Going all in on an unsure thing is as risky as it gets.

With the decommitment of 4-star receiver K.J. Hill, the University of Arkansas fan base let out a collective groan seeing its potential savior at the receiver position verbally give it the stiff-arm.

Hill was thought of as the final piece to a talented team with designs on flipping the western division of the Southeastern Conference on its head behind a physical brand of offensive and defensive football that is tough for any team to deal with.

College football’s version of the Seattle Seahawks, which is a comparison of scheme and playing style, is seemingly one receiver away from being, perhaps, the premier team in an uber-stacked division — at least as it pertain to the thought-pattern of the Arkansas faithful.

While Hill will undoubtedly be an impact player wherever he goes, and it still may be Arkansas (more on that later), it’s suffice to say he may not have made an immediate impact on a team full of talented upperclassmen, anyway.

This season comes down to several things: reaping the benefits of the continued development of quarterback Brandon Allen and receiver Keon Hatcher, and finding suitable replacements for the “Bermuda Triangle,” linebacker Martrell Spaight, 6-technique Trey Flowers and versatile interior lineman Darius Philon.

Hill Fallout/Hatcher Prospects

It’s hard to blame supporters of the Cardinal and White for feeling a complete letdown behind the fallout of the Hill situation. For a couple of years, the North Little Rock high school product has been the apple of the collective eye of a fan base that knows its team needs to get more explosive on the edges to take the next step offensively.

The 6’1″, 192-pound Hill looked as if he would join the list of a school that has had some serious talent on the edges in recent memory: Marcus Monk, Greg Childs, Joe Adams, Jarius Wright and Cobi Hamilton.

But are fans expecting too much from a scheme that has primarily dominated in the short-to-intermediate game by way of “12” and “22 personnel?”

In all of Arkansas’ head coach Bret Bielema’s time as the University of Wisconsin coach, how many receivers actually made a name for themselves? Some guys named Jared Abbrederis and Nick Toon were the most notable receivers during Bielema’s time in Madison.

While both Toon and Abbrederis at least had the chance to be drafted, by the New Orleans Saints (4th round) and Green Bay Packers (5th round), respectively, neither were as impactive as tight ends Owen Daniels, Garrett Graham, Lance Kendricks and Travis Beckum.

And that’s not to mention Bielema’s system is running-back centric as he’s made stars out of countless ball-carriers in his career.

But if fans are looking for an explosive threat to take advantage of a dominating rushing attack, and a mid-range game led by the most talented tight end in college football, junior Hunter Henry, Keon Hatcher, a rising senior, has all the tools to be a viable threat for the Hogs.

At 6’2″, 210 lbs, running a reported 4.5 40-yard dash, Hatcher has shown flashes of being everything the Razorback faithful hoped to get from Hill. The thing is, he hasn’t had consistent quarterback play for the majority of his time in an Arkansas uniform. (But all that will be changing as soon as next season.)

Hatcher also could’ve benefitted from an extended time period with former offensive coordinator and wide receiver coach Paul Petrino — who did wonders for a young NFL star with a very similar game and makeup, Roddy White (Atlanta Falcons).

HatcherPost

Hatcher is a complete receiver who has skills to be dominate in the quick game but he also has the athleticism to go get the darn ball — as seen in the above sequence.

He has the ability to play the X- or the Y-receiver position, but he excels in the slot, as well as in Arkansas’ reduced-split alignments.

While fans would like to think there’s endless opportunity for a receiver to get vertical in the Bielema scheme, most of the time the route tree is available for the chain-moving portion.

Fans should be more concerned with who’s playing tight end as the majority of the throws will go to this position.

In addition to Henry, Arkansas also is in possession of a complete physical freak in Jeremy Sprinkle, who at 6’6″, 241 pounds, could easily cause matchup problems by being split out wide like we’ve seen from Henry on numerous occasions. And it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Sprinkle could play the position full-time, either.

And while the fan base is hung up on Hill, it may be one of his best friends, Razorback commit Will Gragg, who ends up making a major impact in a relative short time.

With the departure of highly reliable quarterback-turned-tight-end A.J. Derby, a spot, or two, will be open in the Hogs’ preferred “13 personnel.” While Gragg isn’t quite the athlete of a Henry, he’s more than athletic enough to give linebackers fits, and he’s much too big for any defensive back at 6’4″, 245 pounds.

GraggCatch

Case in point: Gragg high-pointed the ball on this seam route and laid waste to an area defense with man-coverage underneath geared at solely stopping him.

Between Hatcher, Henry, Sprinkle and Gragg, the Hogs have more than enough targets to support, perhaps, the best rushing attack in all of football — when you factor in the combination of scheme and personnel — supported by a line that will be even more improved.

And don’t discount a potential breakout star in receiver commit LaMichael Pettway, a 6’3″, 200-pound jumping bean, who also looks capable of being a field-stretcher. With the continued improvement of quarterback Brandon Allen, and the signing of the highly touted Ty Storey, the Hogs’ offense will be just fine for the foreseeable future.

And with the addition of new offensive coordinator Dan Enos, the scheme is provided a coach who understands how to get vertical from power personnel (click here to read my breakdown of what ENos will bring to the Hogs’ physical offense).

Success breeds success; Arkansas will attract all kinds of NFL-caliber talent once the nation gets ahold of what the Bielema-Enos regime is building in Fayetteville. So you can bet your bottom dollar that major recruits from all over the country will want to learn in a pro-style system that will be sending a ton of guys to the professional ranks.

Don’t Be That Person

It’s totally understandable the passion most fans have for their beloved program, after all, football is the greatest sport on earth (no, not Fútbol), but direct that fervor toward rooting for your team and don’t take your anguish out on some poor 18-year-old kid.

Listening to sports talk radio, and reading message boards, is downright sickening these days as it pertains to Hill’s decommitment. Yeah it can be perturbing that a potential homegrown superstar may play for a conference rival; I get that.

But wishing ill will on him and his family is just flat-out silly, especially for an adult (or child for that matter). Put yourself in his family’s shoes; can you imagine the amount of pressure being heaped upon them?

Wishing him good luck in his journey and telling him you hope he changes his mind seems like a more appropriate way to handle the situation.

Just because he decommitted doesn’t mean he has officially signed with anyone else. He may be weighing his options as it’s the biggest decision he may ever make, and he may just be a Hog when it’s all said and done with.

And if he isn’t, Arkansas will continue its rapid ascension back to prominence…one way or another.