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          Hogs fans fit to be tied

          • Tom LuginbillJun 14, 2013, 03:00 AM ET
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            • Senior National Recruiting Analyst for ESPN.com
            • Coached in four professional football leagues
            • Graduated from Eastern Kentucky and Marshall
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          We're back with another edition of the #AskLoogs Twitter mailbag. If you missed last week's discussion, check it out here.

          This week, we're looking at keys to evaluation, how much difference there is between players in the rankings, what to do about players wanting out of their letters of intent, and what can be done to get Colorado back up and rolling, among other things. No more delaying, let's get right to your questions.

          No. Quite honestly, if you look at verbal commitments across the board, the numbers are actually way down from what they have been in the past. I have had conversations with many college coaches about commits not coming at quite the rapid spring pace and it's nothing to worry about right now. Arkansas has never been a heavy volume team with early verbal commitments, and don't worry about class rankings right now. There is still a lot of time between now and national signing day.
          The Hogs made a big splash down the stretch last year, which was a nice and somewhat surprising start for the new regime. So that just shows plenty can and will happen between now and February.

          The worry for Arkansas fans is if the program is ever going to be able to lure top front-seven players, particularly linemen, to Fayetteville. This is a program with enough tradition, clout and stature to get good players on a consistent basis. The Razorbacks are good enough to win eight or more games in the SEC, but without the trench players they will only go so far. It's tough to win the West without elite players up front, and even Bobby Petrino's best team found this out.

          It's really tough to tell where Ohio State will land because it is so early. However, I do believe after visiting there in the spring that the Buckeyes are taking a bit of a different approach with this current class. I believe they are pursuing many program-building, developmental players who can provide depth, and they are looking for prospects who will be different players in three years as opposed to what they are now. Prime examples of this type of player would be ATH Sam Hubbard, OLB Kyle Berger and OTs Marcelys Jones and Kyle Trout. They are not likely to have an immediate role. Instead, they will benefit from technical work, redshirting and a college weight program, among other factors, that will allow them to become the players OSU hopes they will be.

          Also, aside from Marshon Lattimore remaining on the board, it is generally perceived to be a down year in Ohio for the caliber of player Ohio State is accustomed to having in its backyard.

          To say the least, it is rare for Kentucky to have four four-star players this early in the process, or late in the process for that matter. It is a testament to Mark Stoops and his staff. They made a strong impression shortly after they were hired with the Class of 2013 and have continued it with the '14 class. Stoops has roots in Ohio and that has become a huge priority for the Wildcats. Over half of their verbal commitments are from Ohio. Expect a large presence in Georgia and Florida as well. For a defensive head coach, there is obviously an emphasis on the front seven and secondary class in this group, and DE Denzel Ware is a huge coup for Kentucky.

          The simple answer is: Until they have played, you can't evaluate them. This becomes more complicated when a player has seen limited duty at his projected position, especially if he has seen extensive duty at a position other than the one he will be recruited to play. This is the case with Morgan Mahalak. It comes down to the body of work, and is there enough substance not only to evaluate the prospect, but to be fair to him in doing so. This is one of the reasons we don't just slap a two-star rating on players we have not seen or can't be evaluated yet. In fairness to them and the players they are being compared with, we simply leave them unranked until we feel comfortable that we have enough intel to do the job properly and ultimately be fair to the prospect.

          In the case of Mahalak, we considered putting him in the athlete category initially and changing him to quarterback at the end of his senior year. To this point, he has played in several roles, QB being the least extensive. However he showed us enough that we were able to write a report and we clearly state in his report that his evaluation is pending a full season as a starting quarterback.

          This depends on many factors, including the experience level of the evaluator writing the report. Our general schedule early in the process for each scout requires seven evaluated prospects on days we're not traveling or at camps or combines. As we get through roughly 550 or so prospects, we taper that down to five evaluated prospects per day. Seven prospects per day with game film/cut-up reels and the writing of the report would be a full workday, to say the least. We have other writing/podcast/chats/projects to do as well, which can break up the evaluation day.
          Formulating the grade, how it compares with other prospects at the position and where to place the prospect initially can take some time and debate, but it's not too bad.

          To put a time on one particular report would be difficult to say; it differs for everybody. I like to grind through, others like to take breathers. I'd probably say at least an hour per prospect, minimum. It's my belief that the less experienced the coach or scout, the longer it takes, especially the writing part. We always like to go back and tweak the reports after we see more on a prospect by adding or changing something in the evaluation.

          Thanks to all the fans who sent in questions this week.

          Make sure to use the hashtag #AskLoogs to get in on our discussion next week. I'll answer fan questions on player rankings and scouting each Wednesday, 2-3 p.m. ET on Twitter, with the five best making it to this weekly mailbag.