Football
Ole Miss grabs one of Razorbacks’ defensive coaches
A day after Sam Pittman fired defensive line coach Jermail Ashley, Lane Kiffin has raided the Arkansas staff.
The assistant coach carousel is twirling fast these days.
A day after Sam Pittman fired defensive line coach Jermail Ashley, there is now a report from 247Sports that Lane Kiffin has raided the Arkansas staff.
Cornerbacks coach Sam Carter, who came with Pittman before the 2020 season, leaving Fayetteville for Oxford and Ole Miss.
After allowing 259.6 passing yards per game (9th in SEC) in 2020, the Hogs allowed just 215.1 passing yards per game (5th in SEC) in 2021. Senior cornerback Montaric Brown also led the SEC with five interceptions, the most by a Razorback since 2011.
Here’s what his bio from the Hogs’ website said about Carter:
Carter joined the Hogs from Missouri where he served as a defensive quality control and analyst for Barry Odom, now the Razorbacks’ defensive coordinator.
In year one under Carter’s tutelage, Arkansas’ secondary quickly displayed its prowess as a talented ballhawking group.
The Hogs’ 13 interceptions during the season were second most in the SEC and 13th most in FBS.
The Razorback defensive backfield featured the nation’s only freshman duo to record multiple interceptions in Hudson Clark (3) and Jalen Catalon (3).
During his time at Missouri, Carter helped the Tigers’ defense rank as one of the best in the nation, particularly in the secondary, in 2019.
Missouri’s pass defense ranked sixth in the FBS and second in the Southeastern Conference allowing only 179.3 yards per game.
The Tigers were even tougher with the ball in the air, leading the nation by allowing opponents to complete just 50.3% of passes for 2,151 yards – seventh-fewest in FBS.
Mizzou had four players inside the SEC’s top 25 of passes defended, including three defensive backs in Joshuah Bledsoe, Khalil Oliver and Tyree Gillespie.
Carter was a standout, All-Big 12 safety at TCU prior to starting his coaching career.
The New Orleans native played in 49 games for the Horned Frogs from 2011-14, starting 39 including all 38 over his final three years.
As a senior, he was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, a Senior CLASS Award finalist and a Senior CLASS Award second-team All-American.
| Thu, Aug 29 |  | vs UAPB (Little Rock) | W, 70-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | @ Oklahoma State | L, 31-39 2OT |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | vs UAB | 3:15 PM |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | @ Auburn | 2:30 or 3:15 PM TBD |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Texas A&M (Arl) | TBD |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | vs Tennessee | TBD |
| Sat, Oct 19 |  | vs LSU | TBD |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | @ Mississippi State | TBD |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | vs Ole Miss | TBD |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Texas | 11:00 AM |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | vs Louisiana Tech | TBD |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | @ Missouri | TBD |
| Following is the Arkansas Sports Media High School Football Poll including the Overall Top 10, the top five in Classes 7A, 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A, plus the top three in the 8-man division, as voted by a panel of sports media from around the state for the week ending August 24. Ranking is given with first-place votes received, records, total points and ranking from last week's poll: | ||||
| OVERALL | Record | Pts | Prv | |
| 1. | Bryant (3) | 2-0 | 133 | 2 |
| 2. | Fayetteville (5) | 2-0 | 132 | 1 |
| 3.. | Greenwood (2) | 2-0 | 128 | 3 |
| 4. | Conway (2) | 2-0 | 120 | t4 |
| 5. | Little Rock Parkview (4) | 2-0 | 114 | t4 |
| 6. | Pulaski Academy | 2-0 | 77 | 7 |
| 7. | Shiloh Christian | 2-0 | 43 | 9 |
| 8. | Benton | 0-1 | 42 | 6 |
| 9. | Bentonville | 0-2 | 40 | 6 |
| 10. | Cabot | 1-1 | 17 | — |
| Others receiving votes: Marion 16, Springdale 6, Joe T. Robinson 5, Rogers 3, Fort Smith Southside 1, Valley View 1, Warren 1, Harding Academy 1. | ||||
| CLASS 7A | ||||
| 1. | Bryant (5) | 2-0 | 66 | 2 |
| 2. | Fayetteville (7) | 2-0 | 65 | 1 |
| 3. | Conway (4) | 2-0 | 31 | 5 |
| 4. | Pulaski Academy | 1-0 | 33 | 5 |
| 5. | Bentonville | 0-2 | 13 | 4 |
| Others receiving votes: Cabot 3, Rogers 2, Springdale 2. | ||||
| CLASS 6A | ||||
| 1. | Greenwood (16) | 2-0 | 80 | 1 |
| 2. | Benton | 0-1 | 54 | 2 |
| 3. | Shiloh Christian | 2-0 | 53 | 3 |
| 4. | Marion | 2-0 | 29 | 4 |
| 5. | Mountain Home | 2-0 | 12 | — |
| Others receiving votes: FS Southside 9, Lake Hamilton 3. | ||||
| CLASS 5A | ||||
| 1. | Little Rock Parkview (16) | 2-0 | 80 | 1 |
| 2. | Joe T Robinson | 1-1 | 52 | 3 |
| 3. | Harding Academy | 0-1 | 29 | 2 |
| 4. | Hot Springs Lakeside | 2-0 | 23 | — |
| 5. | Valley View | 2-0 | 20 | — |
| Others receiving votes: Camden Fairview 9, Pine Bluff 8, Maumelle 6, Morrilton 5, Farmington 3, Wynne 2, Greenbrier 2, Magnolia 1. | ||||
| CLASS 4A | ||||
| 1. | Warren (10) | 1-1 | 73 | 1 |
| 2. | Arkadelphia (2) | 1-1 | 54 | 2 |
| 3. | Elkins (3) | 2-0 | 40 | 3 |
| 4. | Little Rock Mills | 2-0 | 25 | t5 |
| 5. | Malvern (1) | 2-0 | 13 | — |
| Others receiving votes: DeWitt 11, Bauxite 10, Highland 4, Stuttgart 3, Ozark 1, Mena 1, Southside Batesville 1. | ||||
| CLASS 3A | ||||
| 1. | Prescott (7) | 2-0 | 69 | 2 |
| 2. | Booneville (7) | 2-0 | 67 | 1 |
| 3. | Rivercrest (2) | 1-0 | 38 | 3 |
| 4. | Newport | 2-0 | 25 | 5 |
| 5. | Walnut Ridge | 2-0 | 15 | — |
| Others receiving votes: Salem 12, Fordyce 5, Bismarck 5, Charleston 4. | ||||
| CLASS 2A | ||||
| 1. | Carlisle (6) | 2-0 | 56 | 4 |
| 2. | Conway Christian (3) | 2-0 | 46 | 5 |
| 3. | Bigelow (6) | 1-1 | 37 | 1 |
| 4. | Junction City | 0-2 | 32 | 2 |
| 5. | Mineral Springs (1) | 1-1 | 24 | 3 |
| Others receiving votes: Marked Tree 22, Des Arc 19, Hector 10, Cross County 91) 8, Mount Ida 3, East Poinsett County 1, Mountainburg 1. | ||||
| 8-MAN SANCTIONED | ||||
| 1. | Rector (11) | 1-0 | 39 | 1 |
| 2. | Strong (5) | 1-0 | 36 | 2 |
| 3. | Woodlawn | 1-0 | 11 | — |
| Others receiving votes: Woodlawn 5, Cedar Ridge 4, Augusta 2. | ||||