Chris Low, for ESPN.com
At every school in the SEC, the recruiting challenges are different.
Early commitments are the rage right now around the country. As we pointed out earlier today in the SEC recruiting scorecard, Alabama already has 12 commitments and LSU 11 commitments for the 2011 class.
Arkansas, meanwhile, has just six, and coach Bobby Petrino has found that being patient works best for the Hogs.
“I think my experience at Louisville has really helped here,” Petrino said. “It’s kind of the same dynamic. There’s only so many Division I players in the state, and then you have to leave and go across state lines and find players and be able to battle and be patient.
“That’s one of the keys here, being patient and letting some of the recruiting play out and not getting caught up in the early commitments and the other schools having this many guys committed already and who’s rated where. When you have to cross borders, it’s going to take longer. You’re not going to get all those early commitments.”
Petrino said the biggest challenge the Hogs face in recruiting is getting prospects on campus in the spring and summer.
“We have a lot more players in the state of Arkansas this year, and that will help us,” Petrino said.
Petrino has never been consumed with where a player is rated by the analysts, choosing instead to trust in his own evaluations. Only one of the Hogs’ six commitments for the 2011 class is an ESPNU 150 Watch List member. Moreover, the Hogs’ 2010 class was not ranked in the Top 25 nationally by ESPN’s Scouts Inc.
Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said the only ranking that matters is the one three and four years later after the players have been in the program for a while.
“You win games by the development of your players once you get them on campus,” McGee said. “When you sign them, they’re nothing but great high school players, and at that point, the development begins. You see how the kid’s going to fit into your campus, fit into your program, fit into your philosophy, how fast can he learn and understand the game and how fast it’s played.
“There are a lot of things that go on before that big-shot freshman runs out there and makes big things happen.”
