Yurachek updates protocols, handling players’ return to on-campus workouts
With the announcement that Arkansas players will be returning for voluntary on-campus workouts June 8, athletics director Hunter Yurachek held a Zoom press conference Wednesday with more details on protocols, safety issues.
Counce on playing, coaching; legacy of Sutton at Arkansas
Dr. Jim Counce was Eddie Sutton’s first signee when he came to Arkansas in 1974 and he was the ultimate role player, then delayed going to medical school while he coached with the Razorbacks.
He talked about that Wednesday morning, plus Sutton’s legacy with the Hogs, with Tye Richardson and Tommy Craft (The Morning Rush) on ESPN Arkansas.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast — Trust in Hog FB, Mase>IJ in mock draft and more!
Tye & Tommy on trusting in Arkansas FB again, Mase & IJ mock draft, Jim Counce, plus Hunter Yurachek questions!
Former Razorback Dr. Jim Counce joins The Morning Rush
Former Razorback Dr. Jim Counce joins The Morning Rush to discuss the passing of his former coach, Eddie Sutton. Hear his conversation with Tye and Tommy here!
Yurachek to outline plans for players coming back, getting sports restarted
Hunter Yurachek has walked a political tightrope about as well as any Arkansas athletics director has done in managing a complete shutdown of sports in an unprecedented manner.
We’ll probably never know his true feelings because, quite simply, we don’t need to know. It was a decision made for him by folks higher up the pecking order.
When he made the announcement March 13 everything was suspended until April 15 he was obviously pained. He also said his initial thoughts when they cancelled the SEC Tournament in the middle of it was that might have been a little quick.
Then he quickly added he understood the concerns of everyone as everyone in charge of anything has struggled to hit a target that is constantly moving against something nobody can see and fewer understand.
Not even the so-called experts really have a clue. Based on their public flip-flops this has gone all over the place. The numbers say the overwhelming majority of infections occur in closed spaces and even the CDC has said transmission from surfaces is far less risky than they originally thought.
It appears this entire thing still has far more questions than answers, but Yurachek is at least taking a leadership role and getting things ready to get players back on campus for those infamous “voluntary” workouts that in reality are’t that voluntary at all.
Things might get interesting if some players don’t want to come back for those workouts.
The guess is that won’t happen. Everybody is tired of being limited in their actions and many are probably ready to roll right now.
He will outline his plan for re-opening things Wednesday morning. Because of the way the entire Covid-19 crisis changes from day to day, Yurachek knows without me telling him that plan has to be flexible and could probably change by the first of July based on what we find out.
Many expect the virus to reduce significantly as the temperatures increase. If that’s the case by the end of June in Arkansas it won’t be around much, especially for people that get outside.
Razorback great Brewer on recruiting from Westark, playing for Sutton
Ron Brewer was one of The Triplets along with Marvin Delph and Sidney Moncrief and recruited out of Westark (now UA-Fort Smith) by Eddie Sutton and he talked about playing for him during the early years Tuesday afternoon with Derek Ruscin and Zach Arns (Ruscin & Zach) on ESPN Arkansas.
PTN’s Irwin recounting Sutton’s history putting basketball on map in Arkansas
Pig Trail Nation’s Mike Irwin saw Eddie Sutton from the beginning to the end at Arkansas and talked with Derek Ruscin and Zach Arns (Ruscin & Zach) on ESPN Arkansas Tuesday afternoon about the drastic changes he made.
Williams talks about past with Sutton on ESPN Arkansas’ ‘Halftime’
Arkansas current assistant Corey Williams played for Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State and with Sutton’s passing Saturday, Williams talked about his former coach with Phil Elson and Matt Jenkins (Halftime) Tuesday on ESPN Arkansas.
Halftime Pod Presented By Jeff’s Clubhouse | May 26, 2020
Phil and Smackdown remember the late Eddie Sutton. Arkansas assistant coach and former player for Eddie Sutton, Corey Williams joins the show to discuss Sutton’s legacy. Plus recruiting news with Nikki Chavenele!
Kjerstad picks up All-American honor from ‘Collegiate Baseball’ on Tuesday
Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad has become the 28th All-America recipient in school history after being named to the Collegiate Baseball first team after a shortened 2020 season.
It is the first All-America accolade for Kjerstad since earning freshman All-America status in 2018. The award marks the fourth consecutive year a Razorback has picked up the honor.
A junior majoring in recreation and sport management, Kjerstad wrapped his third season with the Razorbacks, beginning the year on the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award watch list for the second-straight season, while also earning Preseason First Team All-SEC accolades from the league’s coaches.
The accolades did not stop there, with Kjerstad gaining recognition from five outlets en route to unanimous first team preseason All-America honors.
The Amarillo, Texas, native put up video-game numbers in 2020, finishing the year with a .448/.791/.513 clip at the plate over 67 at-bats.
He recorded 30 hits, five doubles and six homers, with 20 RBIs and 19 runs scored.
Kjerstad quickly backed up the initial praise, putting together a .538/1.667/.643 line at the plate in the opening series against Eastern Illinois.
He went 7-for-12 overall over the three games, recording five extra-base hits, including four home runs, two in the opener and two in the finale. He also had 10 RBIs, scoring six times and walking twice, finishing with 20 total bases.
Every hit during the opening weekend brought in at least one run, while his four homers made him the first Razorback since at least 2002 to accomplish the feat in the first series of the year.
The performance at the plate earned him Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week and SEC Co-Player of the Week, both honors for the first time in his career.
The hits kept coming, all season, as Kjerstad recorded at least one hit in every game of 2020, with multiple hits in 10 of the 16 contests.
All three games at the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic featured multi-hit performances, placing him on the all-tournament team behind a .538 batting average during the weekend.
His fifth dinger of the year came in Houston against Texas, but one of his biggest home runs of the season came in the final weekend of the season against South Alabama.
Tied at three and facing a 2-2 count with two outs in the ninth inning, Kjerstad rocketed a two-run homer over the wall in right field to clinch the series win.
It was the first walk-off home run by a Razorback in exactly seven years and helped exorcise the demons of what had a been a rough five-game stretch heading into the series.
As the season came to a close quicker than anyone imagined, the constants that everyone on the Hill anticipated and hoped for remained the same.
Kjerstad led the team in seven offensive categories, pacing the conference in hits (30), total bases (53) and slugging percentage (.791), as well as a close second in batting average (.448), while getting recognized by D1 Baseball as the best hitter in the SEC in the outlet’s wrap-up of the year.
Information from Razorback Sports Communications is included in this story.
