Tye & Matty T on why you should have expected the Kentucky loss, Connor O’Gara and more!
Have boosters, players, moved past just questioning Morris, staff?
It’s a good thing Chad Morris was a highly successful coach in Texas high school football because on the current track he’s on could he be back there sooner rather than later?
You have to wonder that.
Could the big-money boosters already be ready to pass the hat for the money to give him a negotiated buyout and send him on his way?
Has he lost the confidence of the players at the halfway point of the season?
It’s a question only athletics director Hunter Yurachek could answer and he’s not going to do it. Based on how quickly the Mike Anderson firing came down, it’s doubtful anybody’s going to have a really good read one way or the other until something happens.
But Morris is going to have to start answering questions better than the tap-dance he performed Monday morning in his weekly press conference that is turning more into a wake a couple of days after the wreck.
It’s not helping his case that one of the highly-touted freshman in this signing class has decided to leave halfway through the season:
After speaking with my parents and coaches, I’ve made the decision to officially enter the transfer portal. Thank you Coach Morris and the staff for all you have done ????❤️
— DB23???? (@Dev_Bush1) October 14, 2019
There also appears to be grumbling among some other players questioning Morris and the staff. Losing a four-star cornerback when a defense that is getting lit up like a Christmas tree awaiting Santa Claus has him — and some others — sitting on the bench.
With two players leaving (D’Vone McClure announced he’s leaving the program Monday, too) and recruiting de-commitments, could Morris be in the left lane with the hammer down and headed out of town?
There are some wondering why several of the highly-touted freshmen that came in this year are not even seeing the field. Could players be asking the same question?
“You can lose your confidence back there in a hurry at that position,” Morris said. “The worst thing we can do is put a guy out there then we lose him for a lack of confidence. We have to bring those guys along.”
There are some folks asking if he’s bringing them along in practice and not playing them so the next coach has them for an extra year.
Every coach Monday said there’s no mass insurrection on the team, which is about what you’d expect them to say.
Of course you could get the impression the only person they’re trying to convince is themselves.
“We’re going to get out of this corner we’re in, but it’s not easy and it’s not going to get any easier,” Morris said. “We’re not going to flinch or back down.”
Nobody expects the Razorbacks to win the next two weeks. Let’s face it, if you got together the best 22 players in program history I’m not sure they would be even with the talent on either the Auburn or Alabama rosters.
Interestingly enough, the Tigers are playing a freshman quarterback this year and it was just a couple of years ago the Crimson Tide won a national title with a freshan a couple of years after nearly winning it with another freshman.
Nobody’s going to say there’s anybody on the roster to make that happen, but coaches all across the landscape of college football seem to be more willing to play freshmen.
Morris, for whatever reason, appears to struggle with it.
Worse, yet, he apparently hasn’t reviewed any history of how to explain it all and his material isn’t something Hog fans want to hear anymore.
“You’re 20 yards away from winning the last two games,” Morris said about the losses to the Wildcats and Texas A&M. “We have to put ourselves in good position. We’ve got to be able to find a way to get the ball in the end zone. We have to finish the deal, and we haven’t done that.”
Fans heard that from Bret Bielema for a couple of years and it didn’t work out well for him.
The coaches wanted to redshirt promising freshman quarterback K.J. Jefferson all along this year, along with some of the other talented freshmen.
Some, including those in the football program, may be wondering why Arkansas is about the only place that appears reluctant to play freshmen.
But could Morris be following a pre-determined script all along? Oh, I’m not about to say he was counting on being 2-4 at this point, but talking about the freshmen here.
Could the plan have been to save Jefferson, running back A’Monte Spivey sit the first eight games? That would get past the Auburn and Alabama games.
Play those freshmen in the final four games when they retain their redshirts, but still give the fans hope for the future?
It’s some intriguing questions. There is the question if anybody outside of the coaching staff knows it. Are there players asking the same questions, which could be filtering down to recruits?
The answers could hold the key to Morris surviving past Thanksgiving weekend.
Morris not ready to make big changes with personnel
Arkansas coach Chad Morris said Monday the quarterback will be either Nick Starkel or Ben Hicks and indicated there weren’t going to be any other major shakeups this week.
Chavis on problems at Kentucky, previewing Auburn
Razorbacks defensive coordinator John Chavis talked Monday about the problems in the 24-20 loss to the Wildcats and is impressed with players Tigers have this week.
Craddock on trying to get ball in Burks’ hands more often
Arkansas offensive coordinator Joe Craddock talked Monday about figuring out more ways to get the ball in Treylon Burks’ hands heading into game with Auburn.
Will Morris decide future is now at QB or ride past into ground?
Whether the media yakkers or the Great Unwashed on message boards and social media agree or not, Chad Morris is probably going to get another year as Arkansas’ football coach.
First, it’s highly doubtful anyone that has the money is going to write a check to fire another coach two years after they just let one go and, maybe more importantly, the odds of getting a proven coach are slim and none (and slim is probably already out of the conversation).
It’s why you have to wonder if Morris is ready to start going with the future or continue down a path of futility at the most important position on the field — quarterback.
The world of college football has changed and you’re not going to win a lot without someone behind center that’s pretty good.
And freshmen seem to be quite capable of stepping in.
The Razorbacks will be playing against a freshman this week when Auburn comes to town with Bo Nix behind center. He has them at No. 11 in the country.
For what it’s worth, Morris really has nothing to lose. Four of the last six opponents are presently ranked in the Top 25, including No. 1 Alabama next week and second-ranked LSU. Both of those will be on the road, too.
Yeah, optimism sailed out the window following the loss to San Jose State and, quite frankly, you have to wonder if Morris has figured out anything on the offensive side of the ball.
Neither Nick Starkel or Ben Hicks seem to have the ability to consistently get the Hogs into the end zone. They weren’t even the best quarterback in August camp doing that, according to both Morris and offensive coordinator Joe Craddock.
That was John Stephen Jones and he hasn’t come close to getting on the field in a game. Neither has K.J. Jefferson, who is spending most of the first half of the season simulating the other team’s quarterback.
The question is legitimate. What has Morris got to lose?
While Starkel’s arm strength is impressive, Jefferson’s isn’t bad. Show up Saturday and watch him in warmups because the ball jumps out of his hand. He can’t be more erratic than Starkel was Saturday night in the loss at Kentucky.
Jones just knows how to play football and there’s a lot of that required in winning games.
The Hogs have had chances to win in the fourth quarter of three of their four losses. It’s pretty clear by now Starkel and Hicks gagged on the opportunities they had.
We have no idea about Jones and Jefferson.
There are playmakers out there on the field. Trey Knox, Treylon Burks, Mike Woods, C.J. O’Grady have all shown they can do that. Even Tyson Morris has made a couple of plays. We hear T.Q. Jackson and Shamar Nash are playmakers.
Yet, the quarterbacks seem to struggle to get the ball in their hands. Neither are particularly adept at pulling the ball down and just taking off … or else not capable of reading a defense well enough to know they are probably going to have to do that.
They need a football player there.
We’ll see if Morris has the guts or knowledge to put one there.
No. 13 Razorbacks down Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon, 6-1
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas soccer (11-2-1, 5-1-0) downed Mississippi State (7-6-1, 2-3-1) in SEC play on Sunday afternoon, 6-1.
The six goals are the most against any conference foe since 2008 and they’re the most goals the Bulldogs have allowed since 2013.
How it happened
• Parker Goins faked a righty shot and then won a tackle against a Bulldog defender as she put it over the outstretched arms of the Mississippi State ‘keeper in the 17th-minute.
• Anna Podojil went one-on-one with the MSU goalie and put a strike to the far post in in the 25th-minute for her team-leading eighth goal of the season.
• The Bulldogs scored just the third goal in regulation against Arkansas all season off a PK in the 41st-minute.
• Taylor Malham responded with her own PK in the 43rd-minute as she slotted it to the lower left corner.
• Stefani Doyle side stepped the Bulldog ‘keeper as she put a strike to the right post on the open goal to open the half.
• Podojil would get her second of the day in the 52nd-minute. Taylor Malham redirected a Marissa Kinsey corner across goal for the freshman to put away.
• Podojil netted a hat trick in the 61st-minute on a shot that hit the cross bar and crossed the goal line for her 10th goal of the year.
From Colby Hale
“Today we found a good balance. Our goal is to put together full matches and we are getting closer. At 3-1 at the half we knew the next goal was important. We will enjoy this tonight and work towards our next match tomorrow.”
Next up
The Razorbacks will head to College Station, Texas, to face No. 17 Texas A&M on Friday, Oct. 18. First kick is set for 7:30 p.m.
Until Hogs’ playmakers get ball more, this offense will continue to be bad
While The Great Playcaller himself, Bobby Petrino, certainly had his downsides, getting the football in the hand of his best playmakers on offense almost assuredly wasn’t one of them.
It’s a question Chad Morris probably should be asking his offensive staff and, ultimately, himself after once again coaching a possible SEC win into a loss.
The best example of this came in the fourth quarter when Treylon Burks did what people in Warren saw him do for years … he took over the game almost single-handedly. For one series.
Don’t put it on Burks. He had a 26-yard punt return that he did a lot of the work on himself, making the first Kentucky defender miss. He followed that by taking a backwards pass he was wanting to throw to C.J. O’Grady, but saw he was covered and took off down the sideline for 11 yards.
On the next play, Ben Hicks threw to Burks for 15 yards to the Wildcats’ 3-yard line.
Burks had one other catch the entire game. Trey Knox, another freshman big-time playmaker, had two catches for 24 yards.
Part of the problem was Nick Starkel looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck half the time. It often appeared he was just chunking it in the general direction of somebody, usually C.J. O’Grady.
Hicks only threw eight passes. Part of that was the running game was effective, but when he did try to pass, the offensive line didn’t appear to put up more more than token resistance to the Kentucky defensive linemen.
Apparently some people tried to make a point of SEC Network commentator Jordan Rodgers pointing out the technical flaws in Starkel’s delivery and the coaches not correcting it.
While there’s plenty to blame on the coaches, that’s one issue offensive coordinator Joe Craddock has pointed out in no uncertain terms to Starkel on numerous occasions. We’ve seen it in individual workouts in the limited media access early in practices.
Starkel’s been coached on the proper technique. The fact he can’t do it consistently in games may be why he’s in Fayetteville and not still in College Station, Texas.
It’s just more of the head-scratching confusion about this team’s offense. As I said in the immediate reaction, this is resembling more and more the revolving door at quarterback last season.
The quarterback situation is something Morris is going to have to address … and resolve.
“All options are open,” he said Saturday night after the loss in Lexington.
In fall practice, Morris and Craddock both said redshirt freshman John Stephen Jones put the team in the end zone the most in scrimmages. Jones hasn’t seen the field except from the bench this year.
Freshman K.J. Jefferson, maybe the most intriguing of all the quarterbacks, hasn’t gotten close to being in a game. He was the highest-rated quarterback in the state of Mississippi last year and the guy behind him is starting at Ole Miss.
“We’ve got to get something that’s going to provide consistency and provide a spark for us,” Morris said. “We’ll re-evaluate that as we get back in.”
That’s basically a non-answer cliché. You hear those a lot with Morris, who at times appears to teeter on the edge of paranoia wrapped in secrecy. That’s why you don’t see special teams photos or videos from practice … we aren’t allowed to shoot it.
Exactly what is being protected there remains to be seen, but it borders on ridiculous.
It makes you think of the time Bill Parcells joined the Dallas Cowboys and cut off the media shooting practice photos and video. He said it was because before playing the Bills in the Super Bowl he saw a Bills’ play with Thurman Thomas on television the week before the game.
He didn’t elaborate. Research discovered the play. In the Super Bowl, the Bills ran the play seven times and got 97 yards. Buffalo coach Marv Levy wasn’t shy about giving the exact numbers.
“What would he have gotten if you HADN’T known about it?” Parcells was asked.
The restrictions on shooting were gone the next day.
Exactly what Morris is concerned about someone seeing is not known. The same goes for team drills … exactly what he’s afraid of anyone seeing is starting to slip past the borderline on ridiculous.
It’s hard to imagine any team seeing anything that could do anything but make them more confident. Let’s face it, nothing about these Hogs scare any opponent.
And it won’t be until Morris figures out a way to get the ball in the hands of playmakers on offense.
