Looking on a map, it's easy to see why we struggle to recruit consistently compared to our SEC brethren. I'd say with maybe the exception of Missouri, we have the poorest recruiting base in the league. We have DFW, northern Louisiana, and western Mississippi, but those are about 5 or so hours away. It seems that 5 hour mark seems to be a barrier to getting recruits. Bama, AU, UGA, TAMU, LSU, UF, and Tenn all have great talent within 1-4 hours of their campus. I can't imagine how much easier recruiting would be here if that were the case at Arkansas.
So the question(s) is/are, can we recruit well enough here to win the SEC and get to the playoff? How do we overcome the distance disadvantage we have with our competitors? Do we play a style that suits the players in our area, or one that will attract the best offensive talent period? Is it really a matter of getting the best recruiters and the problem is solved?
There's not doubt other things factor into success. We were a much better program before Saban got here. The coaching talent level in our division has really put a lot of pressure on us to recruit at a higher level than before IMO. We also need our own state, with areas like Ft Smith, Little Rock, PB, and NWA, to be more consistent producers of talent. Our best years at Arkansas were when we had a combination of a year or two of good recruiting with top instate talent and a western division that's not quite as competitive as it is now. I think it's possible to recruit well enough to win an SECC here once in awhile. The question is, how do we do that.
So the question(s) is/are, can we recruit well enough here to win the SEC and get to the playoff? How do we overcome the distance disadvantage we have with our competitors? Do we play a style that suits the players in our area, or one that will attract the best offensive talent period? Is it really a matter of getting the best recruiters and the problem is solved?
There's not doubt other things factor into success. We were a much better program before Saban got here. The coaching talent level in our division has really put a lot of pressure on us to recruit at a higher level than before IMO. We also need our own state, with areas like Ft Smith, Little Rock, PB, and NWA, to be more consistent producers of talent. Our best years at Arkansas were when we had a combination of a year or two of good recruiting with top instate talent and a western division that's not quite as competitive as it is now. I think it's possible to recruit well enough to win an SECC here once in awhile. The question is, how do we do that.
