EDITOR’S NOTE: In an 11-part series, Saturday Down South contributor Gary Laney looks at the states in the SEC and what areas in those states produce the most players, per capita. The method was to count players who have earned at least a four-star rating from 247Sports’ composite rankings, because that ranking takes into account the rankings of all the recruiting services. We then calculate how many of these blue chip recruits each metro area has produced per capita over a five-year period from 2012-16. At the end, we’ll rank the 10 biggest hotbeds in SEC country in per capita player production.

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema has beaten LSU coach Les Miles twice in a row, and the Razorbacks have built all kinds of momentum in what has been a competitive rivalry with the Tigers.

But don’t think for a minute that LSU would want to switch places with Arkansas in recruiting bases. In beating a program like LSU, Arkansas truly did more with less.

If one wants to understand just how daunting a task it is to coach at Arkansas against SEC West rivals, look at the recruiting rankings of the last five years. Arkansas, a state of just under 3 million people, has produced 17 four-star prospects in the last five years, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

Louisiana, a state with just over 50 percent more people (4.6 million) produces more than that in a good year, with 21 prospects who were four stars or better in 2016. The Bayou State isn’t alone. All of the Razorbacks’ SEC West rivals come from states that produce far more high-level talent.

It should be no surprise that the Hogs have a geographically diverse roster, leaning heavy on Texas (something it’s been doing since the Southwest Conference days), metro Memphis, Louisiana and elsewhere. Bielema mentioned that he’ll go for smarter players as a niche to make up for what his rivals may have on the Hogs on pure physical talent.

But there is some talent in Arkansas. Where are the prospects from? Let’s look.

Note: sorted by per capita production (the “Rural/other” category was left for last):

METRO AREA SIZE PER CAPITA 5 STARS 4 STARS
Pine Bluff 94,718 1/47,000 0 2
Jonesboro 126,750 1/63,375 0 2
Little Rock 729,135 1/121,500 0 6
Fayetteville-Springdale 501,563 1/167,000 0 3
Fort Smith 279,500 1/279,500 0 1
Texarkana 43,402 0 0 0
Hot Springs 97,322 0 0 0
Rural 1,100,000 1/366,666 1 2

Three things to know

  1. Not many get away: While the Razorbacks must import impact players more than teams from other states, Arkansas has been very good at keeping the best players home with 12 of the aforementioned 17 4- and 5-star prospects opting to stay home. Four left the state and one had to go to junior college. A huge pickup was McTelvin Agim, who in 2016 became the Razorbacks’ first consensus five-star recruit since 2009 out of Hope, former president Bill Clinton’s hometown. Bielema also cleaned up in 2015, a year when the state produced a lot of four-stars (six), and the Hogs were able to land five of them.
  2. Keeping the QBs home: Arkansas made a  splash when it got former big-name recruit Ricky Town to transfer to Fayetteville from USC. But he’s not guaranteed to ever make an impact with the Razorbacks, thanks to what’s been a pretty good run of quarterbacks in the state. Austin Allen has already been pegged the starter to replace brother Brandon, now with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Both come from local power Fayetteville High. And once the Allens are done, Town will have to contend with Ty Storey, another former four-star prospect from within the state.
  3. The rare misses: So far, Arkansas doesn’t seem to be missing much from the players it has missed on. The Hogs lost 2014 four-star defensive tackle Josh Frazier to Alabama, where he has yet to make a significant impact. Alabama also swiped away 2013 four-star running back Altee Tenpenny, who eventually transferred to FCS member Nicholls State before tragically passing away in an automobile accident. Zac Brooks, a four-star 2012 running back, was a backup at Clemson and was a seventh-round draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks. K.J. Hill, a 2015 wide receiver prospect, redshirted last year at Ohio State, but the Buckeyes have high expectations for him.

Program to know

For all the importing of talent the Razorbacks must do to compete in the SEC, it doesn’t have far to go to find a lot of prospects at Fayetteville High. The Purple Dogs have won four state championships and in recent years, they have produced not only the Allen brothers, but also four-star tight end Demetrius Dean (his career never worked out at Arkansas) and four-star 2015 tight end Cheyenne O’Grady.

They said it

“I know the commish made a comment about the highest GPA, but in my three years at the University of Arkansas, we had 100 Academic All-SEC players. That’s the most in this conference over everybody. The guys we compete against, there’s a couple schools during that time in the SEC West that have had half that number. Now, they may have talented players, but that’s got to be our niche. We have to be a little bit smarter, a little bit better, play a little longer and harder than the other guy.” — Arkansas coach Bret Bielema at SEC Media Days. The Razorbacks have to seek out more players from outside their home base than most of the SEC rivals, and Bielema gave some insight on how his program tries to bridge the gap.