Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Asked recently about the status of the 25th scholarship for this year’s Arkansas signing class and whether the Razorbacks would be signing that last player, Coach Bobby Petrino said, “We’re always recruiting.”

And, obviously, recruiting is constantly changing if not by the minute or hour, then at least by the day.

Just 21 days ago, the people who cover this constant college football drama on a daily basis predicted that the Hogs’ 25th scholarship would go to either Chicago Semien High school offensive lineman Jordan Diamond or Arizona prep receiver Davonte Neal. Those two recruiting divas needed their own time outside of National Signing Day to make their big decisions, Neal stretching his decision to Feb. 21 and even standing up one press conference in the process.

Now, with both of those Razorback targets for the 2012 class headed elsewhere (Diamond to Auburn; Neal in ridiculously dramatic fashion to Notre Dame as of Tuesday) the attention has focused on a 6-foot-6 receiver out of Louisville, Ky., who apparently flew under the radar during football recruiting, but is flying high on the basketball court for his prep team. Mekale McKay at one point considered playing basketball for UTEP and Coach Tim Floyd, but also wants to play college football, just not for UTEP. Who can blame him?

Wouldn’t Arkansas basketball coach Mike Anderson also love to have a 6-6 player with a reported 41-inch vertical leap? All of a sudden, according to recruiting reports, Arkansas and Ole Miss are the athletic programs in the running for this Rivals 3-star player.

So, Petrino wasn’t kidding about “always recruiting.”

Nobody is joking around when they talk about recruiting being a 24/7, year-round game. While Arkansas is trying to finish its 2012 signing class, and Missouri just added a 3-star tight end to its recent 20-man signing class, soon-to-be SEC West rival Texas A&M already has 12 commitments for 2013, following up a pretty nice haul for new coach Kevin Sumlin after the calamitous way the Mike Sherman era ended in College Station. Of the 12, Rivals.com has rated only five to this point, but all command four stars.

(At this point, cue the anti-recruiting service chorus claiming those players have four stars because they chose A&M. Also, don’t worry Hog fans: According to Rivals.com, Arkansas had offered only one of the Aggies’ dozen commitments.).

Arkansas has several offers for 2013 out, but so far no commitments just one commitment: Houston-area running back Jamel James, who last year announced his plans to be a Razorback in 2013. One of the more-celebrated players from Arkansas, however, is committed to national champion Alabama — North Little Rock running back Altee Tenpenny, who didn’t play a snap during his junior season last fall.

Being as we’re just three weeks removed from national signing day, surely there’s no reason for Razorback fans to panic about the next class. Arkansas has one of its important junior days coming up March 3, and some visitor might go ahead and pull the trigger after that trip. Most Arkansas fans who follow recruiting closely are either still trying to reconcile how 21 victories in the past two years didn’t correlate into more 4-star and 5-star players in the recent class, or are holding onto the belief that Bobby Petrino does more with less, like winning with 3-star recruits. (Though let’s remember Ryan Mallett, Knile Davis, Tyler Wilson and Joe Adams, to name four Hog stars of late, were rated four stars in high school).

And yet, there’s Texas A&M with 12 commitments and apparently riding not only the momentum of hiring Kevin Sumlin with his wide-open offense, but also the interest in its July move to the SEC. And Nick Saban and his Alabama Crimson Tide have among their eight commitments landed not only Tenpenny’s pledge, but also Georgia’s No. 1 running back in Tryen Jones and 5-star linebacker Reuben Jones. The Tide is considered the odds-on favorite to capture maybe the country’s best defensive player in end Robert Nkemdiche of Loganville, Ga.

Wonder what Georgia Bulldog Coach Mark Richt is thinking about all this?