Tom Murphy of the Democrat-Gazette talked Monday morning about the surprising effectiveness of the Hogs’ defense through first four games.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast – Bye weeks stink… it’s GAME WEEK
Tye & Tommy on what they did during the bye week, Tom Murphy joins and more!
It’s not hard to see what changed for Hogs’ success with new coaches
Without even playing this weekend, Arkansas was still getting mentioned in a positive way all across the landscape of the SEC … and nobody giggled.
If you don’t think coaching matters, well, think again.
Some of us told you the players on the roster were better than 4-20 over the past two seasons. We were just finding some of the things being whispered to us about the coaching staff could possibly be accurate.
Now everybody knows. Nothing will show up a staff better than after they’re fired someone else coming in and winning games.
The players know, too. If the previous staff did anything related to what’s happening this year it is the large number of true freshmen they redshirted.
And they see the difference, even if they won’t say the previous coaches didn’t have a clue what they were doing.
“Last year there wasn’t a lot enough confidence in our ability,” said Jalen Catalon, one of those freshmen that got a redshirt year. “This year we have a lot more confidence what we can do and we trust each other. We’ve had a mentality of I’ve got your back and you’ve got my back on both offense and defense.”
It’s about consistency, which leads to trust. The previous staff never had the trust of the players, some of whom would quietly admit that over the last couple of years.
“We trust the coaches, and we trust the game plan we have,” he said last week.
The difference has been shocking to some people.
“When the team eats, everybody eats,” wide receiver Mike Woods said last week about a new all-for-one mentality. “If the whole team is eating and doing good, then everybody’s going to get their chances to shine. It isn’t any jealousy or animosity. I’m happy for them. We work on this every day, so if we go out there and execute it, it feels great for everybody.”
The one thing about Sam Pittman that’s been overlooked a little is just the calming effect he’s had on a group of players that never could quite figure out what was going on for a couple of years.
It starts with the quarterback. Feleipe Franks is the starter and, barring an injury, nothing much is going to change that. Eight different players started games the previous two years.
The last head coach was learning on the job.
Pittman has been learning for over 30 years.
The difference is not something you have to look very hard to see because this team has beaten the Mississippi teams and had one stolen from them in Alabama.
It’s also not very hard to see what changed … and it wasn’t the players.
Red cruises Saturday, wins Fall Series with shutout behind Monk, Webb
The Red received a strong pitching performance from starter Caden Monke and its offense scored six early runs to claim a 7-0 victory over the Black on Saturday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
With the win, the Red won Arkansas’ Fall Series, 4-2.
Monke only allowed two hits – the first two batters in the home half of the first inning – and cruised the rest of the way before exiting with two on and two out in the bottom of the fourth. The sophomore only walked one and struck out eight of the 14 batters he faced.
A trio of Red team pitchers was just as dominant to close out the game. Evan Gray struck out three of the four batters he faced in 1.1 innings, Ryan Costeiu struck out two in an inning and Zebulon Vermillion worked a 1-2-3 seventh with a strikeout.
Red’s offense was led by Casey Opitz, who collected three hits and two RBi with a run scored. Brady Slavens added two hits and Braydon Webb had two RBI, thanks to a two-run home run.
The Red jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. Opitz had a leadoff single and Zack Gregory followed with a single.
An error on the play allowed Opitz to score from first base and put Gregory on second. Zac White made it three straight hits and drove in Gregory for the two-run advantage.
The Red squad added four runs in the third inning. Robert Moore started the frame with a single and, two batters later, scored on a two-run blast over the left-field wall by Webb.
Matt Goodheart and Slavens followed with singles. Opitz then lined a double down the third-base line to score both runners and give his team a 6-0 lead.
In the top of the sixth, Robert Moore delivered a sacrifice fly to score Michael Brooks to cap the scoring.
The Black team only had three hits Saturday, including two by Christian Franklin. Starting pitcher Connor Noland took the loss, allowing seven hits and five runs (four earned) in 2.1 innings.
With Red clinching the series Saturday, game seven of the series — originally scheduled for Sunday — will not be played.
Moody on players taking leadership roles as Hogs complete first week of practice
Razorbacks freshman Moses Moody talked with the media Friday afternoon on which players are taking on leadership roles early.
Jackson on seeing more trees than he’s used to seeing after transfer
Vance Jackson talked with the media Friday afternoon and talked about how the team is developing after first week of practice and opinion of NWA.
Fantasy Football Sunday — w/ Bob Harris of FootballDiehards.com
Tye & Evan share differences on Baker Mayfield, rank the tiers of the NFL and more!
Musselman still trying to figure out some things one week in practices for season
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman met with the media Friday afternoon and said they are having to make decisions on scrimmages instead of games.
Halftime Pod Presented By Jeff’s Clubhouse | October 23, 2020
Phil, Matty T, and SmackDown celebrate Weird Al’s birthday today (Well, more Phil and Matty T). The guys react to the news of Joseph Pinion committing to the Razorbacks, plus make their Halftime GameDay Picks. Plus hear exclusive interviews with FOX Sports’ Aaron Torres and Hogville’s Kevin McPherson!
Lockhart, Opitz after Red team in fifth game of Fall Series on Thursday
The Red squad, thanks to an RBI double from Casey Opitz and a two-run home run by Zac White in the sixth inning, claimed a 4-2 victory over the Black squad Thursday afternoon.
The Red team was able to take a three-to-two lead in Arkansas’ Fall Series.
White figured in three of his team’s four runs. In the fourth inning, he reached on an error that produced a run. Then his two-run blast in the sixth proved to be the winning margin.
Despite the loss, the Black team’s pitching was solid as it allowed just four hits and tallied nine strikeouts.
The Black team threatened to score in the top of the third. With two on and one out, Christian Franklin singled up the middle. Charlie Welch tried to score from second on the play, but Brayden Webb threw a strike to home to keep the game scoreless.
In the fourth, the Red squad took advantage of an error to take a 1-0 lead. With two out, White reached on an error. Brady Slavens, who was on second, never broke stride and scored without a throw.
The Black team broke through to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the sixth. Franklin singled and Matt Goodheart was hit by a pitch. Cayden Wallace looped the ball down the right-field line for a single to plate Christian.
However, the Red answered in the bottom of the sixth with three runs to regain the advantage. Despite striking out to start the home half, Slavens reached on a wild pitch.
Opitz followed with an RBI double off the left-field fence. Two batters later, White cleared the bases with a home run to left to put his team up, 4-1.
The Black team made it interesting in the top of the seventh, bringing the tying run to the plate. Jalen Battles delivered a leadoff single, stole second and scored on an Ethan Bates single to cut the deficit in half (4-2).
Red relief pitcher Peyton Pallette induced a pop out and a foul out to end the threat and get the win.
Pallette pitched the final 1.1 innings. He allowed three hits and one run with a strikeout. Red starter Lael Lockhart pitched four scoreless innings while allowing three hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
Patrick Wicklander was the starter for the Black squad. He allowed one hit and an unearned run in 3.1 innings with five punchouts and three walks. Evan Taylor was saddled with the loss. He struck out four with no walks in 1.2 innings while allowing a hit and one run.
Game six of the Fall Series is set for Saturday (Oct. 24) at 1 p.m. The game will be available on SEC Network
