Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

10/25/2011 at 2:20pm

Image by Mark Wagner

Quarterback Tyler Wilson will be prominently featured in Wednesday's ESPN "Depth Chart" special.

Official visits are a significant part of the recruiting process. It’s one of the few opportunities for prospective players to get a genuine feel for the campus and community, plus get a view of how a program operates on game days.

Get a recruit on the Arkansas campus and Bobby Petrino likes the chances of selling the Razorback football program. Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas have a lot to offer and the selling points don’t always translate via phone call or letter.

Perhaps TV will do Arkansas and the community justice.

This week the entire country will get a chance to see what Fayetteville and the program have to offer. ESPN airs the Razorback-centered episode of its Depth Chart series at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

It’s yet another sign that the profile of Arkansas football is on the rise. Selected for the series along with the 10th-ranked Razorbacks were defending national champion Auburn, currently ranked No. 23; No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 15 Wisconsin. Each offered a compelling storyline and Arkansas was attractive because of its growing national reputation and the prospect of replacing record-setting quarterback Ryan Mallett.

Essentially the program is a one-hour infomercial for Arkansas football in primetime. It’s a sales opportunity Petrino couldn’t pass up, even if it meant multiple cameras were chronicling practices. Allowing any film access to workouts is rare for Petrino. Keep in mind he discontinued the practice of letting local media watch the first 20 minutes of practice because he considered it a “distraction” for his players.

Asked about the process last week, Petrino said, “I didn’t think it was a distraction. I thought that they were very mature with it and handled it well. That’s about all I ever spent time thinking about was whether it was going to be a distraction for us or not.”

Petrino and the school did their best to limit the distractions. There were, of course, limitations on what could and couldn’t be filmed.

All that you’ll see on Wednesday was filmed in the week between the team’s return from the Texas A&M game and the hours following the victory at home against Auburn. Unlike other schools, the filming of the Razorbacks only happened during a game week, rather than 20 or so days over the course of a fall camp.

Limited shooting time — and the fact it was being filmed during game prep — should provide an added poignancy and authenticity to the finished product. Executive producer Vinnie Malhotra described the process of filming during game week as “a bold move.”

“We wanted to try to give as deep a perspective into that seven days between games to really show how a team in the middle of the season prepares for that big game as opposed to training camp where there is a long lead-up time,” Malhotra said. “There’s a real level of intensity that exists in what we’re trying to do with Arkansas that doesn’t exist with the other schools.”

Thanks to a couple clips that circulated online last week, we know there’s a segment that chronicles the team and quarterback Tyler Wilson passing out pizzas to students camping out for the Auburn game. There’s also a humorous exchange between Wilson and McGee on the name of a play called “Turbo Buffalo.” Wilson isn’t keen on the name, McGee explains that’s how it’s always been. Back-up quarterback Brandon Mitchell also gets some screen time, including a discussion with ESPN cameras about the lofty expectations at Arkansas.

While in the area ESPN visited Wilson’s hometown of Greenwood. They took a trip to see Tusk IV in Dardanelle and captured footage of Petrino’s weekly radio show at the Catfish Hole.

Wilson was filmed in class. There figure to be some off-field moments captured as well.

Prior to filming, Wilson seemed unfazed by it all.

“It's really just the same kind of week [as usual],” Wilson said before admitting it was “kind of a fun deal.”

McGee, a rising start in coaching, and Wilson, a potential Heisman candidate in 2012, are featured prominently. Mitchell and other players also get screen time. Compared to other schools you’ll likely see less of the head coach. Wisconsin's special, for example, included footage of Coach Brett Bielema making a smoothie for breakfast. Don’t count on similar scenes featuring Petrino.

That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Petrino seemed to grasp the real purpose here. This wasn’t about selling the world on Bobby Petrino.

Fayetteville, the University of Arkansas and Arkansas football have lots to offer. Petrino was happy to make them the focal point.

Tagged: Arkansas Razorbacks, bobby petrino , ESPN, Depth Chart, Vinnie Malhotra, Garrick McGee, Tyler Wilson