few 5 star) BUT more players that are game changers. CBB IMO is a good man and a good coach. Examples, Frank Ragnow and being out in the middle of the field making a point to a ref.

CBB IMO is the right man to make the effort to try and get where we want to be. Get rid of CBB and there goes another 4-5 years wasted and several to try and regroup. Saban is no dummy he walked into a program loaded with history. Add to that and a state the produces 4 to 5 times the number of D-1 players as Arkansas and all he had to do was add his recipe for success.

Take our line from last year and yesterday’s game would have been different. Or grab the 3 special players from 2 years ago on defense and it’s a different game.
So our problem is we have no room for error or we’re in trouble.

BTW; Anybody have a better Plan?

Over and Out!!

#2

Nebraska has NEVER produced D-1 players but has won NC’s! You HAVE to recruit on a national level. Here we are sitting next to TX and LA, two states that produce more D-1 players than they have schools to fill them… Even though we produce less D1 players, we ain’t splitting them like other states!.. We only have 2 D1 schools (IF you count Asu which isn’t even in the NEXT 5). MS has 3. AL has 4. GA has a bunch and FL even more. Saying we “can’t” recruit on a national level is an EXCUSE!!!

#3

I agree this time, thanks for the reply.
And the is no time for Excuses.

How many players are on our roster OR let’s say possible [size=150]contributors are from
[/size]1) Texas
2) Louisiana
3) ANY other major state. you Name it. Miss, Fla, Ga, anywhere??

Thoughts & help here???

#4

I will bite with a comment or two here. You are correct, the name of the game is RECRUITING.

Nebraska hasn’t won anything since Tom Osborne left and the wishbone went back to being split on holidays. The reason is geography. They struggle to win 6-7 games now and they experience tremendous recruiting problems. Plus, being in the Big 10 means, no games in talent rich Texas, nor the ability to take the JC players from California like they once did.

In my opinion the proliferation of the spread offense has killed high school football in Texas. Yes they still produce big time recruits and big time numbers. The problem, however, is that now offensive lineman are leaner and quicker so that they can block for the spread. Your best players now are slot receivers, not running backs or linebackers. NO ONE plays defense in Texas HS, (or the big 12 for that matter) which negates players being taught the proper fundamentals on blocking and tackling. Now, when you recruit texas high school players you are projecting that they can play the defensive position you are placing them. More still would rather be a receiver at Kansas than a DB at some school.

Combine this with another fact: It is hard to get good players to leave their state. The top 10-20 players in the states of Alabama and Georgia are gobbled up by Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Georgia Tech (to some extent) That means we are competing for 3talent against the Ga Tech’s, NC St., Miss. St., Tennessee’s of the world. The 3’s must become 4* when we get them. 4*'s to 5*'s etc.

I will give Dudley the credit for this nugget but when Bielema arrived at Arkansas we had only 4 players who held committable offers to either Alabama or LSU on our roster. Think about that. You are competing against a team with 81 guys that were deemed not good enough to make the 3 deep at either of LSU or Alabama. At least on Saturday night we now have 24. That is a whole lot better but it ain’t enough joes to compete.

You see the fruits of having Michael Smith go into Louisiana and start getting players. That relationship takes time and it should continue to get 2-4 players a year. We just can’t miss on players like we did with the Florida recruits from Randy Shannon. Most, if not all of them, have now left the program. That hurts.

Bielema is a high energy guy. I believe how he showed compassion and empathy with Ragnow will pay off in Spades. Gonna be hard for a momma and daddy not to be impressed with that display. Geography has always played a problem. It will continue to. As the NW Arkansas perception continues to change and the population grows, maybe this trend reverts. Until then, lets help support the coach and his search for the right jimmy’s and joe’s.

#5

OK Mr Pike. For your 3rd, I mean third post that was great.

You should post more often sir…

Good read. Not hard to follow that logic.

#6

If Arkansas had signed adequate OTs, linebackers and safeties in 2013-15, we would not have a care in the world right now.

#7