HawgBeat’s Nikki Chavanelle thinks Sam Pittman adding Jermial Ashley to defensive staff solid move with his recruiting contacts.
Keeping Odom biggest thing Pittman accomplished on staff, says Barnett
Zach Barnett of Football Scoop thinks with all the assistant coach movements, Sam Pittman’s biggest addition was keeping Barry Odom.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast – New d-line coach per reports
Tye & Tommy on the reported new DL coach hire, MSU tonight, Zach Barnett of Football Scoop, funniest TV character and more!
Musselman glad Tuesday night’s game against Mississippi State a late start
Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman met with the media Monday afternoon to preview the game with the Bulldogs, set to start at 8 p.m.
O’Gara on Gilbert transferring to Florida, Vols need to re-adjust expectations
Saturday Down South’s Connor O’Gara said on Halftime on Monday Arik Gilbert’s transfer to Florida, not Georgia interesting; Heupel at Tennessee.
Howland on talented Arkansas team, going to difficult place to get wins
Mississippi State coach Ben Howland talked with the media Monday afternoon about what he called a “talented” team the Bulldogs will face.
Franklin, Moore named to ‘Baseball America’ preseason All-American team
Baseball America has named Christian Franklin and Robert Moore to their preseason all-american second team as selected by scouting departments from Major League Baseball.
Franklin returns for his third season on The Hill and is regarded as one of the top prospects in the nation. His 2020 season was off to an incredible start, hitting .381 with a team-best 21 runs scored, eight extra-base hits and 11 RBI in the Razorbacks’ first 16 games.
He started every game in center field after manning left field as a freshman in 2019 when he hit .274 with six home runs and 34 RBI to earn SEC All-Freshman honors.
The preseason honor from Baseball America adds to the list for Franklin, who has already been named a preseason All-American by Perfect Game (first team) and D1Baseball.com (first team).
Moore enrolled early at midterm prior to the 2020 season and started all 16 games as a 17-year-old freshman. He hit .317 with 10 runs scored and 11 RBI before the season was cut short due to the pandemic.
His 20 hits ranked second among freshmen in the SEC while his batting average and RBI were the third-most among the league’s freshmen.
Moore was an immediate impact earning SEC Player of the Week and Perfect Game National Player of the Week honors in just the second week of the season after hitting .667 with nine RBI.
Last month, Moore was named a third team preseason all-american by D1Baseball.com.
No. 14 Arkansas is set to open the 2021 season in Arlington, Texas, at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown Tournament at Globe Life Field on Feb. 19 against No. 3 Texas Tech.
The Razorbacks’ home opener is set for Thursday, Feb. 25 against Southeast Missouri State at 3 p.m.
Dungee, Neighbors get top weekly national honors from ESPN
Arkansas’ Chelsea Dungee and coach Mike Neighbors earned national recognition today after a historic week for Arkansas women’s basketball sweeping national honors.
Dungee was named ESPN’s National Player of the Week, while Neighbors was named ESPN’s National Coach of the Week.
Dungee put on one of the greatest Razorback performances of all time, regardless of sport, Thursday night against UConn.
She scored 37 points against the Huskies, the most by any player against them since the 1999-2000 season. She did so on an incredibly efficient line — 13-21 from the field, 4-5 from three and 7-10 from the free throw line.
The redshirt senior guard has now scored 37+ points four times in her career, the most such performances in program history — 41 against Auburn (2-7-19); 37 against Houston (3/21/19); 38 against Mizzou (1-12-10); and 37 against UConn (1-28-21). Of the 11 37+ point performances from Hogs ever seen in Bud Walton Arena, men’s or women’s hoops, Dungee now has four of them.
That matches Mason Jones’ mark of four such games.
Dungee also chipped in with 16 points in the Hogs’ win over Auburn Sunday. Despite trailing by as many as 13 in the early part of the second quarter, Dungee and the Hogs went on a blistering 22-4 run in the second quarter to take back control of that game.
Her 16 points kept her double-digit scoring streak alive, as the Sapulpa, Okla. product has now scored 10+ in 23 straight games.
Neighbors’ offense, meant to give the Hogs a puncher’s chance against anyone on any given night, delivered a knockout on Thursday against UConn.
Arkansas’ 90 points scored was the most by any opponent since 2001, and the Hogs’ 52 percent mark from the field against UConn was the highest FG percentage allowed by the Huskies since 2011.
Only eight teams have beaten UConn since 2012 — Baylor, Louisville, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Oregon, South Carolina, Stanford, and now, Neighbors’ Razorbacks.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Reports say LeBlanc may be heading to NFL, Tulsa d-line coach to replace
Tulsa defensive line coach Jermial Ashley is expected to join the Arkansas staff, sources told FootballScoop on Monday, so more changes may be coming to Sam Pittman’s first staff.
FootballScoop reported previously that Razorbacks’ defensive line coach Derrick LeBlanc was eyeing a return to the NFL.
Ashley spent the past six seasons coaching the defensive line at Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane ranked 13th in tackles for loss per game, registering 7.67 per game.
Ashley spent two seasons in the same role at Trinity Valley Community College in Texas before going to Tulsa. Following a playing career that saw him win All-America honors at Tyler Junior College and All-Big 12 selections at Kansas, Ashley began coaching in a support role at Oklahoma State.
At Tulsa, Ashley handled the Hurricane’s deployment of both 4-man and 3-man fronts.
We expect Sam Pittman to announce this one, as well as a few other moves, this week.
Murphy on Cowboys’ Cunningham, Hogs’ loss in Big 12-SEC Challenge
Democrat-Gazette writer Tom Murphy gave the guys on The Morning Rush his impressions on Cade Cunningham, projected to be a top draft pick.
