Eric Shaffer, Shiloh Christian in Arkansa

[GreatLakeState]

<h5>Senior wide receiver. His stats from Nike combine:</h5>
4.31 shuttle, 38-inch verticle, 4.03 shuttle.



At 5-10, 170, probably DB more than a WR. Being recruited by Alabama, Arkansas, ND, Michigan and UCLA.



<h5>Arkansas also has one of the best QBs in the country, Mitch Mustain.

</h5>
<h5>

</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></h5>

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

it was actually his 40 time that was 4.31. he simply blew them away at the Nike camp.


he's actually just up the road a piece from me, but he's not been offered bythe Razorbackswhich is about a fifteen-minute drive from his high school. it's weird.


i called in to a state-wide sportstalk radio show here in Arkansas and asked specifically about him and why the hometown Hogs weren't looking at him, and the host, a real big-time homer, stood up for the Razorbacks and said that they are really trying to sign guys that will help them win in the SEC. he mentioned a db out of Texas that the Hogs have gotten a commit from, a 5-11 guy who runs a 4.5, not too shabby but when you consider he was being offered by schools like Rice, Baylor, Louisiana-Monroe, etc. it kind of makes you wonder why an SEC school wants him.


oh wait, the Texas kid is black and Shaffer is white. now i understand! the host even said that Houston Nutt, Arkansas' head coach, is trying to "go after guys that look like SEC players." and we all know what that means at defensive back. maybe if he'd have run his 40 in the dark the Hogs' coaching staff would like him more.

 

[jaxvid]

Congrats Jimmy Chitwood! We've had a couple of threads on racial euphemisms in sports

"guys that look like SEC players."

is a new one!

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

pretty funny, huh?


this is what Max Emfinger, a national recruiting analyst had to say about Shaffer after his performance at the camp and the 7-on-7 tournament in Fort Worth:


"Eric made some phenomenal plays on defense. He was so valuable to his team on defense that he didn't play that much receiver. He returned two interceptions for touchdowns. He was sensational because he always guarded the other team's best receiver."


for the record, Shaffer finished the Nike camp with a SPARQ rating of 95.80. amazing! (the highest recorded this summer nationally is 98.0) but somehow still not good enough to get a scholarship offer from his home state school as a defensive back or wideout.

 

[Guest]

Didnt you say he has several big time offers from large schools?

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

nope, I never said that. another poster said he was being recruited by some big schools, but if they are anything like Arkansas it's a wait-and-see type approach. the latest reports locally have no offers on the table for him. surprising, considering he's scheduled to suit up for Emfinger's all-american game.


but now that i think about it, it's not that weird...a big-time school just up the road, and they aren't chasing him...hmmm...maybe the local freeze out is dimming his recruitment options. it wouldn't be the first time it has happened to an Arkansas kid. normally, the Hogs and the homer-media keep their mouths shut on a kid as long as they can if they don't have enough scholarships to hand out, hoping he'll walk-on. if he's a white kid and can afford it, that is. it never seems to happen to the in-stateblack phenoms, though...

 

[Samuel Hain]

Let me guess Jimmy: the one who stood up for the razorbacks, and believes the program can do no wrong, was Rick Schafer.

 

[SteveB]

Eric is attending the University of Hawaii and will join the football team next season. He was totally screwed during the recruiting process, so let's hope this move works out for him. With Colt Brennan at QB, there is no telling how many receiving yards he will get. Good luck to him.

 

[FootballDad]

Now this one is somewhat baffling. Eric went to Hawaii where he spent one year there as a redshirt freshman. He then bailed out and transferred to Missouri State. Here is his bio from the Bears website, but it doesn't give a date, class designation (SO, JR, SR) or anything. And he's nowhere else on the site. I guess that's what you get if you don't "look like an SEC player".