Many football curmudgeons that we know like to bitch and moan about the instant grades and rankings that are published in the wake of National Signing Day. Not us. Oh,  we agree that such analysis really isn’t, in the end, worth that much. But … we still find reading such reports to be a whole lot of fun, particularly, when it concerns a certain new Hog coach’s first haul.

Here’s a quick scan of what the experts think:

* ESPN.com ranked Arkansas’ recruiting class the 18th-best in the country (and behind those of conference rivals Alabama, Florida, Georgia and LSU). As for a letter grade, it gave the Hogs a “B.” The site’s summary of the Hogs’ class (which was actually written by Scouts Inc. staffers) begins, “Love him or hate him, Bobby Petrino is back in college football, and from an offensive standpoint, particularly in the passing game, this is the best thing that could have happened for Arkansas fans …”

* Rivals.com isn’t as high on the Hogs: The Razorbacks are nowhere to be found in the site’s ranking of the Top 25 recruiting classes, and the site lists Arkansas’ recruits ninth among the 12 SEC classes.

* Scout.com has Arkansas’ class ranked at No. 23 in the country.

* And, finally, Tom Dienhart of The Sporting News says the Hogs’ class is the eighth-best in the SEC.

If there’s one thing the above lists agree on, it’s this: Looks like Alabama’s days of 6-6 regular-season records and losses to Louisana-Monroe may be over. That, my friends, is a real tragedy.