Bobby Petrino, Razorbacks Seek Complete Haul on National Signing Day

Bobby Petrino was well aware from the moment he accepted the Arkansas coaching job in December 2007 that some big-time recruiting would be called for—not just in the immediacy, saving the Hogs’ 2008 signing class on such short notice, but building up all areas of the roster with his following class.

That was spelled out on the field as Arkansas barely won its two cupcake games to open the season before being slaughtered in succession by a combined 139-31 to eventual BCS bowl teams Alabama, Texas and national champ Florida. The Hogs righted themselves to eventually beat Auburn, Tulsa and LSU by a combined 11 points.

They also let three Southeastern Conference games get away by a combined seven points, with a lack of depth and skill on defense being most notable in those defeats. And, while the Hogs could count themselves lucky to have five wins in 2008, and the glass-half-full crowd came away thinking Arkansas was a handful of breaks shy of an eight-win season.

None of that changed Petrino’s and his staff’s belief that every area of the team needed addressing during this recruiting season. Paramount for the offensive-minded head coach, who ran up big scores and 41 wins in four years at Louisville, before his one-year attempt at being an NFL head coach, was finding his preferred “big” running back and adding some speed at receiver. He already had his quarterback in waiting in Michigan transfer Ryan Mallett, and eight other offensive starters return from last season.

Defense, to everyone’s eyes who watched Arkansas in 2008, was most wanting in talent, however, and the Arkansas coaching staff—based on the list of commitments leading up to national signing day—apparently targeted immediate help in the defensive backfield along with added depth for the line.

It’s not a stretch to say that when Arkansas ended the season with a 31-30 win over LSU, three-quarters of its starting defensive backfield wasn’t on campus yet but committed to playing there. With the exception of running back and receiver, Arkansas’ most impressive recruiting came in attracting speedy lock-down cornerbacks and physical safeties.

Cornerback Darius Winston, rated a five-star recruit in most circles, chose his in-state school, while Tulsa prep product David Gordon committed early the Hogs, who also added highly regarded junior college safeties Rudell Crim and Anthony Leon (a former Florida State player).

Arkansas’ most significant offensive pickups were St. Louis prep phenom Ronnie Wingo Jr. and Texas prepster Knile Davis, who spent most of his senior season injured. Both are expected to fill Petrino’s need for the big, downhill-style running tailback. Arkansas also picked up Southern Cal transfer Broderick Green, a Little Rock native, for yet another bruising and fast back.

If Arkansas’ commitments hold up through Feb. 4, the receivers corps will be bolstered by speedy Lance Ray of Havana, FL, whose athletic ability could land him on defense and special teams, and quick Cobi Hamilton from Texarkana, TX, who was pursued late by Texas.

Other needs for the Arkansas coaching staff appeared to change as the season went on, including bringing in additional help on the offensive line. Arkansas will wait until the summer to see if it can get in former LSU tackle Zhamal Thomas out of junior college.

As for high school line pickups, local product Colby Berna and Houston area player Travis Swanson committed early. Also, Alvin Bailey out of Broken Arrow, OK, is a prepster weighing at 330 pounds on a 6' 5" frame with good feet, and he turned down practically all of the Big 12 North to be a Hog.

Inside line backing was the area that got the least recruiting attention, but the commitment of Rockwall, Texas, standout Austin Moss should ease concerns there. Moss reminds some of former Hog defensive star Caleb Miller and had offers from several top programs, including Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma State.

Other highly regarded prep defensive commitments include Tulsa athlete Terrell Williams, end Colton Nash and tackle Robert Thomas.

Petrino went into this recruiting season facing one obstacle: Arkansas traditionally banks on about half it signing class coming from within the borders, but the in-state crop was significantly down this year compared with last year’s high-water market. Petrino ended up playing 16 true freshman last fall, many being products of Arkansas high schools. For the 2009 signing class, the second-year coach most will likely sign six or seven in-state players.

Two days before the national signing day, Arkansas had 32 commitments, with two players counting back to the 2008 signing class and already enrolled, including big back Davis out of Missouri City, Texas. That means the UA staff is expecting a handful of recruits to not meet academic qualifications before next August; they will be placed either in prep school or a junior college.

In the final days of the recruiting chase, Arkansas was secure in every position except for adding additional help at defensive tackle. Still, national recruiting rankings had Petrino’s second class ranked around the Top 15 nationally. Considering the few big-time prospects available within the state, most anyone familiar with Arkansas recruiting in the modern football era would consider the haul to be an enormous success.

The state’s talent pool appears to be deeper with top-tier talent for the 2010 class, but Petrino and staff have already made some headway into Texas and Louisiana for line prospects for that class, just as the 2009 players put the ink to their letters of intent.