Hogs sign third-ranked baseball recruiting class
FAYETTEVILLE — Once again, Arkansas has recruited some of the best baseball talent in the nation to help fill next year’s roster.
Those new players have helped the program garner a top-three ranking by a national baseball magazine.
This year’s crop of new Razorbacks is one of the best in recent years as Baseball America ranked Arkansas’ 2018 class as No. 3 in the country earlier this week and the third highest of any team from the SEC.
The Razorbacks’ class, which consists of 15 players, all freshmen, was also ranked No. 3 by Perfect Game.
This is the seventh time in the last nine years Arkansas’ recruiting class has been ranked in the top 25 by Baseball America, fifth in the top 15. It’s also the second time since 2015 that Arkansas has had a top-five class.
The rankings are based on players who enroll at school each fall. Athletes who initially signed letters of intent with a school but then sign a pro contract after being drafted do not count in the overall evaluation.
Seven players in this year’s class were selected in the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and five of those players decided put their pro careers on hold to attend the University of Arkansas.
Right-hander Caleb Bolden (Texarkana, Texas) was picked by Tampa Bay in the 16th round, right-hander Bryce Bonnin (Baytown, Texas) was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 26th round, outfielder Heston Kjerstad (Amarillo, Texas) was taken in the 36th round by the Seattle Mariners, catcher Casey Opitz (Centennial, Colo.) was picked in the 27th round by the Cleveland Indians, and outfielder Cole Turney was selected in the 34th round, also by the Indians.
Including the five draftees, six of the incoming players participated in prestigious high school events such as the Perfect Game National Showcase, the Area Code Games and the Under Armour All-America Game at Wrigley Field.
Along with its top rankings from Baseball America and Perfect Game, Arkansas is expected to have a high class ranking from D1Baseball.com and Collegiate Baseball, which are set to come out later this fall.
O’Grady on growing up with Greenlaw, improving
Hogs tight end Dre Greenlaw met with the media Thursday and talked about growing up in Fayetteville with Dre Greenlaw and getting better.
Allen on mistakes against Frogs, getting better
The Razorbacks’ quarterback was open about mistakes against TCU and what is being done to correct the errors.
Greenlaw talks about his performance against TCU
Arkansas linebacker Dre Greenlaw met with the media Thursday and talked about his game against the Horned Frogs.
Bielema is meeting expectations, if you listen closely
Razorback fans are not happy.
Following Arkansas dismal performance in a 28-7 loss to TCU, the Razorback faithful are besides themselves trying to figure out how many of the problems of past Bret Bielema teams have resurfaced in year five.
There is nothing wrong with being torqued off when your favorite football team lets you down. Contrary to what the coach says, it’s probably even therapeutic to “let it all out” and vent your frustrations rather then bottle them in and let them fester.
However, some Hog fans want a change at the top. They either want Long fired or Bielema fired or both on the first train out of Fayetteville.
They aren’t going anywhere.
Why?
Because all of us normal people out here across the state are looking at the wrong scoreboard.
Long works for the board of trustees, which is largely made of academics. There is no Jim Lindsey or John Tyson or anyone powerful or passionate about Razorback athletics on the board right now.
All the board wants Jeff Long to do is keep the revenue machine rolling, graduate athletes and prepare them for the real world. He is doing that.
Rarely if someone is meeting expectations do they get asked to leave. Long is keeping Arkansas athletics out of the negative, off the field headlines, which is his main job. So he isn’t going anywhere.
What about Bielema?
Long has stated many times that grades and having good young people off the field is the most important thing to him. He then will throw in a casual “well we want to win more than anyone,” but it’s obvious to any Razorback observer that is not the main priority.
With Bret Bielema, he has a coach who graduates his players, brings in quality character guys, and doesn’t embarrass the University off the field.
How exactly is that coming short of his bosses’ expectations?
Once you figure out what the real goals are, it all makes sense.
I am sure Bielema wants to win more than anyone, but it has to make you very comfortable knowing that it is not the main thing your boss cares about. He isn’t living and dying with your W-L record.
Frank Broyles used to say he never wanted his coaches to be comfortable because they would not as effective coaching their teams. He always wanted coaches he hired to be on edge because he knew he would get more out of them.
Long never puts Bielema on edge and the results we are getting are what happens when you have a $15 million buyout and you are comfortable.
Should Bielema shoulder responsibility for TCU loss?
Based on Wednesday’s press conference, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema didn’t say the one thing many expected him to say.
Not once did he mention it was his responsibility for the 28-7 loss to TCU.
In fact, between Bielema, offensive coordinator Dan Enos and defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, only a couple of times did they came close with one sentence.
“We just need to do what we do better as coaches and players,” Bielema said.
“We’ve got to play better,” Enos said, “and coach better.”
For many of the Razorback fans, that last one is maybe more important than the first.
• COMPLETE BIELEMA PRESS CONFERENCE
• COMPLETE ENOS PRESS CONFERENCE
• COMPLETE RHOADS PRESS CONFERENCE
You can watch the video and draw your own conclusions, but the Bielema that stepped up to the microphone Wednesday was defensive, talked in coach-speak and never once took responsibility for the embarrassing loss.
As one media wag said later, “I was halfway expecting to hear ‘SMILE!’ come out of his mouth,'” a reference to a famous John L. Smith press conference in 2012.
That didn’t happen, but it was a strange press conference.
It was as close to throwing the assistants under the bus for the Razorbacks that I can recall since Lou Holtz pitched defensive coordinator Don Lindsey there after a loss to SMU in 1983 and backed it over him.
The most often-quoted stat over the past few days has been pointing out the Hogs have been outscored 70-0 in the second half against their last three big boy opponents.
And, yet, Bielema at one point basically threw it back at those saying negative things about the team.
“Understand, we all want to be successful,” he said wrapping up Wednesday’s press conference, his first appearance since Saturday. “Today’s world is mean. It’s just what it is. I don’t think it makes our players react any way. It probably unites.
“I don’t think people realize how much it means for an 18 to 21-year-old kid to get support. In today’s world it’s just so different. Support is not something that’s very common.
“I just look out for people’s well-being, too. I mean, Christ Almighty, if you sit there and scream bloody murder about how bad you suck, you’re going to carry that in your personal life. I feel bad for them.
“If they sat there and said, ‘Let’s go Hogs!’ they might feel better. Might have better blood pressures and better color. When you get your face red from screaming it’s not a good thing.
“Less negative, more positive might work for everybody.”
I put all that in there so you don’t miss it. Yes, you actually have an SEC coach asking the fans to be positive cheerleaders.
That doesn’t sound like a coach confident about the future.
Bielema has repeatedly asked for patience, said this is his fifth season and it’s time to produce, has said it’s time to raise the bar. The request seems to change with the score of the last game.
Some of the sports radio callers have listened, like Sterling from Center Ridge, who was advocating Wednesday that fans get behind Bielema and give him at least a couple of more years.
The only flaw in that reasoning is that it doesn’t take that long to see what you have with a coach and his program.
If you think it takes five years, well, then you haven’t been paying attention to the world of college football over the last decade.
You have a pretty good idea in three years, four at the most.
Don’t believe it?
Mike McIntyre took over a Colorado team in 2013, the same year Bielema came to Fayetteville.
Last year they won 10 games and were in the Pac 12 championship game. Don’t tell me he inherited a better situation there than what Bielema got.
The Buffaloes had won exactly one game the year before. Three the year before that. Four wins in two years.
Bielema inherited a team that a couple of national folks predicted would be in the BCS Championship Game and were legitimate contenders to challenge Alabama and LSU in the SEC West.
That was AFTER Bobby Petrino flew through the handlebars between Fayetteville and Elkins.
That team won four games. Bielema wanted to change the culture to a ground-and-pound running attack, and vowed to bring an SEC Championship to Arkansas. I was there the night he said it at Bud Walton Arena and everybody in the place wanted to believe.
The thought then was he better have some sort of secret formula because for that to work in the SEC West, because he was going to have to have better athletes than Alabama and LSU if he was going to win.
We got a clue when the Hogs were embarrassed on homecoming by South Carolina that first season and Steve Spurrier said afterwards that, “Bret’s just gonna have to recruit his way out of this and get better players.”
Not smarter. Not better citizens.
Better players.
Are we seeing now that he isn’t able to get enough to do what he wanted and, in fact, has the program headed downhill at what appears to be a staggering rate?
All of which is why the Texas A&M game is big.
Maybe the biggest of the season.
