For Bobby Petrino to have success with the Arkansas Razorbacks, as well as the support of their fans, he'll need to sign two big recruits in 2010.
No doubt college football fans know that Bobby Petrino has a tough road ahead this year. After the exit of Felix Jones and Darren McFadden, the Hogs are left with, respectfully, not as much talent at running back and a young defense depleted by offseason suspensions.
But 2008 isn't the year that most Hog fans believe Petrino will be making his mark in the SEC.
With some young talent at wide receiver and transfer Ryan Mallet waiting for next year, the Hogs have some things to look forward to, but it can't stop there. Arkansas has traditionally found its niche with instate recruiting whether it was Houston Nutt or Lou Holtz, but that will change with Petrino as he has the ability to bring in out-of-state talent.
What can't happen is the Hogs losing out on some great instate talent as they did with quarterback Cody Burns and offensive lineman Lee Zeimba going to Auburn.
If Petrino wants to be successful, he'll sign the two biggest recruits coming out of a talent-rich pool that Arkansas high school football has to offer in 2010.
The first is running back Michael Dyer from Little Rock Christian. Many are already predicting him as a top five running back for the 2010 class, and some have already gone out on a limb calling him "the next Darren McFadden."
With Dyer's size at 5'10" and 205 pounds, that's probably a stretch but the small back has talent none-the-less. He is said to have field vision as good as Felix Jones and plenty of agility. Dyer, who runs a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, rushed for 2710 yards and 17 touchdowns his sophomore year at Christian, with a miraculous game of 173 yards and five touchdowns against Siloam Springs. Remember, he was a sophomore.
Also banking from a wonderful sophomore season is Pine Bluff dual-threat quarterback Claude Johnson. Johnson is also predicted as a top five guy in the dual-threat category. Like Dyer, the 6-foot, 195 pound Johnson also runs a 4.4 in the 40 and has already been rumored to be a top prospect for Oklahoma.
Johnson also finished among the top three at the Top Gun quarterback challenge in Fayetteville, a competition designed by former Arkansas offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn to give major high school quarterbacks a chance to display their skills for a number of universities.
Both have commented that Arkansas is at the top of their list with a few other schools. As mentioned, Oklahoma is looking at Johnson and Dyer has said it's probably between Arkansas and Alabama. Both have also been reported that their interest in Arkansas was higher after they hired Petrino.
As Petrino will find his talent all over, he has to land these two guys in Razorback red. It would be another hard loss, especially if both guys go to an SEC team like Burns and Zeimba, which certainly seems like a possibility with Dyer.
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2 months ago
Arkansas has succeeded for years on the recruiting philosophy of Frank Broyles. He and Bud Wilkinson of Oklahoma did the exact same thing. Get the in-state recruits and add to that base some Texas recruits because the Texas schools couldn't take them all. If Petrino can just do that, he will be considered successful...at least in the recruiting game.
from 2 months ago
True. We've always gone in-state and then dove into Texas. What will be nice about Petrino, hopefully, is that if he can get those instate guys, he has the ability to get players around the country, not just in texas. He's already grabbing guys from all over for 2009. We'll just have to see how many of them actually sign.
2 months ago
Blah blah blah... The Hogs survived losing Kodi and Lee. All BP needs to do is win.
2 months ago
Google is your friend. There's no 's' in Dyer.
from 2 months ago
Dont know how I missed it. guess I was in a hurry, thanks for letting me know though.
from 2 months ago
And you don't think those guys will help him do that? You from Ark? A lot of people were upset about not getting those guys. You cant tell me the o-line would be quite a bit better with Zeimba. Even though its solid now, it would be better with him. Didn't say we couldn't "survive". I want an SEC championship which requires players of that caliber. You get johnson, redshirt him, then you have a good looking QB situation for 4 or 5 years with Mallet already there.
Disagree if you like. Everyone has their opinions.
2 months ago
First you have to recruit the players. By my understanding Nutt didn't try to get them(Burns&Zeimba).
Under Nutt's watch we lost a lot of big in state players because they didn't want to play for him. That's how we landed Joe Adams BP took him away from USC. Adams said Nutt was the reason he commited to USC and not UofA. BP should have no trouble land the top players in ARK.
GO HOGS!!!!!!!!!
from 2 months ago
agreed, Brian
2 months ago
Michael Dyer rushed for 2,710 yards his Sophomore season.
http://www.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=72082
2 months ago
Michael Dyer rushed for 2,710 yards as a sophomore.
from 2 months ago
That's the info I read.
from 2 months ago
Gotcha. I'll make that change. Don't know what scout.com's problem was
from 2 months ago
Are the TDs wrong too?
2 months ago
PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - Stop using that ridiculous Popcorn Hog as the Razorbacks logo. Use the Running Razorback instead, that Popcorn hog is an embarrassment to the state and the University.
from 2 months ago
Sorry, man. I was in a hurry and had to use an ESPN-given logo. If I have a little time today, I'll change it. You're right. It is pretty cheesy.
from 2 months ago
Agreed. And while we're on it, I'm upset with new uniforms. Black is not a school color. We are red and white. And having your name across the front is for boys club uniforms. At least its a little smaller this time around.
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