COBI Calls Hogs!

Woo Pig Sooie! Again! Cobi Hamilton is a Razorback! Keep the great news coming!

Wingo Chooses Red

Wingo picks Arkansas! Woo Pig Sooie!!!

Congrats Petrino!

Decision Time for Cobi?

Texarkana Wide Receiver Cobi Hamilton could select his college of choice as early as today. Petrino has a scheduled in-home visit for tomorrow, but Cobi may want to make his selection known today. While Cobi is on several teams lists with scholarship offers, he will likely chose between Arkansas and Texas. Petrino and the Razorback Nation have been after Cobi pretty much from Day 1. Texas swept in late with an offer. It is not known yet where Cobi is leaning. I will post updates.

Cobi is a 6'3" WR with great size, speed, and hands.

Petrino is also still chasing a number of Defensive linemen to round out the class. He's aiming to wrap up a couple of DTs and maybe a DE.

Decision Time For WINGO.

Today is decision day for Rivals 4 star Running Back Ronnie Wingo - Petrino's top offensive recruit for the 2009 class. All Razorback fans know who Ronnie Wingo is and what he's all about. The fans are clamoring at the possibility of seeing him in red and being the "big" back that Petrino looks for in his offensive schemes. Think Michael Bush at Louisville.Wingo will make a decision after in-home visits from his top 5 schools. On Sunday Kansas and Missouri paid a visit, and yesterday, Arkansas, Illinois, and Minnesota made their final visit. Petrino was reported being with the Wingo's around 8pm last night. Wingo will announce sometime this afternoon. His plans could change due to weather.

Hog fans have their fingers crossed.

#30 Commits

Coach Petrino received another big commitment today in Colton Nash, A Rivals 3 Star 6'6" 240 lb. 4.8 40 Defensive End from Sulphur Springs, Tx. Nash is a tall, long, strong, and athletic DE with plenty of upside on potential. While he needs to add some weight, that should not be a problem. He has plenty of room for weight gain and plenty of speed and athletic ability to take on that weight. Nash could grow into a solid defensive end with the ability to get in the backfield and disturb offenses with his height and long arms.

Hog Fans should be excited about this one. Loads of potential.

Colton chose Arkansas over Baylor, Colorado, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech. Bobby Allen is the lead recruiter on Nash. Allen also scored another big time player from Sulphur Springs in Caleb Miller who is currently playing in the league for the Cincinnati Bengals.

4 Star Becomes #29 for Petrino

Today Arkansas saw another boost to its booming recruiting class for 2009. With two weeks left to go, Razorback coaches are closing in on their final recruits, and they are all highly touted. Anthony Leon is no exception. Leon, a 6'3" 220 lb.4.5 40 safety from College of the Sequoias in California made his commitment to Arkansas known this afternoon. Rivals rates Leon a 4 star player. Defensive Back coach and Defensive Coordinator Willy Robinson, who also happened to play at the College of Sequoias, was Leon's lead recruiter. Leon played high school football in Florida and later committed to Florida State in 2006 where he played 8 games before transferring. Leon was rated the 10th best safety in the 2006 recruiting class.


This commitment makes Arkansas's defensive backfield for the 2009 class one of the strongest, if not THE strongest in Razorback history. Currently it ranks as the 2nd best in the nation by Rivals. Hog fans can and should expect much from this bunch in the coming years.

Petrino will spend the following two weeks focusing on closing out this outstanding class by targeting a very small handful of players that he wants.

This weekend, Arkansas is hosting Razorback commitment Rickey Johnson to try and solidify his commitment. Recently, he has decided to look closely at Tulsa. Petrino and other coaches recruiting Johnson will meet in Fayetteville to discuss his current status. Petrino is also hosting a potential walk-on for offensive line. David Hurd of West Monroe is the potential Offensive Lineman.

Petrino Gets #s 27 and 28

Two of Coach Petrino's top targets for the class of 2009 committed to Arkansas in recent days. Rivals 3* Tulsa, OK Athlete Terrell Williams (right) and Rivals 4* DB Rudell Crim (left) of Butler Community College in Kansas decided to join the Razorback family. This is once again great news for the incoming class that continues to get stronger each week. With Petrino's sights set on a select few players to complete this class, the suspense is building up for the final few spots. Ideally, Petrino would like to see Wingo and Cobi Hamilton announce and a couple others on the defensive line or offensive line to round out the class, and there might be room for a couple of athletes with versatility or a kicker. Unfortunately, some of these kids will not qualify so the Razorbacks hope to sign over there available slots on National Signing Day in February.

The two news:
Terrell Williams ATH 6'2" 210 4.58 3*
Rudell Crim DB 6'0" 190 4.4 4*

So far, recruits this year are most impressed with athletic & academic facilities, fans support, coaches, team atmosphere, and city atmosphere.

15 Visitors This Weekend

With just two weekends left before the NCAA National Signing Day, Petrino is working to finish out what appears to be an outstanding recruiting class for 2009. He will host 15 players this weekend. Six are already committed and the remaining nine are uncommitted, but highly interested in Arkansas.

After last weekend, Petrino received 2 new public commits and a few silent commits. I will provide updates throughout the weekend. I expect the class to grow some in the coming days as available slots fill up. While the hogs are limited in number of spots, look for the Razorbacks to over-sign because some will probably not qualify due to academics or other reasons.

The visitors this weekend are as follows:

Committed Players

TE Austin Tate, 6-6, 225, 4.75 Harrison
OT Colby Berna, 6-4, 280, 5.1 Fayetteville
QB Will Secord, 6-2, 204, 4.66 Frisco Tx
DT Robert Thomas, 6-1, 300, 4.89 Muskogee Ok
FB Jahron Brown, 6-0, 225, 4.7 Dallas, Ga
LB Austin Moss, 6-3, 217, 4.54 Rockwall, Tx

Uncommitted Players

QB Bryce Petty, 6-3, 215, 4.7 Midlothian, Tx
DT Corey Gaines, 6-0, 275, 4.8 Tallahassee, Fla.
Ath Vernon Scott, 6-0, 175, 4.5 Muskogee Ok.
DE Colton Nash, 6-6, 240, 4.8 Sulphur Springs, Tx
DE Terrance Coleman, 6-1, 250, 4.7 Mobile, Al
Ath Jesse Grandy, 5-11, 170, 4.44 Pine Bluff Dollarway
WR Billy Foster, 5-10, 170, 4.4 College of Sequoias
DT John Henderson, 6-2, 300, 4.95 College of Sequoias
S Anthony Leon, 6-4, 230, 4.42 College of Sequoias

Petrino Press Event Tomorrow

After the sudden departure of Arkansas DBs coach Lorenzo Ward to South Carolina earlier this week, many in Razorback nation were a little concerned with how the loss might impact recruits - especially top CB recruits Darius Winston and David Gordon. Gordon quickly restated his commitment to Arkansas and Winston remained quiet leaving other doors open.

However, it is reported that Darius reaffirmed his commitment today after learning of a hire that Petrino made this afternoon. While not completely official, it appears that Petrino will hire John L. Smith to fill the void left by Ward. This is a huge hire considering that Coach Smith has been the head coach for several NCAA teams including Michigan State and Louisville. Coach Petrino was Smith's protege at Louisville, and now they will now be reunited. Smith will likely help on defense, and he brings a great depth of football knowledge and is known to be a great recruiter.

Adding Smith to the Defense makes that side of the ball even tougher when you pair him up with former NFL coach Willy Robinson, who is the head of the Razorback defensive unit. It remains unclear what each coach will be responsible for, but it is clear that their resumes are loaded and they know the ins and outs of college football and what it takes to play in the League. This experience should help on the recruiting trail, in practice, and on game days.

The press conference will take place in the early afternoon on Friday.

Petrino Lands Another

Coach Petrino got great news this morning when 6'5" 220lb 4.5. 40 QB Brandon Mitchell from Amite, Louisiana committed to the Razorbacks. Mitchell enjoyed his visit to Arkansas so much that he committed less than a week later. He choses Arkansas over Michigan, Mississippi State, and others. He is a Rivals 3 star QB and a Rivals 3 star basketball player. There is a good chance he could become a dual sport athlete at Arkansas much like Matt Jones and Marcus Monk.

As a senior, he passed for 2,400 yards and 28 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions. He also rushed 116 times for 876 yards and another 14 touchdowns

Petrino Gets 1st Commit From Weekend Visitors

Coach Petrino got his first new commitment from last weekend's visitors. 6'5" 300 lb. 3 star offensive lineman Shauntez Bruce from Tallahasse, FL. Bruce chose Arkansas over Florida State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ole Miss and South Carolina among others. Bruce is a very large and versatile lineman with soft hands - he played OT and TE at his Florida high school.

This commitment should be the first of several to come in the next few days as Petrino's 09 class gets closer to filling up.

Recruits Enjoy Visit to Fayetteville

The 19 recruits visiting Fayetteville all enjoyed their visit to the University of Arkansas, and it looks like some some will become Razorbacks in the near future. Pictured is Ronnie Wingo with 5 star Razorback QB Ryan Mallett at the basketball game at Bud Walton Arena.

The weekend was highlighted with:

Dinner Friday evening at the famous Catfish Hole - several fans were present and called the hogs for recruits.

Tour of campus and facilities Saturday.

Dinner Saturday night at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium with highlight reel on Pig Screen.

Basketball game at Bud Walton. Fans held several signs asking recruits to commit.

Sunday visits with coaching staff; including Coach Petrino.

All in all, the recruits were impressed and most of them are leaning towards Arkansas. Hopefully new commits will roll in next week. The clock is ticking towards National Signing Day. Just a couple weeks to go!

The Big Recruiting Weekend

With less than a month to go until national signing day, Coach Petrino is trying to close on some major recruits that will make Arkansas's 2009 recruiting class top tier nationally. This weekend is especially important as at least 18 recruits will visit Fayetteville to tour facilities and meet with coaches and faculty. Several of the recruits visiting are currently committed while others are still open. Look for the current players, coaches and commits to really lean on the uncommitted visitors. This weekend is extremely important.

The headline visitor this weekend is Ronnie Wingo (pictured) from St. Louis. Wingo, a 215 lb. Rivals 4 star RB who runs a 4.4 40, is Coach Petrino's darling. Petrino has courted Wingo all year long explaining his need for Wingo as the "big" back in his offensive system. Petrino paid an in-home visit with the Wingo's earlier this week, and the whole Wingo family will visit the UA this weekend. Given Wingo's high profile as a Razorback recruit, it is very unlikely that he will go unnoticed on his visit to Arkansas. Fans are crazy about this kid.

Also of interest this weekend is the Arkansas vs. Mississippi State basketball game at Bud Walton Arena. With the Razorbacks on a roll after beating OU and Texas in a weeks time, look for The Bud to be rocking once again with 20,000 hog wild fans. The game tips off at 7pm central on Saturday and recruits will attend.

The Following is a list of visitors already committed to Arkansas:

WR Neal Barlow, 6-6 1/2, 200, 4.55 Pulaski Academy 3*
OL Alvin Bailey, 6-4, 320, 5.2 Broken Arrow, Okla. 3*
DE Ryan Calendar, 6-8, 230, 4.8 Caddo Mills, Tx. 3*
CB David Gordon, 6-0, 180, 4.4 Tulsa East Central 3*
CB Darius Winston, 6-0, 175, 4.38 Helena-West Helena 5*
S/RB Turell Williams, 6-2, 215 4.6 Helena -West Helena 3*
S/LB Ross Rasner, 6-0, 205, 4.5 Waco, Tx. Reicher 3*

Uncommitted visitors are as follows:

Ath. Brandon Mitchell, 6-3, 215, 4.5 Amite, La.
DE Alex Williams, 6-5, 215, 4.6 Tallahassee, Fla. FAMU 3*
DB Rudell Crim, 5-11, 180, 4.37 Butler C.C 4*
OL/DL Shauntez Bruce, 6-5, 300, 5.1 Tallahassee, Fla. Lincoln 3*
WR Cobi Hamilton, 6-3, 200, 4.52, Texarkana, Tx. 3*
DT DeQuinta Jones, 6-3, 275, 4.8 Bastrop, La. 4*
RB Ronnie Wingo, 6-3, 212, 4.41 St. Louis University HS 4*
OL Percy Taumoelau, 6-4, 300, 5.2 Salt Lake City Cottonwood 2*
DT Keni Kanfusi, 6-3, 280, 4.8 Salt Lake City Cottonwood 3*
OL Aubery Phillips, 6-6, 310, 5.2 Olive Branch, Ms. 3*
LB Terrell Williams, 6-3, 215, 4.6 Tulsa Union 3*

A Tribute to the 2008 Season

by EDSBS.com