By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Garrick McGee was given a hefty pay raise when he was promoted to offensive coordinator in December.
It’s too early to tell how valuable the assistant will become as Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino’s right-hand man next season, but McGee certainly showed he was worthy of the salary bump on the recruiting trail Wednesday.
McGee — whose primary recruiting area is Oklahoma — helped the Razorbacks sign five players out of his home state. The group, which was headlined by four-star defensive tackle Calvin Barnett, equaled the number of players the Razorbacks pulled in out of Arkansas.
“I’m a product of Oklahoma high school football,” said McGee, when asked about his ability to rope in several Oklahoma prospects. “I really have an appreciation for the coaches. It’s tough football. The kids are really coached well. The games are big. Football is really important to those kids and I have a passion for them.”
McGee grew up in Tulsa and played high school football at Booker T. Washington, where his late father, Larry McGee, was the program’s well-known coach.
He went on to play at Oklahoma and has always held close ties to his home state. When Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino built his staff three years ago, he knew McGee would be valuable because of the school’s proximity to Tulsa.
“One of the things when I first got the job that was important to me was to try to get Garrick down here,” Petrino said Wednesday. “He can walk in there and basically knows just about everybody in the city of Tulsa and that certainly helps.”
But McGee wouldn’t take any of the credit Wednesday.
“It’s nothing I’m doing,” McGee said. “It’s a trail that my dad blazed for me a long time ago.”
Still, his work in the Oklahoma proved to be pivotal to Arkansas’ signing class in 2010.
Barnett was a long-time Oklahoma State commitment, but McGee said he kept pressing on the defensive tackle to make a switch. In the end, Barnett did, signing with Arkansas to give the Hogs a big boost in the trenches.
He also helped steer linebacker Jarrett Lake to the Razorbacks after the Jenks High linebacker had been committed to Oklahoma for a long time. Not only that, offensive lineman Denton Simek — formerly a Texas Tech commitment — was a late addition to Arkansas’ class.
The three joined cornerback Eric Bennett, who is Barnett’s teammate at Booker T. Washington, and Ft. Gibson linebacker Courtney Gaston as new Razorbacks on Wednesday.
It was an important statement for the Razorbacks, who believe Oklahoma, Tulsa especially, is a valuable area.
“It’s something I talked with (former Arkansas athletic director Frank) Broyles about,” McGee said. “We have to have another spot, another city, somewhere close to this place that we can go in and get kids. That’s a pipeline.”
The most recent and recognizable name the Razorbacks have gotten from Tulsa — Dallas Cowboys running back Felix Jones — played before Petrino’s arrival on campus.
But the Razorbacks grabbed a few players from the area last year, signing cornerback David Gordon, linebacker Terrell Williams and offensive lineman Alvin Bailey. Gordon and Williams played as true freshman and all three will factor heavily into Arkansas’ plans in 2010.
McGee is confident his roots have helped the Razorbacks enjoy some success in the state the past three years.
“There’s nothing like going to an Oklahoma high school football game and saying, ‘That used to be me. I was right out there,’” McGee said. “And when you’re talking to the parents and you’re talking to the kids, I think that at some point they get an appreciation for that.”
But McGee’s work in Oklahoma is far from finished. He may have helped the Razorbacks sign five players from the state in 2010, but has more in mind for the future.
“I’m going to try to branch out this year and get into Oklahoma City,” McGee said. “Get on the other side of the state and get us some kids from that side of the state.”
