National Recruiting Blotter: Arkansas Addressing Recruiting Post-Petrino
By Kyle Kensing
Bobby Petrino’s firing at Arkansas generates questions for the Razorbacks’ short term future, specifically who will coach the talented 2012 Hogs. But the long term plans of UA football are at stake, and with more immediacy. Recruiting is a 24/7 business, so any uncertainty on a coaching staff translates to lost time on the trail.
Wide receiver Austin Bennett (Manvel High/Manvel, Texas) re-opened his recruitment in the wake of Petrino’s firing, per Scout.com. Opinions of AD Jeff Long’s actions and the absence of Petrino have varied. Yahoo! high school blog Pep Rally has a thorough breakdown of recruits’ comments on the situation.
Maintaining, if not strenghtening a pipeline into neighboring Texas for recruits like Bennett is critical for the next head coach, writes SBNation’s Wescott Eberts.
Enter Gary Patterson.
The TCU head coach has built the once non-AQ into a program knocking on the BCS door annually. Responding to his Frogs’ constant rapping was the Big 12. Now TCU is playing with the big boys, so an offer from Arkansas might not be as enticing as it once was. However, Arkansas does have much to offer. It’s a natural fit according to The Memphis Commercial Appeal‘s Ron Higgins.
Elsewhere, SEC refugee Urban Meyer continued his success luring top targets to Ohio State despite its current NCAA troubles. The Buckeyes beat out Tennessee, UCLA, Arizona State, Cal and a host of others for Rivals.com’s No. 5 ranked tight end, Marcus Baugh (J.W. North High/Riverside, Calif.). Scarlet & Game describes Baugh as having “good size for the position…[and] breakaway, playmaking speed to go with it.”
Baugh’s size is comparable to another tight end who flourished in Meyer’s offense at Florida, Aaron Hernandez.
OSU’s Big Ten rival Penn State has its own 2013 tight end locked up, the top rated player at the position in Adam Breneman (Cedar Cliff High/Camp Hill, Pa.). However, the Nittany Lions need help at defensive back, per Victory Bell Rings. Jimmie Allen of HuskerCorner.com and the recruiting site Fansided150.com ranks the Lions’ current 2013 commitments the third best collection among the Big Ten.
Speaking of Fansided150.com, the site is counting down its top 150 recruits for the 2013 class.