STRAIGHT FROM ANDY'S MOUTH: Not Recruiting Top 10 Classes Means You Won't Finish There
We hear these arguments over and over.
"Stars and recruiting rankings don't matter," we're told by teams that don't finish high there.
That's making an excuse for failure to land a top-ranked class by pointing out occasional exceptions to the rule.
Arkansas may be the poster child for that.
The Razorbacks just wrapped up what many feel is a solid recruiting class. It is No. 19 in the country in the latest SI All-American rankings and No. 20 in the 247Sports composite poll of all the rankings.
All of that is fine and well, but the overall really doesn't matter because to compete for a championship you have to deal with the SEC West.
And the Hogs are fifth or sixth there and that is a problem. History shows if you aren't consistently recruiting in the Top 10 you aren't going to finish there when it matters.
Recruiting in the Top 10 doesn't guarantee you'll finish in the playoff, but it's pretty much a rock-solid guarantee you won't be there if you're outside it ... especially playing in the SEC West.
The transfer portal makes it almost impossible to build a program that is consistently playing for a championship in late November recruiting at that level. It's hard to develop players for 2-3 years and not have them leave for somewhere they can play immediately.
Some fans don't think about football championships anymore. They gave up on that almost a decade ago.
If you remember, that's when Bobby Petrino's best teams won 10 games ... and still finished third among SEC West teams in the final polls.
Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Images
Texas A&M has passed Alabama and Georgia in the rankings after the early signing date. The final rankings won't be done until after the last signing date in February.
The Aggies figured out a way to beat the Crimson Tide ... once. Now they have to do it again if they want to win a title.
Now Sam Pittman has that barrier to climb along with beating Auburn more than once in the last several years.
Matt Bush/USA TODAY Images
For the Hogs to have a shot at winning a championship, beating the M-schools (Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Missouri) are a requirement every year. They have to beat Alabama once in awhile and Auburn most of the time, too.
Planning for the future is now a requirement, too. Coaches will say they aren't looking down the road to Texas and Oklahoma joining the league, but schools like Arkansas have to do that.
Texas running back Bijan Robinson (5) outruns Louisiana cornerback AJ Washington (16) in the second half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Scott Wachter, USA TODAY Images
The Longhorns rounded up a Top 5 class after not making a bowl game (so much for the not winning killing recruiting) and the Sooners are rising quickly in the rankings with a new coach just being hired.
The Hogs are getting better players. That's not in doubt. The formula for top-level competitiveness has
But can they figure out how to play for a championship?
Somewhere that has to figure into paying a coach championship-caliber money like the current negotiations Hunter Yurachek is having.
Because if winning is not a factor, well, it's simply a public relations move.
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