There’s no more optimistic time for a football fan than the spring, when a few good scrimmages can raise expectations to the point where every halfway-decent player seems like the second coming of Peyton Manning or, well, Darren McFadden. So maybe I’m guilty of that right off the bat, but what if we’re really witnessing the emergence of a brand new Casey Dick?

Your friends here at Razorback Expats are certainly as guilty as anyone else of taking a few potshots at C. Dick over the years, but given Bobby Petrino’s well-earned reputation as a quarterback guru (and Houston Nutt’s reputation as the opposite) it certainly seems within the realm of possibility that Dick could have us all eating our words.

With Ryan Mallett’s long-shot bid to be eligible for the 2008 having been denied by the NCAA, Dick has a clear shot at retaining the starter’s job and should benefit from the coaching staff’s extra attention. Plus, when we last saw Casey on the field he was blowing up would-be tacklers and hitting clutch passes in OT against LSU, so that’s something to build on (editor’s note: the Cotton Bowl has officially been purged from our memories).

At any rate, there’s definitely a buzz building around Casey…here’s a quick look at what some people who know more than we do about these things are saying:

* Sports Illustrated’s Cory McCartney kindly notes that Casey “has been called the worst quarterback in college football”, but also notes that this perception could change quickly and has him listed as one of his “Spring Winners” in a recent column.

* In spring football roundup, USA Today says: “In his first spring under new coach Bobby Petrino, Dick didn’t look anything like the quarterback who struggled with consistency and confidence throughout the 2007 season. He benefited significantly from a new offensive approach and new quarterback drills.”

* What does Bobby Petrino think? First of all, he’s probably happy that Dick isn’t masterminding a dogfighting ring in his spare time. But besides that, he says “He grew tremendously in the spring. He had a good understanding of what we’re doing offensively, he has a lot better understanding of what defenses are doing, in coverages and blitzes. I thought he made great strides in the last scrimmage before the spring game. He needs to be disciplined with his footwork and his technique. When he does that, he can be an accurate passer. He can get the ball out on time.”

* Lastly, the best breakdown might be this Rivals.com article, which gives an excellent overview of the current situation and includes quotes from Dick, Petrino, London Crawford and Dick’s high school coach. Definitely worth a read.

So what does all this really mean? It’s only May, so at the moment, not much. But if nothing else, it seems like the QB situation is light years ahead of where it was at this point 12 months ago, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.

We’re very excited to announce a new addition to our team of expert correspondents: the Hog Blogger. After more than a year of writing pretty much our favorite Razorback blog out there, the sorely missed thehogblogger.com, he abruptly dropped out of the public eye. Rumors abounded that he had moved to Oxford to become Houston Nutt’s personal biographer, but we were able to lure him back into the fold with a generous benefits package, including stock options and a full health plan. At any rate, the Razorback blogosphere has sorely missed his sharp wit, so without further ado, here’s his eyewitness report on Saturday’s Red-White game:

The guys at the Expats are terrible, lazy Razorback fans, so for your Spring Game coverage, they’ve foolishly outsourced, employing me — the now-defunct Hog Blogger — to give my take on what I witnessed at Razorback Stadium Saturday night.

I had been unable to see much of the Hogs’ new offense before Saturday, but after the first two series, I realized something.

I’m pretty sure I could have thrown for 300 yards in that game.

That’s not a knock on Casey Dick. I mean no disrespect to the mustachioed Willy Robinson’s defense, either.

That statement is a testament to the offensive genius that is Bobby Petrino. All the highlights, all the hype — believe what you’ve seen and heard. It’s going to happen in Fayetteville for as long as he’s here. Sure, this team will lose it’s fair share of games this year, maybe next year, and who knows after that.

For all of his past failures, I noticed something different about Dick on Saturday. He was having fun, perhaps for the first time since high school. He was making playing quarterback look easy. Tight window over the middle? Dick hit it. Quick nine-yard out? Dick hit it. Streaking receiver over the top? Dick hit him. Running back in the flat? Dick hit him too, in stride, no less.

The thing is, playing quarterback for Bobby Petrino maybe is just that easy. Something tells me Stefan LeFors might agree. (You may have to look that one up.)

Could the Hogs turn into a signature Big East, “Score 40, give up 50” team? It’s possible. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d rather watch the Hogs lose like that than do it by scoring three points at home against Auburn (twice in four years, I might add.)

I don’t know if these Hogs will be terrible, mediocre, or dominant this year. It’s too early to think about guessing. There’s one thing I’m sure of, though. Whatever they do, it’s going to be fun to watch.

Of course winning is “important,” but honestly, that’s all I really want when I watch the Hogs.

* Nothing was Shocking - In yesterday’s first round of the NFL Draft, Darren McFadden and Felix Jones landed where most prognosticators believed they would. Fun facts, courtesy of Bob Holt of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:

“McFadden, a Little Rock native and two-time runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting, became the Razorbacks’ highest pick in the NFL Draft since Dan Hampton was selected fourth by the Chicago Bears in 1979.

It’s the fifth time two Razorbacks have been first-round picks, including 1967 (Loyd Phillips and Harry Jones ), 1983 (Billy Ray Smith Jr. and Gary Anderson ), 1989 (Wayne Martin and Steve Atwater ) and 2004 (Shawn Andrews and Ahmad Carroll ), but the first time two Arkansas running backs were first-rounders.”

For more coverage, including the reactions in Dallas and Oakland, visit the Razorbloggers by clicking here and here.

* In Other Draft News - Marcus Harrison was selected by the Chicago Bears with the 27th pick in the third round (90th overall).

* Offensive Behavior - The Red team posted a mere 601 yards of total offense yesterday in cruising to a 45-14 victory over the White team in Bobby Petrino’s first spring game. We’ll have more on this game later, when we post an eyewitness report from an old friend, someone whom the Razorback blogosphere misses dearly.

* No House of Payne - Forward Daniel Payne of Coffeyville (Kan. ) Community College will not joining Razorbacks next fall after all, apparently for academic reasons. Without Payne, the Hogs have five signees and are in the market for more.

Sorry about our slacker posting habits lately. Real life occasionally interferes with blogging, but we’ll get back on track soon. In the meantime, a quick rundown of some recent Hog links:

* The football Hogs have opened their first spring practices under Bobby Petrino, and there have already been some changes from the old regime. Nobody covers this sort of thing better than the RazorBloggers, so be sure to check out their most recent reports here and here.

* Nolan is heading to the Hall of Fame (but someone should make sure he’s not seated next to his old buddy Billy Packer at the induction dinner…that could get awkward).

* What do the Razorback Expats and Darren McFadden have in common? Aside from blazing speed and a nose for the end zone, we’re both Arkansas bloggers. The difference is, D-Mac has been posting a lot more than we have lately…here’s one where he breaks down his famous tattoos.

* Remember that guy who played QB before the Casey Dick era? Mitch somebody? If you do, Arkansas Sports 360 has clued us in to a radio interview he did in in New York or Seattle or wherever it is that we heard he’s playing now.

* Ever since Wally clued us in to the possibility that the Oklahoma State job opening could leave to John Pelphrey’s departure, we’ve been keeping tabs on that situation. Our Kentucky friends at A Sea of Blue have a good report on what’s what.

* News flash: Bobby Petrino is the 10th best coach in the SEC.

* We’ll take Whit E. Knight’s three part retrospective of the 1978 Final Four season over anyone else’s, but if you want more of Eddie & the Triplets, check out Bob Holt’s recent article in the Dem-Gaz.

* What was your favorite moment of the Nate Rakestraw era?

* WholeHogSports.com has a good look at the incoming Hog roundballers.

* For those interested - and we personally think that slam-dunk contests are now about as exciting as the Pro Bowl - Sonny Weems will participate in one on Thursday in San Antonio.

* From the kinda, sort-of Razorback-related news file : Eddie Sutton’s son Sean has resigned at OSU. Might we recommend as a replacement another son of a Razorback coaching legend? We hear he’s looking for work, and he might bring a needed dose of tough love.

* Brandon Marcello of The Slophouse has a good collection of articles about Bobby Petrino’s recent press conference as well as some audio files from the event.

* Finally, in honor of the April’s Fools Day that is about to pass, you should check out today’s Penthouse/Outhouse over at ArkansasSports360.com.

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.

Today is National Signing Day for football recruits, and with it we get a first glimpse of what the Bobby Petrino Era might look like on the field. Although I’m pretty much the last person you should turn to for analysis on how things are going (to be honest, I find the notion of grown-ups obsessing over the decisions of high schoolers to be a bit disconcerting), it seems like it’s turning out well - especially considering the crazy coaching search drama of late last year (and the subsequent raids on recruits by Houston Nutt & Ole Miss), not to mention ESPN’s jihad against the Shark-Eyed master himself.

The biggest prize of the day seems to be Joe Adams, the all-everything superstar receiver from CAC who had orally committed to USC last summer but apparently was swayed by the promise of a legit passing attack from his in-state school. That’s great news on the football merits alone, but it’s also cool to steal one back from the Trojans.

Anyway, for real analysis of today’s action, I strongly suggest checking out the latest column from Jim Harris over on Arkansas Sports 360 - it’s a sweeping historical epic that covers not only this year’s class, but the last 10+ years of Razorback recruiting. In terms of scope, it’s kind of the “Gone with the Wind” of Arkansas recruiting articles.

Overall, it seems like good things are on the horizon. Onward and upward, Hog fans.

Tomorrow is National Signing Day for high school recruits. Will Santa Petrino deliver a crop of future Razorback stars? Predicting the whims of overly fawned-over 17-year olds is always tricky, but Arkansas Sports 360 has a good breakdown of how things currently stand. More on this to come, of course.

Tough Love: Charles Thomas was suspended indefinitely today. Pelphrey isn’t saying why, but, according to Chris Bahn’s article on ArkansasSports360.com, the coach said of Thomas, “As a head coach, I’ve never been more disappointed in a young man’s choices.”

Cause for Optimism: I didn’t get to see Saturday’s game, but it sounds like a nice, solid win. I know, I know: LSU is no great shakes, but given this team’s recent history, any road win is a cause for celebration; a double-digit, never-really-in-doubt road win is cause for a ticker-tape parade.

Special mention goes to Sonny Weems, who drained all five of his three-point shots while notching a team-high 21 points, and Patrick Beverley, who continued his Dean Tolson/Nicky Davis/Dennis Rodman impersonation by hauling in 15 rebounds. 15! The 6-1 guard has now posted double-digit rebound totals in three of his last four games. His offensive game has shown definite signs of a sophomore slump, but make no mistake: this guy is a special player.

Overall, we’d say that the LSU win was impressive enough that perhaps Pelphrey should consider making those 1:30 a.m. Sunday practices a weekly event.

Future Hogs: Three recruits made oral commitments over the weekend to play for the Hogs and Bobby Petrino. Somewhere, Sean Salisbury must be fuming.

* Carolina on His Mind: After less than three weeks on the job, Razorback defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson has resigned to take the same position at South Carolina. Johnson replaces Brian VanGorder, who left the Gamecocks to become defensive coordinator of Bobby Petrino’s former employer, the Atlanta Falcons. Petrino (or, more likely, the athletic department’s PR person) was gracious in remarks contained in a news release, although, let’s be honest: Is there anyone on the planet who has less of a right to be upset, even if the resignation comes less than two weeks before national signing day?

* Don’t Forget: Help us find this man.

* 799 Down, 1 to Go: Eddie Sutton finally got his first victory as coach of the University of San Francisco last weekend, meaning that he now has to win only one more game to reach 800 career victories. His next chance at reaching the magic number comes this Saturday against St. Mary’s. The San Francisco Chronicle points out that four of Eddie’s wins could be seen as a gift from Oklahoma State administrators. Whatever. If/when Eddie achieves the milestone, no one will be cheering harder than the staffers at RazorbackExpats.

* Coach Hard Ass: Let it never be said that John Pelphrey isn’t trying to toughen up and wake up his slumbering band of Hog hoopsters. After returning from a 13-point drubbing at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, Pelphrey put his team through a one-hour practice at Bud Walton Arena that began at 1:30 am. We’d like to think that being put through the wringer like that will result in an inspired performance this weekend in Baton Rouge, but we’re not holding our collective breath. Four years of watching this senior class will do that to you.

* Spot On: Jim Harris of ArkansasSports360.com has an inspired take on this year’s basketball team and the constantly shifting opinions of Razorback fans.