The recruiting guy

Coaches use off week to check on commitments

Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema yells plays towards his team in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema yells plays towards his team in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema and his staff hit the road recruiting on Monday and will venture out to at least 11 states during the bye week.

"We'll have all 10 coaches out of the road," Arkansas Director of Recruiting E.K. Franks said. "All nine assistants plus Coach Bielema. We'll have them pretty much from California, Utah, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri."

The Hogs will hold practices today and Thursday. Each coach will visit an average of about four or five schools a day.

"Some of the coaches will hit some schools Tuesday [today] before they fly in [for practice], but for the most part they'll hit them Monday, Thursday and Friday," Franks said.

Arkansas has 14 oral commitments for the 2016 class and are looking to add a few more to the class.

"We'll see all of our commitments, that's the main focus," Franks said. "We'll see multiple guys where we have positions of need."

The Razorbacks lost senior running back Jonathan Williams to foot injury before the start of the season and have also seen receivers Keon Hatcher, Jared Cornelius and Cody Hollister go down with injuries during the early part of the season.

Bielema has previously said the Hogs will likely sign 18 to 22 prospects.

"I think that's still the number," Franks said. "The injuries this year have thrown the board off a little bit. Of course, a lot of guys that are hurt have redshirt years and get to come back as well. A lot of our numbers depends on what happens with our current guys."

Whether the injured Hogs come back is uncertain.

"Nothing has been determined and they probably won't be determined until after the season," Franks said.

A lot of planning by Franks and Assistant Recruiting Coordinator/Director of Personnel Daniel Bush and staff went into this week's recruiting efforts.

"You start two weeks out," Franks said. "It's a little different this year because you have Columbus Day on Monday. For us, some schools are closed and some that are closed, but are having practice and there are some schools that have a complete day off. So as you start to plan you have to make sure the kids are in school or they have practice."

The injured Hogs, possible transfers and early entrants to the NFL Draft will have an impact on what positions fill the remaining spots.

"That also is determined by your current guys," Franks said. "You have to recruit everybody not knowing what the three or four of the guys are going to do changes things."

ESPN ranks Arkansas' recruiting class No. 22 in the nation.

"The class is going great," Franks said. "We have the commitments that we need committed, and it's going in the direction it needs to go."

A lot went into the planning of who the coaches would see this week.

"You look at what your needs are as the recruiting class has progressed and then you reevaluate each position so you have ten guys you're watching at per position and reevaluate to determine to who they're going to see," Franks said. "That's been a huge, huge deal to try and break that down and see the guys we need to see plus we're going to see some 2017 kids in there."

Arkansas has signed multiple prospects from the same high school over the past few years. Cornerback Henre' Toliver and linebacker Dwayne Eugene hail from Metairie (La.) Rummel and the Hogs have a commitment from defensive lineman Briston Guidry for the 2016 class from the same school.

Athlete Kiel Pollard of Moultrie (Ga.) Colquitt County is the most recent commitment for the Hogs and he was a teammate of Razorbacks freshman defensive lineman T.J. Smith last season.

The Hogs will check on several prospects in different grades from the same school this week.

"You're going to recruit the school from 2016 to 2019 and some schools will just be for 2017," Franks said. "You're going to have coaches evaluate them at practice and there's actually some 2019 kids we got to see in camp, but due to injuries they're going to play on the varsity in the next couple of weeks so we'll be able to see some 2019 kids play in games versus some 2016 kids."

"You're always evaluate the next class while your watching the current class."

E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com

Sports on 10/13/2015

Upcoming Events