FAYETTEVILLE — There is nothing exact about recruiting rankings, but that doesn’t stop fans from checking daily to see where Arkansas is ranked.

Rivals. com currently has Bobby Petrino’s Razorbacks No. 17 in the nation for the Class of 2009. That’s the good news, but the bad news is there are five SEC schools ahead of them.

Arkansas has seldom, if ever in recent years, been rated that high this early. But Petrino and his staff are a bunch of tireless workers and the positive results are showing up in recruiting.

Rivals. com rates recruits from no stars to 5 stars (highest ranking possible ). Some recruits are also assigned 2 stars, 3 stars and 5 stars.

Currently, Arkansas has 18 oral pledges with one 5-star, three 4-stars and 14 3-stars.

The lone 5-star recruit is Helena-West Helena Central cornerback Darius Winston, 6-1, 180, 4. 35 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

Rivals. com rates Winston the No. 2 cornerback in the nation. Winston chose Arkansas over Ole Miss, Tennessee, Michigan and Clemson as well as many others.

On Friday, Winston was honored with a jersey and cap in a ceremony at his school as he was selected to play in the U. S. Army All-American Game in San Antonio on Jan. 3.

Winston and his team are undefeated, with only a tie against West Memphis keeping them from being perfect so far.

The 4-star recruits according to Rivals. com are Fayetteville offensive guard Colby Berna, 6-4, 280, 5. 1, Hargrave (Va. ) Military Academy offensive tackle Anthony Oden, 6-8, 295, 4. 87, and Fort Bend (Texas ) Marshall running back Knile Davis, 6-1, 215, 4. 48.

Berna is the No. 10 offensive guard nationally according to Rivals. com.

Oden is the No. 8 prep school player regardless of position. Davis is the No. 15 rated running back in the country.

Arkansas’ other recruits who are rated at their position nationally include Broken Arrow (Okla. ) offensive guard Alvin Bailey, 6-4, 300, 5. 3, No. 26 in the nation, Pulaski Academy wide receiver Neal Barlow, 6-7, 203, 4. 55, No. 75, Lafayette (La. ) Carencro athlete Ricky Johnson, 6-2, 190, 4. 37, the No. 78 wide receiver in the nation, Frisco (Texas ) Wakeland quarterback Will Secord, 6-2, 206, 4. 66, No. 33, Harrison tight end Austin Tate, 6-6, 230, 4. 75, No. 20, Kingwood (Texas ) offensive tackle Travis Swanson, 6-5, 271, 5. 2, No. 70 and Helena-West Helena Central tailback Turell Williams, 6-2, 215, 4. 52, No. 46.

On defense, Tulsa East Central cornerback David Gordon, 6-0, 170, 4. 4, is No. 31, Rockwall (Texas ) Heath inside linebacker Austin Moss, 6-2, 209, 4. 57, No. 20, Caddo Mills (Texas ) weakside defensive end Ryan Calender, 6-8, 220, 4. 8, No. 57, Lafayette County athlete Rickey Hughey, 6-5, 221, 4. 7, No. 96, Gainesville (Fla. ) defensive tackle Kevin Lowery, 6-3, 286, 5. 1, No. 88, Mandeville (La. ) safety Jerry Mitchell, 6-1 3 / 4, 198, 4. 5, No. 90, and Waco (Texas ) Reicher athlete Ross Rasner, 6-1, 197, 4. 55, No. 74.

Arkansas is still actively recruiting several players including Hoxie defensive lineman Derek Johnson, 6-3, 290, 5. 0, and Dollarway athlete Jesse Grandy, 5-11, 172, 4. 44.

Outside the state, Arkansas could be nearing oral commitments from Texarkana (Texas ) Texas High wide receiver Cobi Hamilton, 6-2, 190, 4. 54, and Muskogee (Okla. ) defensive lineman Robert Thomas, 6-1, 295, 5. 0. Johnson, who is rated a 4-star recruit, is committed to Texas, but Arkansas’ Tim Horton reportedly was in Hoxie on Friday to check on the standout defensive lineman.