FAYETTEVILLE — The rankings of football recruiting classes is always something that sparks interest from the fans, but how a team fills its needs is far more important than how the class is ranked.
Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino and his staff hit the recruiting trail hoping to add depth on offense, improve the defense and also bring in specialists to compete with the ones already on campus. It appears that Arkansas was very successful in all three regards.
It was especially important to add offensive linemen, tight ends and even wide receivers. Arkansas signed depth at running back in 2009 and then Petrino was able to add a quarterback as well.
The offensive line needs seem to have been satisfied with the additions of Pilot Point (Texas) four-star Cam Feldt, 6-5, 290 pounds, 5.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash, River Ridge (La.) John Curtis’ Luke Charpentier, 6-4, 315, 5.1, and Prague (Okla.) standout Denton Simek, 6-6, 285, 4.86. Simek signed with the Razorbacks after previously being committed to Texas Tech, but the Red Raiders weren’t finalists for him.
“I never committed to Arkansas,” Simek said. “I signed with them over Nebraska on signing day. I had decommitted from Texas Tech when all the [Coach Mike] Leach stuff went down.”
Feldt was the class’ first commitment and stayed firm despite offers from all over the country. In addition, Paris’ Charles Dement, 6-6, 285, 5.4, is a very talented walk-on recruit.
Arkansas was determined to improve its punting and kicking games, even after it appeared to suffer a major setback when Shreveport Evangel’s William Russ, 6-3, 185, pulled a late switch from the Razorbacks to Texas. But Arkansas solved that by signing Russellville’s Zach Hocker, 6-0, 175, whom a lot of Arkansas fans had hoped would be part of this class from the beginning. Cedar Hill (Texas) kicker Eduardo Camara, 5-9, 157, will compete with Alex Tejada and possibly others for kicking chores including field goals,extra points and kickoffs.
Petrino said he was pleased to add depth at tight end with Joplin (Mo.) High’s Brad Hefley, 6-5, 265, 4.86, and Little Rock Catholic’s Garrett Uekman, 6-4, 241, 4.63. Uekman caught 56 passes for 600 yards and 6 touchdowns as a senior and both are capable of playing very early for the Razorbacks.
Adding depth on the defensive line was a must, and it appears Arkansas was successful. The signatures of Junction City’s Byran Jones, 6-3, 310, 5.0, and Tulsa (Okla.) Booker T. Washington’s Calvin Barnett, 6-3, 330, 5.0 were secured on Feb. 3, signing day. Rivals.com rates both four-star recruits and rates Barnett the top player in Oklahoma.
Those two joined Monroe (La.) Richwood’s LaCraig Brown, 6-4, 288, 4.9, Hoover (Ala.) Spain Park’s Jeremiah Jackson, 6-2, 280, 4.85, and Mount Ulla (N.C.) West Rowan defensive end Chris Smith, 6-2, 230, 4.52. In addition, if tight end doesn’t workout for Hefley he could play on the defensive line as could Dallas A. Maceo Smith running back Jatashun Beachum, 6-2, 285, 4.65.
“One of the first things we looked for was defensive linemen,” Petrino said. “They’re always the hardest guys to find and they’re very important in this conference. I thought we identified some guys in that area and I thought we closed it well in the defensive front.”
Arkansas added athletes with versatility. Tulsa Washington’s Eric Bennett, 5-11, 180, 4.5, could play cornerback or wide receiver, Beachum could play any number of positions, Heber Springs’ Braylon Mitchell, 6-2 1 /2, 216, 4.65, can play running back or linebacker, Junction City’s Alan Turner, 6-0, 185, 4.5, can play on either side of the ball though he seems ticketed for safety and even quarterback Jacoby Walker, 6-2, 197, 4.59, of Spring (Texas) Westfield could play in the secondary or at wide receiver if needed.
And Petrino’s third class, like his first two classes, gets high marks for character, an attribute Petrino said his staff places a high priority on, just as it does athletic ability.
Sports, Pages 31 on 02/14/2010