Murphy says it’s hard to quantify Hogs’ defensive efforts through first four games
Democrat-Gazette writer Tom Murphy with Tye Richardson and Tommy Craft (The Morning Rush) on how it’s really hard to rate the defense this year.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast – “We came in thinking this was going to be easy”
Tye & Tommy on the big win over Ole Miss, Tom Murphy joins and more!
Burks really only cares about winning games, circus catches just a bonus
Sam Pittman may not know how to correctly pronounce Treylon Burks’ name, but he knows Arkansas is better on the field with him out there.
Even at 80 percent.
That’s about where Pittman put the health level of the former Lumberjack after he had his best game as a Razorback in the 33-21 win over Ole Miss on Saturday.
Burks averaged 12.2 yards per touch in getting 183 all-purpose yards. He caught 11 passes — including the one-handed toe-tap for a touchdown that’s been on every weekend highlight reel — for 137 yards.
He also had 46 yards rushing on four carries.
“I wasn’t for sure he was going to be able to play,” Pittman said later. “He obviously couldn’t play last week. I didn’t know if he was going to be able to play on Tuesday, Wednesday. I felt a little bit better about him on Thursday, but we didn’t know if he was going to be able to play.”
Pittman runs a program that is buttoned-down about as well as anybody in college football. Information, particularly injuries, doesn’t make it out and when one of them posts something about their health on social media it generally gets the coach’s attention.
Burks sort of shrugged off the catch that had everyone buzzing, even on SportsCenter.
“It didn’t surprise me,” he said later. “I do it in practice. It’s just something I work on and something I want to get better at.”
With two weeks to prepare for a Halloween night game against Texas A&M, the hope is he a lot closer to 100 percent with whatever the problem was (everyone assumes knee, but we really have no official confirmation of that).
Even missing one game completely and only playing 12 plays against Mississippi State, Burks is the team leader in receptions with 19 and yardage at 249. His two touchdown catches are second on the team.
With fellow sophomore Trey Knox doing a remarkable job of hiding in plain sight with only four catches on the season, the chance is there and Burks is trying to pick up the slack … if he can stay healthy.
“We need to get him the ball as much as we can,” Pittman said Saturday.
That means at times Burks appears to not have a clue where he’s supposed to be on the field, running from side to side, turning around and such. That’s by design.
Offensive coordinator Kendal Briles wants to get him the ball in space, which is usually in the flat. That’s where he took a pass, then turned down the sideline in front of the Hogs’ bench for 55 yards to set up the first touchdown of the game.
“He’s always working hard trying to be quarterback-friendly to be able to get the ball,” Franks said after the game. “At the same time, getting the ball and getting yards after the catch.”
It was the second 100-yard receiving game of the season for Burks, who is now tied with Cobi Hamilton for eighth in Hogs’ history with 11 catches in one game.
One more 100-yard game on the season will give Burks three this year, tying him with 10 other receivers for seventh in school history for 100-yard receiving games in a season.
“I don’t think he’s reached his full potential yet,” Franks said. “He’s a heck of a player, but at the end of the day he’s continually getting better week in and week out.
“He worked super hard when he got injured, worked super hard in the training room to get his body back to be out here.”
Maybe Pittman will learn how his first name’s pronounced. He keeps saying TreyLON instead of the correct pronunciation of Treyluhn.
The guess is it’s not a big deal for Burks. If making circus catches for touchdowns isn’t that big of a deal he’s not going to be too worked up over how Pittman says his name.
He’s more interesting in winning games.
“We’re one unit, one goal is to win,” he said. “It’s showing on Saturdays. That’s what I’m proud of.”
Red team explodes for 11 runs, shut out Black in second game of Fall Series
FAYETTEVILLE — Powered by an 11-run sixth inning, the Red Team evened the Fall Series with an 11-0 win on an overcast Sunday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The two teams traded zeroes through the first five innings as starting pitchers Kole Ramage for the Red and Caleb Bolden for the Black battled in and out of trouble before turning it over to their respective bullpens.
The Black Team bullpen blinked first in the top of the sixth when Matt Goodheart snuck a home run over the outstretched glove of a leaping Christian Franklin at the wall for the game’s first run.
That solo homer opened the flood gates for the Red squad and set off a string of six straight batters to reach safely.
Brady Slavens’ RBI-single made it a 2-0 game before a bases loaded walk to Zac White made it 3-0.
Michael Brooks made the first out but his ground ball to third pushed a run across before Jackson Cobb’s double off the left-center field wall blew the game open with two more runs.
Cullen Smith added his own run-scoring double and Goodheart chipped in a RBI-single but it was Slavens who delivered the knockout blow with a mammoth three-run homer off top of the new building in right field to cap the 11-run rally.
The Red Team bullpen finished off the victory with strong outings from Matthew Magre and Liam Henry.
Magre punched out four of the five batters he faced. Zack Morris was the beneficiary of the offensive outburst, earning the win despite throwing just two pitches and getting one out in the fifth inning.
Ramage allowed four hits with two walks and struck out three in 3.1 innings.
Bolden was solid over four scoreless innings, walking three and fanning three while scattering three hits. Nathan Rintz took the loss, allowing three runs on two hits in one inning of work. Cason Tollett paced the Black Team with two of the team’s five hits.
The two teams square off in Game 3 tomorrow at 3 p.m. The game will be available on SEC Network+.
Slavens on big day at plate in second game of Razorbacks’ Fall Series on Sunday
Hogs third baseman Brady Slavens talked with the media after a 2-for-4 day at the plate with 4 RBI and a homer for Red team.
Pittman has beaten two of fans’ choice back in December for Hogs’ job
When Sam Pittman managed to talk his way into the Arkansas job in December, a lot of fans were despondent because Lane Kiffin and Mike Leach turned it down.
Let’s be just totally straightforward about it. The only guys pushing Pittman for the job were his former players.
It didn’t get much national attention beyond a shrug.
“Solid guy, decent hire,” was what one text message I got from a national media guy. “But he’s not Kiffin or Leach.”
Now he’s beaten both of them after knocking off Kiffin’s Ole Miss team Saturday, 33-21. He’d already beaten Leach’s Mississippi State team two weeks ago.
Now every Razorback fan is completely giddy over the hiring of Pittman. Fayetteville was one giant party Saturday night after the game and it extended from the west side of town all the way through Dickson St. and to the east side.
But the feeling is Pittman is getting kinda tired of hearing all the talk about how he’s supposed to be surprised over sitting at 2-2 (which should be 3-1 if not for the mess at the end of the Auburn game).
“Hell, I thought we were going to win ’em all,” Pittman said after the win over the Rebels. “Look, there’s not really any pressure on us. Expectations weren’t high outside the building but in our athletic department and our locker room, (expectations) are as high as they can be.
“I’m not surprised we beat Ole Miss today. I wasn’t surprised we beat Mississippi State. I wasn’t surprised we were in the ballgame at Auburn.”
He has to be at least a little surprised, though, at how the Hogs’ defense is playing. Senior Grant Morgan is playing at a fanatical pace.
Against Ole Miss he had 19 tackles and an interception return for a touchdown, playing with basically one arm.
The Hogs didn’t exactly shut down Mississippi State or the Rebels’ offense as much as they just allowed them to make the mistake that would cost them a drive.
In two games against coaches who are known for prolific offenses, defensive coordinator Barry Odom has figured out a way to get turnovers, put points on the board and get a couple of stops.
That’s the goal these days in college football. Rules and trends mean offenses are going to get yards and score points.
Yet Odom has figured out how to grab nine interceptions combined in those two games and turn three of them into touchdowns. Let that number sink in for a minute. A third of the interceptions against highly-regarded offenses the defense turned into touchdowns.
“Barry Odom is the real deal,” Pittman said Saturday.
He’s done it because he inherited some players who were hungry for success, bought into his approach and had talent a lot better than what just about everybody thought.
“We’ve got a talented group,” Pittman said. “We’ve got a resilient group. We have a group that can catch passes on defense and return them for touchdowns.”
Nobody wanted to believe that in August. You couldn’t find anybody that would have dreamed of getting six interceptions in one game … three by walk-on cornerback Hudson Clark.
“I was planning on getting seven when the game started, but we’ll take six,” Pittman said with a chuckle.
As for Clark, it’s probably a safe bet he’ll have a scholarship sooner rather than later. For those who didn’t know about him, it’s a good bet they will. His three interceptions Saturday were overshadowed a little in the headlines by Morgan, who is a senior playing with an elbow injury.
“They’ve heard of (Clark) now,” Pittman said. “Three times at least.”
Redshirt freshman Jalen Catalon also brought an interception back when he jumped a route in the first half, caught the ball and nobody could get him before he got to the end zone.
“That’s coaching, that’s playing, that’s being in position, that’s reading eyes,” Pittman said. “That kid Corral had one interception going into today. We picked him six times so that’s coaching and that’s players learning and obviously being able to get it done as well.”
Which is something often over-looked. Odom has this defense playing like it is because he’s simplified things, the players know each and every week what they are supposed to do and where they are supposed to be.
Defense in football is stupid simple. The important thing is to see who has the football and get the guy with it on the ground as fast as possible or catch the ball if it’s in the air.
Odom and his staff figure out on Sunday what the other team can do successfully, show it to the players. They know what to expect, where to be and can play full speed. That hasn’t been seen from the Hogs in years.
In case you’re wondering, the direction for that comes from the top.
Which is why Pittman has now beaten two of the more popular on the wish list of fans back in December.
It’s a good bet Hog fans wouldn’t trade for either of those guys now.
Morgan’s arm ‘about as well as it can be’ after 19-tackle game against Rebels
Grant Morgan, playing with one arm, recorded 19 tackles and had an interception return for a score in win over Ole Miss.
Clark has had three interceptions in game before … when he was in junior high
Arkansas cornerback Hudson Clark talked with the media after picking off three Matt Corral passes in win over Ole Miss on Saturday.
Pittman on Razorbacks’ defensive effort in getting win over Ole Miss
Arkansas coach Sam Pittman with the media after getting his first win in Fayetteville and the opportunistic defensive effort.
Burks on leaping one-handed catch against Ole Miss, playing injured in win
Razorbacks wide receiver Treylon Burks talked after the 33-21 win over the Rebels on Saturday and couldn’t rank his diving catch for TD.
