Razorbacks linebacker De’Jon Harris talked with the media after practice Tuesday about another game against another No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide team.
Clary says he doesn’t know who quarterback is behind him most of time
Arkansas center Ty Clary talked with the media after practice Tuesday and, when asked about the quarterback battle, said he’s not even aware who’s back there as he stays focused.
Morgan on playing in Tuscaloosa, another strong Bama team
Razorbacks linebacker Grant Morgan talked after practice Tuesday about the game with the No. 1 Crimson Tide on Saturday.
Brown on great receivers Hogs will face against top-ranked Tide
Arkansas defensive back Montaric Brown talked after practice Tuesday about the corps of receivers Alabama has and the tall task in front of the Hogs.
Wolken: Morris among worst contracts this year in college football
Dan Wolken is opinionated. Like other columnists, sometime he can be right, sometimes wrong. On Tuesday, Wolken published an opinion piece on USA Today picking out the seven worst contracts in college football.
Chad Morris was the final coach listed. Most believe Morris was not the first candidate the Razorbacks went after. Multiple reports from several outlets suggested Arkansas tried its hand at Gus Malzahn only to be turned down.
Morris has been the “Head Hog” since Dec. 6th, 2017. Arkansas has yet to win a SEC game, leaving fans questioning the contract and the head coach himself. The USA Today columnist took that a step further.
Here’s Wolken’s take on Morris contract is one of the seven worst in college football:
Plucking a successful coach from a Group of Five program is always a bit of a gamble for a Power Five school because you just don’t know if it will translate. But in Morris’ case, he hadn’t even been particularly successful at SMU with a 14-22 overall record. Though in fairness the team had improved each year, going 7-5 in his final season there, Morris’ reputation was largely formed due to his work as Clemson’s offensive coordinator. So far, though, it’s been a debacle at Arkansas as he’s 0-12 in the SEC (4-15 overall), has yet to beat a Power Five team and has lost to the likes of North Texas, Colorado State and San Jose State.
Maybe Morris will turn it around, but that uphill battle looks daunting to say the least. Heck, a SEC win this year looks near impossible at this point. Hammer Down though, right?
To read the full article on the six other coaches he came up with click here: 7 worst deals among college football coaches contracts
???? Halftime Pod presented by Jeff’s Clubhouse — Kevin McPherson
Phil & Tye on if Kelly Bryant ended up at Arkansas, Houston Nutt’s motivation, plus Kevin McPherson!
Dungee named to watch list for Ann Meyers Drysdale award to top guard
FAYETTEVILLE — Chelsea Dungee was one of 20 players selected to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced today.
Named for the first player, male or female, to make the All-America Team in four straight college seasons, the annual award, in its third year, recognizes the top shooting guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.
Dungee was recently named to the Preseason First-Team All-SEC, while also being of just three players in the league, joining Rhyne Howard of Kentucky and Chennedy Carter of Texas A&M, to receive at least one vote for the Preseason Conference Player of the Year.
Last season was a special one for Dungee, as she set the school record for scoring in a single season (759 points), the school record for free throws made in a single season (229), set the game record for most points in Bud Walton/against an SEC opponent (41) and was the first Razorback in 13 years to tally 30+ double-figure performances in a single season.
Dungee was even better in the postseason, scoring a record 103 points in the SEC Tournament, propelling the Hogs to their first-ever SEC Tournament Final.
The Selection Committee for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
New to the award this season is Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds.
By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. Meyers Drysdale and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee.
The winner of the 2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s in Los Angeles on Friday, April 10, 2020, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five.
Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award, the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award, and the Lisa Leslie Center Award, in addition to the Men’s Starting Five.
2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Candidates
Aari McDonald – Arizona
Chelsea Dungee – Arkansas
Juicy Landrum – Baylor
Christyn Williams – Connecticut
Lauren Loven – Denver
Becca Hittner – Drake
Haley Gorecki – Duke
Kathleen Doyle – Iowa
Taylor Mikesell – Maryland
Destiny Pitts – Minnesota
Aislinn Konig – NC State
Lindsey Pulliam – Northwestern
Taylor Robertson – Oklahoma
Minyon Moore – Oregon
Erica Ogwumike – Rice
Kiana Williams – Stanford
Stephanie Watts – USC
Jocelyn Willoughby – Virginia
Amber Melgoza – Washington
Tynice Martin – West Virginia
Razorbacks release 2020 schedule with 32 games at Baum-Walker Stadium
FAYETTEVILLE — Set to return to the field following back-to-back College World Series appearances, Arkansas released its 2020 schedule, which features a 32-game home slate, including home SEC series against Alabama, Florida, Texas A&M, Auburn and Georgia.
In addition, Arkansas will travel to Texas in late February to play Oklahoma, Texas and Baylor in the Minute Maid Classic at the home of the Houston Astros.
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn enters his 18th season at the helm of the baseball team and is coming off another College World Series appearance, the first in back-to-back years and 10th appearance in school history.
With its last two CWS appearances, including a finals appearance in 2018, Arkansas has elevated its program to one of its highest levels in school history.
D1Baseball.com recently ranked the Razorbacks’ program as the third best in the nation, 10 spots higher than its previous ranking in 2017. Van Horn, with his eight trips to the CWS in his career, has more appearances than any active coach in the nation.
Even with the departures of a number of players that were key cogs in the Razorbacks’ run to the College World Series last year, Arkansas still returns a number of veterans with experience, including two-thirds of its rotation in sophomores Connor Noland and Patrick Wicklander.
Noland and Wicklander were among the top freshmen arms in the SEC last year as the duo combined for a 4.16 ERA, nine victories, 145 strikeouts and only 51 walks. Noland was named as a Perfect Game Freshman All-American and both were named to the SEC All-Freshman team.
On the offensive side, Arkansas brings back its top hitter in Matt Goodheart, who finished with a .345 batting average over 58 games as the designated hitter and was named to the All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Tournament Team.
The Hogs also return two of the top bats in the nation in juniors Casey Martin and Heston Kjerstad, who are both projected as two of the top MLB prospects going into the 2020 season.
Over the last two years, Martin and Kjerstad have taken the conference by storm, combining for 59 home runs and each are just outside the career top-10 for home runs in Arkansas history.
Kjerstad has hit .325 or higher in each of his first two seasons and matched his hit total (87) from 2018 and drove in another 51 RBIs along with 17 home runs.
As for Martin, even though his average dipped slightly (.286), he still hit more home runs (15) and had more RBIs (57) than his freshman season.
2020 schedule by the numbers
• 16 teams with 30 or more wins in 2019 (Five with 40 or more)
• 10 NCAA Tournament teams
• 1 conference overall champions (Illinois State)
• 4 NCAA Super Regional teams (Mississippi State, Ole Miss, LSU, Auburn)
• 2 College World Series appearances (Mississippi State, Auburn)
Can’t miss games at Baum-Walker
Razorbacks vs. Eastern Illinois – Feb. 14-16
Arkansas opens its 98th season of competition against the Eastern Illinois Panthers for the second-straight year.
This will be the 12th series between the two programs since 1984 and third since 2016.
The Hogs swept the Panthers last year, including a doubleheader Opening Day due to weather and outscored them, 30-12.
Arkansas has not lost the opening series to a season since 2001, two years before Van Horn took over as head coach.
Razorbacks vs. Alabama – March 20-22
The Hogs will open the home portion of its SEC schedule against the Alabama Crimson Tide one week after facing Mississippi State on the road.
Arkansas has won seven of its last nine games against the Tide, including three-straight series victories.
The last time Alabama visited Baum-Walker Stadium, it was a three-game sweep for the Hogs and was one of eight series sweeps at home in 2018.
Razorbacks vs. Florida – April 2-4 (Thursday-Saturday)
For the first time since 2016, the SEC perennial power Florida Gators will visit Fayetteville for a major weekend series to kick off the month of April.
The Razorbacks and Gators have only faced off in the regular season four times in the last eight seasons and three of those series have been in Gainesville.
Florida got the sweep in 2016, but Arkansas has had the Gators’ number in the postseason as of late winning twice in the SEC Tournament and once in the College World Series semifinals in 2018.
Razorbacks vs. Texas A&M – April 9-11 (Thursday-Saturday)
The strong start to the month of April continues for Arkansas as division-rival Texas A&M returns to Baum-Walker Stadium in what is expected to be a crucial series at the halfway point of the conference season.
The Aggies won 39 games a year ago and reached the NCAA Regionals for the 13th-straight season. Arkansas has won six of its last nine games against Texas A&M and pulled off the sweep the last time the Aggies visited Fayetteville.
The Hogs have also won five of the seven regular-season series since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2013.
Razorbacks vs. Auburn – April 24-26
One of two College World Series teams on Arkansas’ schedule, Auburn will return to Baum-Walker Stadium in late April and will bring one of the top returning clubs in the conference.
The Tigers have gradually improved their stock over the years since hiring head coach Butch Thompson and that culminated last year with their first College World Series appearance since 1997.
Last year, Arkansas won an important road series on The Plains, including a wild 15-inning affair and will be going for its third-straight home series sweep over Auburn in 2020.
Razorbacks vs. Georgia – May 8-10
Arkansas’ final home series for the 2020 season will be against another top team from the SEC Eastern Division in Georgia.
The Bulldogs won 46 games last year and have been a national seed in the NCAA Tournament for two-consecutive years under head coach Scott Stricklin
Arkansas has won 10 of its last 13 games against the Bulldogs dating back to 2012, including a three-game sweep in Fayetteville in 2017 and hasn’t lost a home series to Georgia since 2008.
Neighbors on team’s ranking, naming of court, previewing exhibition
Arkansas women’s basketball coach Mike Neighbors talked Tuesday morning about embracing getting to single digits in league’s preseason poll, the honor of seeing Nolan Richardson’s name on floor at Bud Walton Arena and looked at exhbition opener Thursday night.
