Arkansas players quarterback Feleipe Franks, linebacker Bumper Pool and offensive tackle Dalton Wagner’s complete unedited teleconference Friday with the media.
Loss to ULM followed by facing Alabama was rough start to Allen’s time
After a redshirt year, Brandon Allen wasn’t expecting to see the field that much in 2012 and all that changed on a night in Little Rock a lot of Arkansas fans would love to forget.
When Tyler Wilson was knocked out of the game against Louisiana-Monroe, it was time for the redshirt freshman to step in and he didn’t have a lot of quick success in a 34-31 overtime loss.
It had an effect he told Tye Richardson and Tommy Craft (The Morning Rush) on ESPN Arkansas on Friday morning.
“I tried to not (affect him),” he said. “It’s tough to play against Alabama and going into the ULM game and not getting that win. It made me quickly realize that whatever I was doing wasn’t good enough.”
Many point to that ULM as the point when everything started to turn around in a 37-62 slide although Allen did manage to have a couple of successful years — 7-6 in 2014 and 8-5 in 2015, which are the best marks over the last eight seasons.
It does include a win over Texas in the Texas Bowl, a legendary win over Ole Miss where his two-point conversion in overtime won the game … but also a haunting loss to Mississippi State in 2015.
The two teams had traded big runs and after Dak Prescott led the Bulldogs to a score, Allen got his turn to try and set up a winning drive that ultimately ended with a blocked chip-shot field goal at the end.
“We just happened to get down there so quick that we didn’t want Dak to get the ball back,” he said. “Obviously they’d been scoring all day.”
After passing in a two-minute offense, the Hogs went into a run game setting up the field goal attempt.
“It was the smart play,” Allen said. “It was in there so close and we got them to burn all their timeouts. We were trying to set up a field goal and not let Dak have the ball with timeouts and time on the clock.
“In terms of time management it was a smart play. We did the right thing setting it up but weren’t able to get it done at the end.”
It’s one many Razorback fans still cringe over.
During the ongoing health crisis, Allen is playing a little golf at Fayetteville Country Club and looking to catch on with an NFL team after his contract ended with Denver.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast — Sam Pittman has two guys drafted, BA joins!
Tye & Tommy on Sam Pittman coaching two first rounders, BA joins, plus NFL Draft talk with Clay!
Thomas’ selection at No. 4 in NFL Draft gives Pittman another sales tool
When the New York Giants selected Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas at No. 4 in Thursday night’s draft it didn’t take his position coach, Sam Pittman, long to jump in with congratulations.
Congratulations to Andrew Thomas. Such a great young man and will represent the NY Giants on and off the field. #4 #firstolinemantaken
— Coach Sam Pittman (@CoachSamPittman) April 24, 2020
Thomas, a surprise selection at that spot. ESPN’s Mel Kiper had him a little lower of the tackles but obviously the Giants saw something.
For Pittman, though, it’s another valuable recruiting tool at Arkansas.
Few other offensive line coaches have put players so high in the NFL and Thomas keeps that number going.
LSU’s Joe Burrow was chosen first by Cincinnati, then Chase Young from Ohio State to the Redskins and another Buckeye, cornerback Jeff Okudah, went third to Detroit.
Interestingly, all three were teammates for a year at Ohio State.
After Thomas, Miami chose Alabama quarterback Tua Tagavola fifth.
The difference in salary from Burrow at No. 1 to Tagavola is an average of $1 million a year and $6 million over the course of the contract. NFL rookie contracts are fixed on a salary cap scale for the first four years.
He will actually make more than Thomas because Florida has no state income tax as opposed to New York.
Burrow will be first pick in tonight’s NFL draft, but Chizik likes Tua
There’s not a lot of drama in the NFL’s annual cattle auction tonight of who will be the first pick and quarterback taken, but the second quarterback off the board is drawing interest.
“I’ve had five first-round draft pick quarterbacks on my teams through the years,” SEC Network analyst and former Auburn coach Gene Chizik told Tye Richardson and Tommy Craft (The Morning Rush) on ESPN Arkansas Thursday morning. “Joe Burrow is as impressive as any of them.”
But he does have this feeling that Alabama’s Tua Tagavola would be his choice next ahead of Oregon’s Justin Herbert.
“Tua’s not far behind him,” Chizik said. “Joe’s got the size, the arm, the acumen, the IQ … all of those things. Who’s going to be the better one down the road I just don’t know. If Tua is healthy it’s going to be hard for anybody in this class to have a pro career like he is.”
Unless there is a stunning change Cincinnati will take Ohio native Burrow with the first pick overall. After that things get a little interesting with both Miami at No. 5 and San Diego right behind them looking for a franchise quarterback.
“It would be hard for me with Miami at No. 5 to pass him up. He’s a game-changer. His arm strength, his accuracy, his ability to make quick decisions. He can make things happen when nothing’s there. He throws receivers open. Obviously the health issue is going to be the biggest question mark for him.”
Chizik, who still lives in Auburn, has seen Tagavola and is impressed with one of those intangibles you hear coaches talk about all time.
“Tua’s got the ‘it’ factor,” he said. “Everybody on that football team will follow him like a pied piper. Provided he stays healthy.”
You can listen to ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft tonight at ESPN Arkansas 95.3, 96.3, 104.3 and online at HitThatLine.com.
Neighbors’ uncut teleconference on Slocum, variety of subjects Thursday
Arkansas women’s basketball coach Mike Neighbors covered just about everything from finally landing graduate transfer Destiny Slocum to shaving his head and Vic Schaefer leaving Mississippi State for Texas.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast — Razorbacks that didn’t pan out, Coach Chizik and more!
Tye & Tommy on Razorbacks who didn’t make it in the NFL, coach Gene Chizik, Hog basketball recruits and more!
Sweet 16 voting concludes today in the greatest Razorback football game
Sweet 16 voting concludes today in the Greatest Razorback Football Game of all-time bracket! Now, the match-ups get tougher, and we need your help! Voting in the Ken Hatfield Region is now open! Make sure to submit your votes below!
Click here to view the full bracket!
Next week, we will begin voting with the Elite 8 and the Final Four! Going to be a fun week, determining the Final Four of the Greatest Razorback Football Games of All Time!
Players didn’t ‘have enthusiasm’ for Morris’ approach, Luginbill says
Chad Morris had a good early pitch when he got the Arkansas job in December 2017 but the players never really bought in and looking back that was clear as a bell his very first day.
ESPN’s Tom Luginbill noticed it from the players, too.
“I just never felt like there was a lot of enthusiasm from the players’ side,” he said told Derek Ruscin and Zach Arns (Ruscin & Zach) on ESPN Arkansas Wednesday afternoon.
Luginbill had known Morris for awhile but he’s had some time to look at the overall. Like some others in the media he really didn’t see it coming.
“I’ve known Chad all the way back to his high school days,” he said on the show. “I think he’s a really good coach … he’s proven that. You don’t go from being the offensive coordinator that’s received a ton of credit for getting Clemson where they are now offensively to all of a sudden take a stupid pill and becoming a bad football coach. That didn’t happen to Chad Morris.”
What Luginbill didn’t say but maybe he noticed was the players’ reaction to Morris in his first team meeting. The video was put up just about everywhere but here it is as released by the UA:
In my rearview mirror the players didn’t look too interested. Since most of the fans and media weren’t really looking for anything negative we didn’t exactly see it.
Hogs basketball coach Eric Musselman said on Ruscin & Zach just before Luginbill about the time he met legendary football coach Paul Brown who said the most crucial part of a meeting is the first three minutes. That’s when the players determine whether they are in or out.
if you subscribe to that the players were out quick.
“The coaching staff, Chad, were always very engaged,” Luginbill said. “It was important to them and they truly believed they were going to turn the thing around.
“I don’t know if the players ever looked at it that way.”
They didn’t. Some in that video were gone before the following summer via the transfer portal or they just weren’t going to play for Morris, who may have tried to jump in the left lane and put the hammer down when he should have left the cruise control at the limit for a few miles.
“When you look at the philosophical differences of what Bret Bielema was going to be on offense and what Chad Morris is, you don’t just wave a magic wand and have that change overnight,” Morris said. “The problem is he didn’t need to change it overnight. They just needed to show they were making progress and instead they regressed. I don’t think any coach can survive something like that.”
What Luginbill didn’t say is that it too often appeared Morris thought he had more time, which was a lack of experience at the big-time college level.
He was hired by an inexperienced interim athletics director that jumped into the deep end of the pool.
Combine that with either not listening to people experienced at the SEC level or having anyone that had a clue, he failed miserably at the political side and the full-time boss didn’t have anything on the line when Morris didn’t win games.
It should have been apparent he didn’t have the talent to win at the SEC level and he probably knew it. Morris thought he could recruit his way out of the problem and said as much on numerous occasions.
“You’re in a conference if you don’t have great players on defense it’s hard to survive,” Luginbill said. “Right now Arkansas is not going to have a defensive front like Auburn or an Alabama or an LSU … even Texas A&M as of late. That’s always going to be a challenge playing in the SEC West.”
Having a rotating door at the quarterback spot was another problem and graduate transfer Feleipe Franks may help with that … but not alone.
“Can he bring some offensive linemen with him?” Luginbill asked. “Sam Pittman’s an offensive line guy and if you watched Arkansas the last two years that was the core of the problem was up front, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.”
Franks may discover it would have helped him bringing some of Florida’s linemen with him, but he can still be a positive for the Hogs, he feels.
“He’s bringing some stability,” Luginbill said. That’s the one thing that position has not had at Arkansas is some stability and hopefully that’s something that will permeate throughout the locker room.”
Oh, and just be patient taking care of the small things which is something Morris never could seem to get over to any of the eight guys who started over the two-year debacle.
“Sometimes just the sheer factor of getting first downs is something that can create such confidence,” he said. “Forget about touchdowns and field goals … just get a first down, then getting the next first down. Arkansas had a LOT of trouble with that a year ago.”
Not only did Luginbill not see a buy-in with the coaches but the quarterback position as well.
“I don’t think anybody on that team trusted whoever it was that was going to take the snaps,” he said. “You weren’t seeing success, you weren’t seeing progress and you weren’t moving the ball up and down the field.
“Whoever it is needs to prove they can be a consistent factor of positive momentum of moving the football.”
Morris couldn’t figure out how to motivate players which ultimately proved to be his undoing.
Early appearances are at least that has changed with Pittman coming in.
