Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

2/9/2012 at 9:44am

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Arkansas has made great strides under Coach Bobby Petrino. A SEC title would help Petrino and his staff close on big-name prospects in the future.

Arkansas has completed its 2012 recruiting class, barring a late addition coming onto the recruiting radar.

The Razorbacks have one scholarship left after signing 24 prospects on National Signing Day. Paradise Valley (Ariz.) Chaparral 4-star wide receiver Davonte Neal holds an offer from Arkansas, but if he goes anywhere but Notre Dame it will likely be a surprise. It would be an even bigger surprise if he came to Arkansas if he doesn't opt for South Bend.

Arkansas signed a class that is at its customary spot in the bottom half of the SEC recruiting rankings. According to 247Sports, the Razorbacks signed the No. 27 class in the nation. That places them 10^th in the SEC if you count Texas A&M as an SEC team. That left Arkansas ahead of only Missouri, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Ole Miss.

Arkansas hasn't really won the recruiting rankings since joining the SEC. However, the Razorbacks have been a Top-15 team the past two years in the final football polls including No. 5 following the 2011 season. It seems fair to say Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino's recruiting classes have been better than the recruiting services have rated them.

However, where the recruiting gurus ranked this year's class wasn't the biggest complaint many had when the class was finalized. The most vocal complaint has been about Arkansas' inability to close on many of the prospects at the end.

The Razorbacks did close well on Covington (La.) 4-star linebacker Otha Peters, who had committed to Tennessee but flipped to Arkansas following an official visit Jan. 27-29. However, fans had hoped to land some of the heralded Jan. 20-22 group of visitors that included such standouts as Springfield (Mo.) Hillcrest 5-star wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham and Chicago (Ill.) Simeon 4-star offensive tackle Jordan Diamond.

During the Jan. 20-22 weekend the Razorbacks hosted 18 recruits. Among those, half were committed to Arkansas prior to the visit. However, Owasso (Okla.) 4-star wide receiver Keon Hatcher, though committed to Arkansas, had visited Oklahoma State the previous weekend and reaffirmed his commitment following the Arkansas visit.

That left nine recruits visiting that weekend that weren't previously committed to the Razorbacks. Arkansas also hosted Glendale (Ariz.) Community College 3-star wide receiver Demetrius Wilson, Louisville (Ky.) Trinity 3-star offensive lineman Joe Warburg, Van (Texas) 4-star linebacker Dalton Santos, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Gibbs 4-star cornerback Gary Simon, Marietta (Ga.) Lassiter 4-star safety Kenny Orjioke and Spring (Texas) Dekaney 5-star running back Trey Williams.

Of those nine visitors, Arkansas signed Wilson. Orjioke was committed to UCLA prior to the visit and stayed with the Bruins while Williams was committed to Texas A&M and signed with the Aggies. Green-Beckham opted for Missouri, Warburg switched his commitment from Illinois to Purdue, Santos opted to switch from Tennessee to Texas, Simon signed with Oklahoma and Diamond chose Auburn. As previously noted, Neal hasn't signed with any school yet.

Arkansas has won 21 games the past two seasons, gone to a BCS bowl game, won the Cotton Bowl and is expected to be among the top-ranked teams next season. While many felt those were credentials that should have allowed the staff to close better in recruiting, I think that deserves a closer look.

I think the fact Arkansas has won 21 games in two seasons, been ranked high and gone to a BCS game is what got them in the door with many of the nation's top prospects. However, I think Arkansas needs to add an SEC Championship to its resume before it can expect to close on its share of the 4- and 5-star recruits it has been on nationally.

Arkansas has made unbelievable strides under Petrino and gone to heights few envisioned in four years, but the fact remains the Razorbacks still aren't viewed as favorably nationally as they are locally. Arkansas, despite its lofty ranking in the final polls, still finished third in the SEC West. Arkansas lost both its featured games at LSU and Alabama in blowouts. Those were the two best teams in the nation and the Razorbacks had to play both on the road.

That is where the 2012 season comes into play. Arkansas will get both Alabama and LSU inside its state borders. In 2010, Arkansas suffered a close loss to the Crimson Tide in Fayetteville and beat LSU in pretty convincing fashion in Little Rock. However, that season Auburn was led by freak quarterback Cam Newton and won the national title. Auburn wasn't expected to be as good as it  was, but Newton went on to win the Heisman Trophy and prove to be one of the best players in college football in recent memory. Newton then left after one season and was the top pick in the NFL Draft.

In the Western Division of the SEC alone, Auburn, Alabama and LSU have won recent national championships and Petrino hopes to add Arkansas to that list next season. If Arkansas wins the SEC, something that hasn't been done since the Razorbacks joined the conference, it will almost certainly get a chance to play for the national championship. If Arkansas accomplishes that, it can expect some of these star-studded recruits start to come its way at the end.

With all that said, I don't think this was a bad recruiting class at all. The Razorbacks signed six, 4-star recruits according to 247Sports. When one mixes this class with the others recruited by Petrino, I think it fits in well. Getting Peters at the end was big and also having Prichard (Ala.) Vigor defensive tackle Darius Philon fall Arkansas' way was also a nice boost.

Philon was due to sign with Alabama, but when the Crimson Tide asked him to wait a semester and enroll in January 2013, he declined and switched to the Razorbacks just over an hour before Petrino met with the media Feb. 1.

Arkansas' Steve Caldwell had been recruiting Philon for a few weeks and also the Razorbacks signed his teammate JaMichael Winston. Winston committed to Arkansas earlier in the season, but then visited Clemson and Michigan State the two weeks leading to National Signing Day. Winston not only stayed with Arkansas, but also helped recruit Peters and Philon to Fayetteville with him.

I think sometimes people dwell too much on who a school didn't get instead of who they did sign. I think when the dust settles on the recruiting hype and ranking, this will be a class that once again helps Arkansas compete for the top spot in the SEC. Arkansas has been moving closer and closer to an SEC title under Petrino. The team has gone from five victories in Petrino's first season to eight in his second, 10 the third year and then 11 last season.

If Arkansas gets over the hump and wins the SEC in the next season or two one can almost rest assured many of the names it released by on Feb. 1 will play a key role in that title run.

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Otis Kirk is the dean of Arkansas recruiting writers and has covered high school recruiting for more than 30 years. His "Recruiting 360" column appears online at ArkansasSports360.com every Thursday, and his features and message board posts regularly can be found at the premium website Hawgs247.com , a member of the 247Sports Network.

Tagged: Alabama Crimson Tide, Darius Philon, Otha Peters, Dorial Green-Beckham, Devonta Neal, LSU Tigers, Auburn Tigers, Bobby Petrino, Arkansas Razorbacks