Tye & Tommy on old players being frustrated with the football program, Ryan Mallett joins the show and more!
Mallett enjoying outdoors, looking forward to coaching at Mountain Home
Coaching was something Ryan Mallett has been interested in and when Mountain Home had an opening it was the perfect fit for the former Arkansas quarterback who is building a house near there.
“It’s kinda in my blood … it runs in my family,” Mallett told Tye Richardson and Tommy Craft (The Morning Rush) on ESPN Arkansas Tuesday morning. “I get to be around the game I love. As far as being over here since me and my fiancee are building a house over here anyway a job came open and the coach that got hired I had a few connections to him so I called him and said I’d get certified and whatever I had to do.
“He said he’d love to have me so we got everything done.”
Mallett was a sociology major mainly because his options were limited after transferring from Michigan in 2008.
“Only three of my 32 credits transferred so that was the only major I could even do to be eligible the year after I sat out,” Mallett said. “It was just what I had to do.”
It will be Mallett’s first coaching gig so he doesn’t really have a coaching style yet but everybody will know he’s around the Bombers.
“I yell a lot,” he said. “A lot of it is encouragement, but I’m loud. I’m just going to do whatever the head coach asks me to do. That’s what I’m here for.”
Mallett was animated quite a bit in his two seasons at Arkansas but moreso in 2009 because he felt he had to be that way.
“That first year I was just like let’s go, let’s get go and I think they saw that the last year so I didn’t have to be like that as much,” Mallett said. “I didn’t have to be rah-rah, I could calm down, handle my business and everybody else could be calm. It really helped me to sit down and look at that stuff with the coaches.”
It paid off that second year with the Razorbacks losing only to Alabama and Auburn in the regular season before a Sugar Bowl loss to Ohio State.
Mallett threw costly interceptions late against the Crimson Tide and the Buckeyes that killed any comeback attempts.
He was asked about those.
“Which one?” he said laughing. “The Alabama game was more of a fluke. I was trying to throw the ball out of bounds and just didn’t get enough on it. Against Ohio State I was doing what I was supposed to against the blitz and they dropped a defensive tackle out that they hadn’t done all year so that was a scheme thing. But I’d take the Alabama one back.”
The one against Alabama, though, is one he’d like to have back.
“If we’d won that game we wouldn’t have been in the Sugar Bowl, we’d been playing for the national championship,” Mallett said, although he’s forgetting the loss to Cam Newton and Auburn that would have still been a major hill to get over.
Elite 8 continues in the Paul Eells Region of the greatest Razorback football game of all time bracket
Elite 8 voting continues today in the Greatest Razorback Football Game of all-time bracket! Now your votes count more than ever, because these Elite 8 match-ups are tough, and feature some of the greatest games in Arkansas football history. But which one is the greatest? Voting in the Paul Eells is now open! Make sure to submit your votes below!
Click here to view the full bracket!
Tomorrow (Wednesday), Elite 8 voting will be opened up for the Houston Nutt Region! Get out there and vote on what you think the Greatest Razorback Football Game of All Time!
Destiny finally brings Neighbors, Slocum together for Razorbacks
Okay, it’s a little cheesy to work destiny into a headline with graduate transfer Destiny Slocum finally getting to play for Mike Neighbors, who’s been trying to get her on his team for years.
“I’ve wanted to play for him for a really long time,” Slocum told Phil Elson and Matt Jenkins (Halftime) on ESPN Arkansas Monday afternoon.
Neighbors first tried to recruit her to play for him at Washington when Slocum was in high school. He went to every single game she played one year and she chose Maryland and the Big 10.
When she left Maryland after one year, he tried to get her at Arkansas, but she went back to the left coast for Oregon State and the Pac 12.
The third time proved to be the charm, but it was the result of his recruiting twice before, which is the way things go in college athletics these days. Relationships are more important than ever because you may get a second (or even third) shot.
Neighbors didn’t waste a lot of time when her name officially showed up in the transfer portal.
“When I saw his name pop up on my phone it was a moment I needed to hear from him,” Slocum said.
Neither one was too worried that it hadn’t worked out in the previous attempts.
“The stars never really aligned before,” Slocum said. “This time they did it align and we might be able to cherish it even more this way. We always had this really good relationship and I don’t think that ever fades.”
During the current slowdown of everything around the globe, Slocum is finding ways to work outside in Corvalis, Oregon. All the gyms are closed and it rains a lot there so it gets a little tricky at times.
“It’s been interesting,” she said. “It’s weird to not have any gyms open. Having to rely on outdoors. It’s a little difficult.”
Now she comes in with a year to play and brings a lot of experience from two Power 5 conferences and postseason experience.
“We hold ourselves accountable and it trickles down to everybody else,” Slocum said. “I know how good this team is. I just want to join them in helping us to get to the best place possible.”
Hog fans are just hoping that place is a long run in the NCAA Tournament.
Wolfenbarger commits to Razorbacks over some of top teams in nation
Mike Neighbors got the best 2021 player in Arkansas to stay home when Fort Smith Northside’s Jersey Wolfenbarger committed to Fayetteville and it’s a really big one.
Wolfenbarger, who has grown nearly a foot, made the announcement on Twitter on Monday afternoon:
????❤️ #WPS pic.twitter.com/8EBy7ib4AR
— Jersey Wolfenbarger (@JerseyWolf4) April 27, 2020
She is the first commitment for the 2021 class.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast — Arkansas players drafted, Travis Swanson joins and more!
Tye & Tommy on the Razorback players signing NFL deals, Travis Swanson joins the show and more!
Softness of past couple of seasons will change quick for Hogs, Swanson says
One of the biggest accusations against Arkansas the past couple of season by media and fans or anyone else paying attention was just an overall softness that seemed to filter down from the top.
Former Razorback All-American center Travis Swanson noticed it, too. It was a process that started when Sam Pittman left Bret Bielema’s staff to join Kirby Smart with Georgia.
That led to two seasons with the equivalent of an NFL grad assistant followed by a good guy who didn’t have a clue how to coach SEC-caliber linemen.
That will all change with Pittman, Swanson feels … and already has started. The Hogs may not win the West, but they probably won’t be called soft.
“That’s not going to be tolerated,” he told Tye Richardson and Tommy Craft (The Morning Rush) on ESPN Arkansas Monday morning. “A couple of guys on the team, talking to them, that message has been received.”
Swanson only had one season with Pittman (2013), but “I wish he’d been around for all my time.”
With his academics at the point he only had to take one class his final season, he spent a lot of time at the football center working out and just talking with Pittman about life, football and throwing out ideas.
“I remember being at the facility three to four hours before I needed to,” Swanson said. “Going up to his office and talking about life, things not related to football, things he picked up, ideas I had picked up. Gee, honestly, it feels like last week.”
It’s all part of getting players, which is not exactly the biggest thing, either.
“When they come out of high school just a shell of what you’re going to be,” Swanson said. “It’s up to the coaches. There’s really two sides to this whole thing. Recruiting is only half of the battle. It means nothing if you can’t develop them.
“It goes back to what I’ve said — it’s development, the personal side with you. He knows how to recruit. He knows what he’s doing and how to tie it all together. You can sense how genuine coaches are. You’re going to do anything to not let him down. It’s one of the biggest factors with him.”
At least through an unprecedented amount of chaos since taking the job last December, Pittman appears to be making strides in the recruiting area.
When Swanson watched the Hogs stumble through another disastrous season last year and Chad Morris was finally kicked to the curb in November, he had an idea. He got some other former players on board and a letter was sent supporting Pittman.
“When I saw the news, read headlines, I sat back in my chair and thought about what does Arkansas need?” he said. “You need somebody to recruit … all the other resources are here. It made a bunch of sense to me and others guys I knew. Initially it was something we believed he deserved and got fans talking about something and believe in it.”
It made a difference as athletics director Hunter Yurachek actually read the letter and was smart enough to be impressed with it.
At that point, Arkansas had reportedly been rebuffed by some names that would produce bigger headlines, but maybe not bring what is actually needed with the program.
“I know what this guy can do and excited to see how they do,” Swanson said. “Whenever this storm does pass excited for the Hogs to get back out there.”
Which really should be a shot of good news to start the week for Razorback fans.
Elite 8 voting now open in the Broyles Region of greatest Razorback football game bracket
Elite 8 voting kicks off today in the Greatest Razorback Football Game of all-time bracket! Now your votes count more than ever, because these Elite 8 match-ups are tough, and feature some of the greatest games in Arkansas football history. But which one is the greatest? Voting in the Ken Hatfield Region is now open! Make sure to submit your votes below!
Click here to view the full bracket!
Tomorrow (Tuesday), Elite 8 voting will be opened up for the Paul Eells Region! Get out there and vote on what you think the Greatest Razorback Football Game of All Time!
Defense, quarterback obviously biggest keys to Hogs making improvement
In all the analysis without spring practice surrounding Arkansas during this health crisis, it’s not that difficult to lose focus of the two biggest areas that have to improve for anything to get better.
Folks, it’s going to be the defense and settling things at quarterback. Feleipe Franks didn’t come here to help some of the youngsters figure things out. He’s wanting to hear his name called at next year’s NFL Draft.
On the other side it’s a little more cloudy.
It helps on defense the new guy in charge probably has a little extra motivation he probably won’t admit for awhile.
Barry Odom was fired at Missouri after beating the Razorbacks in Little Rock in November. Eli Drinkwitz replaced him after one year as a college head coach and they paid him $1 million a year more.
No coach will acknowledge something like that but you can bet they won’t forget.
The guess is the defense will not just be better — admittedly not exactly a high bar — but dramatically different and improved.
“You could play really good defense … say you play 75 snaps, you could play really good defense for 68 of those 75 plays, but on those seven remaining plays if you give up chunk yardage or explosive plays then it’s not a very good day,” Odom said over a week ago in a teleconference.
That was the biggest problem with the defense the last couple of years. It wasn’t that hard for teams to figure out what they were going to be doing.
“We’re very multiple and we’re doing some things that I really like,” linebacker Bumper Pool said this past week. “I kind of think that with any scheme it’s just kind of about how hard you play.”
Which is why Odom is changing the scheme, but he’s more interested in changing the effort, which appeared questionable too often over the past couple of years.
“It’s going to be an effort based defense that plays with tremendous speed,” Odom said. “Those things, if you get and train and have the habits of playing collectively together, but also playing hard, understanding your assignment.”
That’s everybody, by the way.
“It’s not just on the defensive line, it’s not just on the secondary, it’s all of them collectively together,” Odom said.
Like we said earlier, it’s not just a scheme, It’s a mind-set. Odom has said putting together a depth chart is going to be a little difficult because there may be six defensive backs starting, five or four … it will change a lot.
Everybody has said that. What the players seem to think is they are going to be expected to play better.
“We find ways to create turnovers and give the ball back to our offense,” Odom said about what he wants to do. “Give them another possession and continue to find ways effectively to get off the field on third down.
“If you can do those and focus on those elements, then you’re numbers start to decrease defensively. You have got to be a really good tackling team.
“All of those components go into playing good defense and ultimately that’s not giving up big plays.”
Pool may have summed up the biggest change without realizing it.
“You can just see coach Odom has a fire in his eyes,” Pool said. “He’s determined to be the best and it shows in everything he does. He’s strict and he’s so fired up about it.
“You can see his passion. And that passion spreads out to the whole defense.”
Which will also spread to the fans quickly … if it improves.
Harris, Smith, Whaley, Capps, Harrell sign with teams, but nothing for O’Grady
Maybe everything you need to know about how NFL teams are evaluating players these days is lightly-used tight end Chase Harrell got a deal with a team after the draft while Cheyenne O’Grady is still waiting.
That has little to do with talent and how the league takes into account a lot more than how fast, strong and well you play football these days.
NFL teams don’t take as many chances if there is a hint of off-field questions these days. It’s not substance abuse these days as much as it is simply getting to meetings on time, not missing classes and nothing to do with what’s on the tape.
Here’s a list of the Razorbacks who have signed undrafted free agent deals (and it may be updated):
• T.J. Smith, Los Angeles Chargers
• Chase Harrell, San Francisco 49ers
• De’Jon Harris, New England Patriots
• Devwah Whaley, Cincinnati Bengals
• Austin Capps, Atlanta Falcons
By the numbers, the odds are actually better taking the free agency route than getting picked after the third round.
Last year in the NFL on opening day, over 30 percent of team rosters were made up undrafted free agents … in other words, about 16 players per team on average.
2019 NFL Rosters by Original Draft Slot
UDFA- 30.9%
Rd 1- 14.3%
Rd 2- 11.0%
Rd 3- 11.1%
Rd 4- 9.9%
Rd 5- 8.6%
Rd 6- 8.4%
Rd 7- 5.7%— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) September 3, 2019
As I learned covering the NFL years ago if you aren’t going in the first three rounds it’s better to be an undrafted free agent. It’s in the numbers.
If you’re a free agent and have multiple offers, you can pick the team where you have the best shot of making the roster.
And you can rest assured teams ask as many questions about free agents these days as they do players they are drafting … only they avoid problems. The last thing they’re interested in doing is having to babysit a free agent.
O’Grady’s problems, ultimately, were of his own doing and they’ve been well-chronicled over the last five years. Getting kicked off the team midway through last season near the end of Chad Morris’ time probably shouldn’t have been too surprising.
He’s got the talent. There’s no question about that.
It’s the other things that count for just as much these days. Instead of being picked by a team he’s in the position now of having to hope for a chance.
Which will be slim, at best.
