These 2010 Hogs did much for the program. With a 10-3 record and BCS bowl appearance, they seemed to have put the final sealant on a fan base that was severely fractured by the end of the Houston Nutt era. They became well-oiled cogs in Coach Bobby Petrino’s precise machinery, churning out yards with wondrous facility.
These cogs, though, move on.
Fans carve places in their hearts for the best of them, and hope they are immediately replaced by equal or better parts next season. As Arkansas develops into a perennial national power, a higher percentage of its players will decide to cash in on their talents before their senior years. This is fine. Three years seems a reasonable window of opportunity to allow players the caliber of Alabama’s Julio Jones or Auburn’s Nick Fairley to hoist their teams to the top.
One hopes those making the jump do so off platforms of accurate information, not the flimsy fawning of fans, friends and family.
This is where the NFL College Advisory Committee steps in.
The scouts and NFL employees comprising this body serve as a terminal through which underclassmen considering entering the NFL Draft can better route their futures. Based on film and live game study, committee members assess the on-field strengths and weaknesses of players who have submitted paperwork to them.
They then offer feedback putting those players in one of five categories: capability of being drafted as high as the first round, as high as the second round, or third round, or in rounds four through seven or not at all, according to Greg Gabriel of the National Football Post website. Gabriel has served on the NFL College Advisory Committee, according to a December article he wrote in the Post.
At least six Razorback juniors have submitted paperwork to the committee, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Most will receive information that convinces them to stay in Fayetteville. But approximately 50 of the 140-150 underclassmen who annually submit paperwork declare for the draft, according to Gabriel.
Chances are more than one of the following players will, too:
1) Ryan Mallett (6-foot-6, 238 pounds) — He’s undoubtedly gone. With good reason — what other SEC quarterback has broken 39 school or stadium records within his first two seasons?
If he stayed, his senior season would be seen as a disappointment barring an SEC Championship and spot in the BCS National Championship game. It’s evident from the outpouring of gratitude online for Mallett after his declaration that already the pain from his interception at the end of the Sugar Bowl has receded. Most of Hog Nation deeply appreciates his decision to stay for the 2010 season and his enthusiasm through it all. Most major mock NFL Drafts have pegged him going anywhere from No. 6 to Cleveland to No. 16 to Jacksonville.
2) Joe Adams (5-foot-11, 190 pounds) — The Little Rock native was the sole Razorback who filed paperwork with the advisory committee who didn’t tell the Democrat-Gazette in a Jan. 2 article he intended to stay for his senior season. Adams put together a career-best 50-catch, 813-yard season and it’s doubtful he will have a better senior season with the departure of Mallett, emergence of a more run-heavy scheme behind Dennis Johnson and Knile Davis and the likely return of lead receiver Greg Childs from injury. He has NFL-level speed (4.43 second 40-yard dash according to NFLDraftscout.com) and elusiveness, but lacks size. No mock NFL Draft has him going in the top two rounds for 2011, but it’s doubtful he would go any higher next year. NFLDraftscout.com ranks him as the nation’s 44th-best college receiver.
The following juniors said in a Jan. 8 Democrat-Gazette article they will likely return:
3) Jarius Wright (5-foot-10, 180 pounds) — Smaller and slower (4.48 second 40-yard dash) than Adams, he is less likely to jump into this year’s draft. Wright had a career-best 42 receptions and 788 yards this season. NFLDraftscout ranks him as the nation’s 91st-best college receiver.
4) Jake Bequette (6-foot-5, 270 pounds) — The Little Rock native had a career-high seven sacks this past season, but had 32 tackles after notching 39 in 2009. He was credited with two tackles in the last two games of the season. Still, his early departure could be devastating for a defensive line that lacks depth and will sorely need his leadership next season. With added strength, quickness and focus, he could easily raise his draft stock for 2012. NFLDraftscout.com pegged him as the nation’s eighth-best defensive end.
5) Jerry Franklin (6-foot-1, 241 pounds) — After racking up 6.5 sacks and a career-best 100 tackles, the team’s lead linebacker is primed to take down the school’s record for career tackles next season. Like Bequette, he is one of the most essential players in a position where Arkansas hasn’t yet developed elite depth. His NFLdraftscout.com ranking as the third-best inside linebacker shows it. Still, with the national exposure Arkansas is reaping, he could very well be an All-American next season and boost his 2012 draft stock into the middle rounds.
6) Tramain Thomas (6-foot-0, 198 pounds) — Thomas burst onto the national scene against Texas A&M, when he notched seven tackles, two fumble recoveries and an interception to seal the win. While racking up a career-high 83 tackles and four interceptions, he helped the Razorbacks evolve into the nation’s 18th-best pass defense. He finished with 12 tackles against Ohio State, and his NFLDraftscout.com ranking — 36th-best free safety as of Dec. 12 — will likely rise.
Underclassmen must submit their names for inclusion into the draft by Jan. 15.