Hog Fans!
Welcome to HawgBeat.com, the newly remodeled Arkansas site from the Rivals Network. My name is Nikki Chavanelle, the new managing editor, and I come to you by way of the SMU Rivals site. I couldn’t be more excited to begin covering the Hogs and engaging with the incredible community of Arkansas fans that have assembled on the Rivals network.
I was recently offered the opportunity to relocate to Fayetteville, Arkansas, from Dallas, Texas, and it was simply the easiest choice I’ve ever made. I kicked off my career as an intern covering SMU for Rivals.com, becoming an official site reporter after the Mustang’s 1-11 season that sent June Jones packing.
I was then promoted to site publisher, covering Chad Morris’s three years on the Hilltop and all of the top high school football prospects across the talent-rich state of Texas. In those years, I constructed relationships with a multitude of prospects and coaches across the state, and of course, with the Razorback football staff that moved from Dallas just a few months ago.
I will be the site lead on Razorback recruiting, providing you the most accurate and informed updates and analysis. The recruiting spring evaluation period is in full swing, so I’ll pick up right where the old staff left off with the latest on prospects receiving visits from Chad Morris' staff, monitoring the staff as they make their spring tours, and staying up on the latest regarding who will be making it to the Hill for the final two official visit dates this spring and beyond.
But I’m definitely not going to be a lone wolf on the hunt. HawgBeat will also be providing can't-miss coverage of basketball, hoops recruiting and expert baseball coverage by former Hawgs247 writer Andrew Hutchinson. “Hutch” has already made a name for himself as a Razorback reporter, historian and statistician, so he was a no-brainer addition to the new HawgBeat staff. Hutch is a Northwest Arkansas native, a Razorback alum and he’s been on the beat since his time at the Traveler.
Our third team member, Greg Powers, recently departed 247Sports in his role as a national recruiting analyst and will bring all his connections and 15 years of recruiting coverage experience to HawgBeat.com. Covering Arkansas is not new to Greg, who served as the Arkansas recruiting writer for Hawgs Illustrated from 2006-2007, so the lay of the land is something he is familiar with. Greg’s expertise will give you the most in-depth analysis of recruits out there including strengths, weaknesses, stats and quotes from their high school coaches. There’s not a coach or recruit that Greg, Hutch or myself can’t get ahold of and we’re excited to work our tails off to bring you all the coverage you could want and more.
Our staff will also cover other sports, providing you with the most authentic, informative coverage of Arkansas sports.
Here are some of the perks when you sign up for a HawgBeat membership:
—Inside scoop and breaking news as it happens
—In-depth recruiting reports on prospects pursued by the Razorbacks
—Exclusive recruit footage and video features
—Comprehensive coverage of practice, photos and videos
—Exclusive player interviews, features and practice reports
—Access to Rivals' recruiting database and prospect's photos, videos and more
—Recruiting rankings of all teams and players
—Chats with HawgBeat staff and Rivals recruiting experts
—Wall-to-wall coverage throughout the season and offseason
—Opportunities to win game tickets, memorabilia and more
We want this to continue to be your site, and if you have any new suggestions on things you would like to see moving forward, feel free to email me at
nikki@hawgbeat.com. Rivals may own the content, and we may own the domain, but make no mistake about it—this is your site and we are simply here to serve you.
This is the start of a new era and we can’t thank you guys enough. Stay glued to the site all day long to get a big taste of just about every type of coverage you can expect from the HawgBeat team in the future.
Don’t forget to follow us on twitter
@HawgBeat,
@nikkichavanelle,
@NWAHutch and
@gpowers79!
Go hogs!
- Nikki, Hutch and Greg
