Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Defensive Lineman Commits

Coach Petrino received an on the spot commitment from North Little Rock defensive lineman Sach Stadther during an in-home visit this morning.

This is great news for the Razorbacks as they look to build a solid D-Line for the future. Stadther is a two-time all state player who is rated a 3 star player by Rivals.com.

Stadther was previously committed to Kansas, but decided to commit to his lifelong dream of being a Razorback after Petrino showed interest and made the offer.

This brings the total number of current commits to 20 with 5 additional slots available. Look for the final few slots to go to players on the defensive side of the ball.

Hasta La Vista, Herring

An 18 Wheeler with a large panoramic photograph of Texas A&M's stadium was seen outside of former Razorback defensive coordinator Reggie Herring's house today in Fayetteville.

Despite Petrino currently not having a defensive coordinator after Ellis Johnson departed, don't look for any road blocks in Northwest Arkansas that would keep this truck from heading back to the lone star state.

Coach Petrino will look for fresh blood in his new defensive coordinator, and it's unclear when a final decision will be made. Hopefully soon as signing day is quickly approaching...

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Home Run Hitter



Coach Petrino had a very successful weekend as he hosted 15 recruits. Dubbed "Home Run Weekend" by the new coaching staff, this weekend was critical for Petrino. All the hard work is paying off in new commitments. Petrino received 3 commitments today, and it looks like more will roll in this evening or early next week. The newest Razorback commitments are OL Anthony Oden, DL Alfred Davis, and LB Elton Ford. That brings the total number of commitments to 19 with 25 slots available. Look for most of those slots to fill up this week as some players make commitments prior to signing day.

The official commitment list according to Rivals.com:

DT Lavunce Askew 6-3 280 4.8 Camden, AR
DB Khiry Battle 5-11 203 4.5 Dacula, GA
WR Greg Childs 6-5 200 4.5 Warren, AR
RB De'Anthony Curtis 5-10 209 4.4 Camden, AR
DT Alfred Davis 6-1 270 5.1 College Park, GA
OL Austin Eoff 6-5 308 5.3 Fort Smith, AR
TE E.J. Epperson 6-4 225 4.5 Humboldt, TN
LB Elton Ford 5-11 205 4.5 Lithonia, GA
WR Chris Gragg 6-3 195 4.6 Warren, AR
OL Matt Hall 6-10 320 5.6 Russellville, AR
RB Dennis Johnson 5-8 180 4.4 Texarkana, AR
ATH Basmine Jones 6-0 195 4.5 Warren, AR
OL Anthony Oden 6-8 295 4.8 Indianapolis, IN
LB Jelani Smith 6-1 207 4.5 Abbeville, LA
WR Cruz Williams 6-4 206 4.4 Little Rock, AR
QB Tyler Wilson 6-3 182 4.7 Greenwood, AR
WR Jarius Wright 5-11 180 4.4 Warren, AR
LB Tenarius Wright 6-2 219 4.7 Memphis, TN
QB Jim Youngblood 6-2 217 4.5 Camden, AR

Friday, January 25, 2008

Petrino's Second Weekend


After a great weekend solidifying the foundation of his first recruiting class at Arkansas, another critical weekend is upon the new ball coach. The Great Recruiting Wall of Arkansas built by Petrino is standing tall and appears to holding strong after last weekend. Now, he will focus much of his attention on out-of-state recruits as he hosts a handful this weekend. The visiting recruits will hail from 9 states.

It's unclear how many additional commitments will come from this weekend, but it looks like at least one will come from Anthody Oden, the younger brother of the first pick of last year's NBA Draft (Greg Oden). Current Commitments visiting this weekend include OL Austin Eoff, RB Dennis Johnson, and QB Tyler Wilson. All of these young men are Arkansans, and they will lead the charge in recruiting the uncommitted visitors this weekend.

Highlighting the list of out-of-state recruits visiting are:

OL/DL J'Marcus Webb, ATH Jeremy Sanders, ATH Tramain Thomas, FB Thomas Schuler, LB Jelani Smith, S P.J. Smith, WR/DB Khiry Cooper, RB/CB Kendrick Wilson, ATH Kye Staley, WR Aaron Boyd, DL Cameron Henderson, OL Anthony Oden, DL Steven Fowlkes, DL Alfred Davis, ATH Khiry Battle, S Elton Ford, and CB Kendal Wright.

It is still unknown how the Johnson departure will affect the recruits from the defensive side of the ball, but look for Petrino to have a solid DC on board very soon. Doing so is critical as signing day is 11 days away.

Petrino Loses Assistant


Yesterday UofA Assistant Coach Ellis Johnson resigned from his post as Defensive Coordinator for the Razorbacks. Coach Johnson, a South Carolina native and former Citadel Head Coach, decided to be Defensive Coordinator for the Gamecocks shortly after receiving an offer from Coach Spurrier. This will be Spurrier's 3rd Defensive Coordinator since December. Tyrone Nix, who coached last year for the Gamecocks took a job with Coach Nutt at Ole Miss, and his replacement, Brian VanGorder, took a similar position with the Atlanta Falcons (a vacancy caused by Petrino's departure). Coach Johnson came to Arkansas after leading a solid Mississippi State Bulldogs defense and spending time leading Alabama's defense.

Look for Coach Petrino to bring in Arkansas's 3rd Defensive Coordinator since December before Monday. He should already have a short list handy since he just brought Coach Johnson to Fayetteville on January 4th of this year. With just one more weekend before signing day, hiring a top notch Defensive Coordinator ASAP will be critical for Coach Petrino.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Good Weekend


While there is no breaking news to report, all indications are that the weekend of hosting went well for Coach Petrino as he hoped to solidify the foundation of this year's class. Coach Petrino officially hosted 11 high profile prospects over the weekend and a couple are wrapping up their visits today. Most of the players were on the offensive side of the ball. With just two more weekends before signing day, look for Coach Petrino to focus on building a solid defense and stealing some blue-chippers from other schools with coaching changes.

The 11 players attending included:

De'Anthony Curtis RB - Camden, AR (committed)
Lavunce Askew DL - Camden, AR (committed)
Jim Youngblood QB - Camden, AR (committed)
Jarius Wright WR - Warren, AR (committed)
Greg Childs WR - Warren, AR (committed)
Basmine Jones WR/ATH - Warren, AR (committed)
Chris Gragg WR - Warren, AR (committed)
Cruz Williams WR - Little Rock, AR (committed)
Joe Adams WR/CB - Little Rock, AR (USC "soft" commit)
Aundre Dean RB - Katy, TX (UCLA "soft" commit)
Tenarius Wright LB - Memphis, TN ("soft" commit)

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Petrino's 2008 Schedule


Today the University of Arkansas released the Razorback's football schedule for the 2008 season. The schedule contains many intriguing matchups beyond the typical SEC rivalries. First the Hogs will renew their historic rivalry with Texas early this season in a newly renovated Darrell K Royal stadium. They'll also battle former Razorback offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn's high-powered Tulsa offense in Fayetteville. Perhaps the most interesting game of the year will come in late October when former head hog Houston Nutt and his new Ole Miss Rebel squad travels to Razorback stadium to take on his former team.

This schedule is pretty daunting for the new coach and the young players, but fans expectations will be high as ever. Many Razorback fans outside of Arkansas should have an opportunity to watch the team play on national television as many of these games are high profile and will most likely air on ESPN, CBS, or Raycom.

Sat, Aug 30 Western Illinois Fayetteville, Ark. TBA
Sat, Sep 06 Louisiana-Monroe Little Rock, Ark. TBA
Sat, Sep 13 Texas at Austin, Texas TBA
Sat, Sep 20 Alabama * Fayetteville, Ark. TBA
Sat, Oct 04 Florida * Fayetteville, Ark. TBA
Sat, Oct 11 Auburn * at Auburn, Ala. TBA
Sat, Oct 18 Kentucky * at Lexington, Ky. TBA
Sat, Oct 25 Ole Miss * Fayetteville, Ark. TBA
Sat, Nov 01 Tulsa Fayetteville, Ark. TBA
Sat, Nov 08 South Carolina * at Columbia, S.C. TBA
Sat, Nov 22 Mississippi State * at Starkville, Miss. TBA
Sat, Nov 29 LSU * Little Rock, Ark. TBA

PREDICTIONS???

New RB Recruit On The Radar


Looks like Petrino really wants to reload at the RB position as McFadden and Jones Depart. A relatively new name has emerged in Aundre Dean from Katy, TX. He is a Rivals 4 Star RB who was previously committed to UCLA until they had a coaching change. He has decided to open up his recruiting and will visit Fayetteville this weekend. This is more great news. I look forward to reporting on this weekend's events. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Petrino's Big Weekend Dance


This weekend is huge for Coach Petrino and Razorback nation. It will mark his first weekend to officially host recruits as Razorback's Head Coach.

Petrino will play host to a large number of Razorback recruits from the natural state as well as some from out of state. It will certainly be a big test for coach Petrino to show his ability to attract and retain the best football players in Arkansas.

Nearly all of the visitors are currently committed to the hogs, but Coach Petrino will need to solidify their commitments since many of them committed to Arkansas when Houston Nutt was at the helm.

Most of the visitors are on the offensive side of the ball and will likely play in skill positions (A.K.A. - STUDS in Petrino's offense). Highlighting the list of visitors is Rivals 100 RB De'Anthony Curtis* (Camden Fairview - Camden, AR). Other major recruits visiting are WR Cruz Williams (Pulaski Academy - Little Rock, AR), WR Jarius Wright (Warren, AR), and USC WR/CB commit Joe Adams (CAC - Little Rock, AR). Prized QB and teammate of Curtis, Jim Youngblood, will also visit this weekend.

If Coach Petrino is able to hold on to the 3 commitments from Camden and the 4 commitments from Warren it will be a fantastic start for him. All 7 will participate this weekend. Additionally, Petrino will host some players on the defensive side at LB and DB positions.

The list of visitors is subject to change, but as of now approximately 15 will participate this weekend. Petrino will host more recruits in the following weekends leading up to the February 6th signing day.

*pictured

Monday, January 14, 2008

Recruiting Update


It has been reported that Arkansas RB recruit Devin Thomas has withdrawn his commitment to Arkansas and may go to Ole Miss. Thomas, previously committed to Arkansas under Houston Nutt, visited Ole Miss this last weekend. This is not good news for coach Petrino, but fortunately he picked up another RB commitment this morning from Dennis Johnson of Texarkana, AR. Also, look for coach Petrino to make a move for ATH Kye Staley of Oklahoma (pictured). He could play multiple positions including RB.

Ryan Mallett Update


According to the Northwest Arkansas Times, Ryan Mallett moved into a dorm room at the University of Arkansas. The University is in the process of completing the necessary paperwork to make the transfer official.

McFadden and Jones Announce Decision


Arkansas experienced a huge loss today as two proud Razorback running backs (Darren McFadden & Felix Jones) announced their decisions to take their talent to the NFL and make millions. Many NFL draft predictions currently have both going in the first round. It is reported that they will train together in Dallas, TX.

It's a tough loss, but not one that was unexpected.

Coach Petrino is actively searching for more STUDS to replace these two. He locked up one STUD over the weekend in Ryan Mallett, and he's working hard on filling the running back position.

Potential replacements for McFadden and Jones include current Razorback running backs Brandon Barnett and Michael Smith as well as some high-school players being recruited by Coach Petrino. Current Razorback commits De'Anthony Curtis, Devin Thomas, and Dennis Johnson* will certainly be in the mix and expected to help fill the void.

*Dennis Johnson of Texarkana, AR (Razorbacks) committed to coach Petrino during a visit this morning in Texarkana.

Woo Pig!

Ryan Mallett is a Razorback

According to multiple sources, Rivals 5 Star QB Ryan Mallett has transferred to the University of Arkansas. After visiting the school and meeting with Coach Petrino late last week, he is now reported to be enrolled and attending classes today. This is big news for Razorback fans and the new ball coach. Mallett, a 6'7" QB from Texarkana, was a U.S. Army High School All-American. He transferred from Michigan after coach Lloyd Carr retired and was replaced by Rich Rodriguez.
Due to NCAA rules, Mallett will have to sit out the 2008 season. However, he will be able to participate in practices. Look for Mallett to start for the Razorbacks in 2009 after current starting QB Casey Dick graduates. He will be competing for the starting position with current Razorback Nathan Dick and Razorback commitments Jim Youngblood and Tyler Wilson.
Go Hogs!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Coach Petrino Calling The Hogs

WOO PIG SOOIEE!

The Razorbacks have a new coach in Bobby Petrino and are less than a month away from National signing day (Wednesday, February 6th).  

Looks like recruiting is beginning to take off as Rivals 5 Star QB Ryan Mallett of Texarkana could be the first big name player to join the team as early as tomorrow.  

We may lose McFadden and Jones, but Coach Petrino's offense promises to feature many offensive studs - some currently being recruited - to participate in his "Feed The Studs" (FTS) offense.

I'll do my best to keep you posted on the progress of Coach Petrino as he leads the Arkansas Razorbacks to the Promise Land.  Enjoy!