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re: 2014 Arkansas Recruiting Thread - Football & Basketball Commits
Posted on 2/6/14 at 9:50 am to DaleDenton
Posted on 2/6/14 at 9:50 am to DaleDenton
been out sick so I didn't get to chime in on the class as it was happening yesterday but I was watching.
I don't see a ton of star power in this class. Peavey and Robinson may be the exceptions. I think Jackson is probably the best D-Line prospect we've signed in a long time. I like the NUMBER of LB's we signed but I worry they are all projects and will take time to contribute. I think we had a solid defensive backfield class but would have liked to have seen a big time Safety. We got better at O Line and that's very important in the SEC. I think we addressed depth at WR and I like the size we added there.
Didn't really add much at TE ( I expected to sign 3)
Hedlund seems to be as good a HS kicker as you could hope for.
Overall I think this is a good class. B-
Could have been B+ or A- if we had gotten one or both of the Stud DE's.
I don't see a ton of star power in this class. Peavey and Robinson may be the exceptions. I think Jackson is probably the best D-Line prospect we've signed in a long time. I like the NUMBER of LB's we signed but I worry they are all projects and will take time to contribute. I think we had a solid defensive backfield class but would have liked to have seen a big time Safety. We got better at O Line and that's very important in the SEC. I think we addressed depth at WR and I like the size we added there.
Didn't really add much at TE ( I expected to sign 3)
Hedlund seems to be as good a HS kicker as you could hope for.
Overall I think this is a good class. B-
Could have been B+ or A- if we had gotten one or both of the Stud DE's.
2
Posted on 2/6/14 at 10:03 am to ElDawgHawg
quote:
To break the class down further....our needs....OL, LB, S, CB, WR, K, DL
How needs were addressed....
Offensive Line
4* Frank Ragnow- Picked Arkansas over Minn, FSU. #3 player in his state.
4* Brian Wallace- picked Arkansas over Bama. #1 player in his state.
3* Javon Pruitt- picked Arkansas over Oklahoma. #29 OT
3* Sebastian Tretola- #8 OT in JUCO. Picked Arkansas over Oklahoma.
Linebacker
3* Randy Ramsey- picked Ark over NC State
3* Kahlia Hackett- Projected as safety but grew 2" and 25 LBs since committing to us. Picked Ark over Ga Tech, Wiscy
3* Dwayne Eugene- picked Ark over Arizona. Louisiana kid that committed early.
Safety
Signed Josh Lidell from in state with a late push from UGA, and Santos Ramirez who selected Arkansas over TCU, Baylor, and LSU
Cornerback
Signed Chris Murphy who picked Hogs over Mizzou, Okla State, Arizona, Louisville, and WVU. Signed Henre Tolliver out of Louisiana who picked Hogs over Oklahoma, Miss State, Nebraska. Also signed Cornelius Floyd, who picked Hogs over Oklahoma.
Wide Reciever
Probably met our needs and then some. Signed JoJo Robinson who had been committed to FSU for a year and chose Hogs over LSU, TCU, and Auburn. Kendrick Edwards a 6'6" prospect who chose Arkansas over Louisville, Cincy. Jared Cornelius, chose Hogs over Mizzou and TCU. Impressive highlight tape out of Evangel in LA. Cody Hollister, JUCO possession WR will help with depth.
Kicker
Cole Hedlund- Best kicker in country. 1st team Parade All American. Held offers from Texas and Texas A&M. Stuck with Hogs.
Defensive Line
Signed #4 DT in Bijohn Jackson. Signed #1 DT in Missouri. Signed DE Anthony Brown who chose Arkansas over Miss State. DE Jake Hall, #1 DE in our state, and AP defensive lineman of year in 7A.
I'm plagiarizing Hawgeye because it was a good break down of the class. It isn't as easy as looking at the overall ranking by the services, but it isn't as bad of a class as the rankings would lead you to believe.
Posted on 2/6/14 at 10:05 am to ElDawgHawg
quote:
I don't see a ton of star power in this class. Peavey and Robinson may be the exceptions. I think Jackson is probably the best D-Line prospect we've signed in a long time. I like the NUMBER of LB's we signed but I worry they are all projects and will take time to contribute. I think we had a solid defensive backfield class but would have liked to have seen a big time Safety. We got better at O Line and that's very important in the SEC. I think we addressed depth at WR and I like the size we added there.
Didn't really add much at TE ( I expected to sign 3)
Hedlund seems to be as good a HS kicker as you could hope for.
Overall I think this is a good class. B-
Could have been B+ or A- if we had gotten one or both of the Stud DE's.
Pretty much agree with everything. Pretty decent to good class that filled holes, provided depth where needed, but possibly left some short term question marks (wanted another D-lineman, needed one day one ready LB and/or DB, could've really used Pierce at TE). If we'd have gotten Thomas or D. Jackson, our ranking would've been better but we wouldn't have addressed any of those needs in the near term.
This post was edited on 2/6/14 at 10:06 am
Posted on 2/6/14 at 10:10 am to Feral
I think the will land Thibbadeux (however you spell it) when he visits. That is another DT, redshirt candidate most likely.
The will still have an open scholarship if Pierce somehow qualifies, not sure what his problem is in this area, but he didn't sign with a school yesterday.
The will still have an open scholarship if Pierce somehow qualifies, not sure what his problem is in this area, but he didn't sign with a school yesterday.
Posted on 2/6/14 at 10:13 am to DaleDenton
quote:
I think the will land Thibbadeux (however you spell it) when he visits. That is another DT, redshirt candidate most likely.
The will still have an open scholarship if Pierce somehow qualifies, not sure what his problem is in this area, but he didn't sign with a school yesterday.
Yeah, landing Thibadeaux and then Pierce qualifying and somehow signing would be enormous gets, though I'm not sure how realistic Pierce would be even if he qualifies.
I'm hoping just one of the linebackers comes to campus ready to go from an ability and physical standpoint, but we'll see. That's asking a lot in the SEC. People like Richard Davenport keep saying that Ramsey was a diamond in the rough, and I'm hoping that's not just NSD euphoria.
This post was edited on 2/6/14 at 10:16 am
Posted on 2/6/14 at 11:49 am to Feral
Its not a stretch to say that the DT haul is a bit disappointing considering we thought we were in on 3-4 of the best 10 available and looked to be sure to at least get 2 4*'s and maybe 3 instead of just 1 and a +1 to help solidify an OT. Watts may not have been a take if he were Roderick Johnson's teammate.
Posted on 2/6/14 at 11:52 am to CtotheVrzrbck
Any word on Tyler Hayes?
Posted on 2/6/14 at 11:58 am to The_Joker
Need to let him fly
Southern Miss didn't even offer him.
His felony wasn't just petty...he was part of beating someone damn near lifeless. Had he not played for Alabama, he probably would've gotten 10-20 years in federal prison.
Southern Miss didn't even offer him.
His felony wasn't just petty...he was part of beating someone damn near lifeless. Had he not played for Alabama, he probably would've gotten 10-20 years in federal prison.
Posted on 2/6/14 at 12:24 pm to Hawgeye
Some of us were talking about Arkansas' recruiting in Missouri, particularly in St. Louis where I'm at. Here is a tweet from Dave Matter regarding 15 kids from St. Louis that signed letters yesterday. I'd say Arkansas did pretty good in my neck of the woods.
Will never have the numbers as other states, but 15 kids out of one city isn't too bad recruiting grounds. Having said that...there's been a bill sponsored in the state legislature to put up walls around key recruiting areas within the state.
quote:
Dave Matter ?@Dave_Matter 3h
Make that 15 St Louis area players signing with BCS teams: Mizzou (3), Arkansas (2), ND, Neb, Tenn, Minn, FSU, Duke, Cuse, Iowa, KU, Ariz St
Will never have the numbers as other states, but 15 kids out of one city isn't too bad recruiting grounds. Having said that...there's been a bill sponsored in the state legislature to put up walls around key recruiting areas within the state.
Posted on 2/6/14 at 12:24 pm to Hawgeye
Truth. Hayes needs to be in prison but I'd gladly take a punch and give him $30 every month if he suits up for the Hogs and wrecks shop on SEC QB's
Posted on 2/6/14 at 12:54 pm to CtotheVrzrbck
I mean...Ray Lewis killed a guy...
Posted on 2/6/14 at 1:00 pm to Hawgeye
I thought Southern Miss did offer.
Posted on 2/6/14 at 2:45 pm to Feral
From 247.
Quotes from Randy Shannon about our 3 LB commits
Quotes from Randy Shannon about our 3 LB commits
quote:
Arkansas signed a trio of 3-star recruits. Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Dillard's Randy Ramsey, Douglasville (Ga.) South Paulding's Khalia Hackett and Marrero (La.) Archbishop Rummel's Dwayne Eugene all were recruited to play outside linebacker for the Razorbacks.
Shannon was the lead recruiter on Ramsey while Taver Johnson had Hackett and Michael Smith had Eugene though Shannon also helped on Hackett and Eugene. Shannon talked about what he saw in Ramsey to lead to the scholarship offer.
“I first saw him in the ninth grade,” Shannon said. “He was a 6-2, 185-, 190-pound corner. He played a lot of basketball and was very athletic. In the tenth grade, he and Kendrick played against each other. He covered Kendrick when they played in a playoff game. As time went on, he growed a lot and just kept getting bigger. He has a lot of speed and is very athletic.”
As a senior, Ramsey had 83 tackles, 34 tackles for loss, 25 sacks and four forced fumbles; Hackett had 85 tackles and four tackles for loss; Eugene registed 73 tackles, five fumble recoveries and two interceptions. All can run something Shannon considers a must in the SEC.
“We felt we had to get some linebackers that are athletic,” Shannon said. “I saw Eugene throughout the season. One thing about it is these guys are playing basketball so they are staying in shape and not gaining weight which is really, really good. I think each of them are up to 218 to 222.
“I'm excited about all three of them because so much of this spread offense and diversity teams are trying to bring now. You need guys who have played linebacker instead of moving guys. Everybody thinks these guys just played DB, but if you watch the film they played some outside linebacker. We're excited we got three guys that played linebacker in high school and can come in and we can build some depth. These guys can play big-time in space.”
Shannon feels that linebacker recruiting has to change to meet the changes in many offenses in the SEC.
“Somebody asked the question why we hadn't recruited a middle linebacker?” Shannon said. “Well, besides Alabama and LSU playing two-back smash-mouth football you don't see it as much in this conference.
“You have to have a guy who can play middle linebacker. We feel we've got some guys now on the team that we can put into that middle linebacker and probably go three-deep and feel comfortable right now. We're building the guys who can play the outside and give us some speed and athletic ability and do some creative things with.”
Posted on 2/6/14 at 2:56 pm to TheCheshireHog
Sounds like they have a plan, makes you feel a little better about the position, going to need to see results.
Posted on 2/6/14 at 3:08 pm to DaleDenton
Yeah it's definitely a lot better to hear the actual LB coach talking about these guys. I appreciated the part where he said everyone thinks that they are DB's but they were all playing LB in high school as well.
Posted on 2/6/14 at 3:51 pm to TheCheshireHog
quote:
Yeah it's definitely a lot better to hear the actual LB coach talking about these guys. I appreciated the part where he said everyone thinks that they are DB's but they were all playing LB in high school as well.
Agreed, makes me feel much better, especially because it sounds like legitimate insight and not coach speak.
I'm trusting in Herbert to build on these guys physically and athletically in terms of maintaining quickness and lateral speed while putting on enough weight to withstand the rigors of SEC play.
Posted on 2/11/14 at 9:23 am to Feral
quote:
Richard Davenport ?@ArRecruitingGuy 19m
DL Tae Thibodeaux, who just visited Louisville, plans to announce his decision at 10 am on Wed, according to Coach Ryan Antoine
Did he ever visit us?
Posted on 2/11/14 at 9:25 am to Miz Piggy
Scheduled for Feb 21st I think.
Posted on 2/11/14 at 9:34 am to Marty McFrat
quote:
10 am on Wed
quote:
Feb 21st
Hmmmmmm...I feel a HiV meltdown imminent.
Posted on 2/11/14 at 9:41 am to Miz Piggy
Obviously it looks like he is picking Louisville.
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