Arkansas wide receiver Mike Woods talked after practice Tuesday about the upcoming game with the Bulldogs on homecoming at Razorback Stadium on Saturday.
Wagner talking about upcoming rematch with Bulldogs on Saturday
Razorbacks offensive lineman Dalton Wagner after Tuesday’s indoor practice on the game with Mississippi State.
???? Halftime Pod presented by Jeff’s Clubhouse — Mike Neighbors
Phil & Tye on Morris/Moorhead, interview Mike Neighbors, Moses Moody listing Ark in his Top 3 and more!
NCAA vote opens door for yet another new world in college sports
The NCAA’s top governing board voted unanimously Tuesday to allow players the opportunity to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness.
Welcome to another new world for college athletics.
The NCAA says, of course, these benefits must be attained in a manner consistent with the collegiate model. The NCAA has directed each of its three divisions to immediately consider updates to relevant bylaws and policies, according to board chairman Michael V Drake.
Thus far, the NCAA hasn’t mentioned the fact this vote will throw a wrench into what was expected to be a court battle and the kangaroo court that keeps college athletics under its thumb doesn’t have a good record there.
Drake said the move was made because the NCAA has to embrace change.
“Additional flexibility in this area can and must continue to support college sports as a part of higher education,” he said. “This modernization for the future is a natural extension of the numerous steps NCAA members have taken in recent years to improve support for student-athletes, including the full cost of attendance and guaranteed scholarships.”
Below is the listed guidelines and principals the NCAA wants to follow:
• Assure student-athletes are treated similarly to non-athlete students unless a compelling reason exists to differentiate.
• Maintain the priorities of education and the collegiate experience to provide opportunities for student-athlete success.
• Ensure rules are transparent, focused and enforceable and facilitate fair and balanced competition.
• Make clear the distinction between collegiate and professional opportunities.
• Make clear that compensation for athletics performance or participation is impermissible.
• Reaffirm that student-athletes are students first and not employees of the university.
• Enhance principles of diversity, inclusion and gender equity.
• Protect the recruiting environment and prohibit inducements to select, remain at, or transfer to a specific institution.
The NCAA said they gathered input from athletic directors, presidents, commissioner and student-athletes before making this decision.
The NCAA is also asking each of its divisions to create new rules no later than January 2021.
The new rules aren’t expected to be in effect until January 2021.
Exactly how schools handle the logisitcs of all this are still, obviously, unknown. Coaches are scratching their heads wondering how they’ll manage the inevitable lockerroom issues this potentially causes.
There are issues in pro sports where it often comes down to how good your agent is as much as anything.
Maybe the most important of the bullet items listed above is the last one and in the major sports that one’s going to be impossible to control or regulate for coaches, administrators.
In today’s world with social media and instant communications, how long will it take for recruits to find out which schools offer the best sponsorship deals?
Owners in pro sports have used that money (that doesn’t fall under salary caps) as added inducements to sign free agents or retain the biggest names.
Now that’s going to filter down to college athletics.
And, as we said, forever change that world … again.
Amidst confusion, Morris offering no solid proof he knows what he’s doing
With fan support eroding, Arkansas coach Chad Morris stepped to the podium for his weekly press conference Monday and proceeded to talk in circles for nearly 18 minutes and managing to say nothing.
He even messed up on defensive tackle Marcus Miller’s surgery, saying it was last Friday instead of this Friday. Miller’s still out either way, but it’s a lack of attention to detail that he didn’t need.
Morris is dealing with a lot these days and none of it’s personal, but he is appearing more and more like he’s trying to figure out coaching big-boy football as he goes.
Maybe nothing is more glaring than his handling of the whole quarterback situation.
Oh, don’t misunderstand me. I was around the Dallas Cowboys throughout the 1980’s when Tom Landry got so confused talking about it he announced an offensive lineman as the starting quarterback in the preseason one time.
The difference was Landry rolled his eyes at his own comment, corrected it, everybody laughed and things rolled along.
Morris has no sense of humor that we are aware of. When you’re 4-16 and 0-13 in the SEC and still haven’t beaten a Power 5 team, you better figure out something … and quick.
At times Monday, it looked like Morris would rather have been doing anything except standing at a podium answering pretty much the same questions he’s had all season and figuring out different ways to say the same thing.
Right now, if there’s anything that’s improved he should probably start pointing it out.
The main problems that everyone sees is a lack of wins and either an inability or unwillingness to settle on a quarterback, announce it and let it ride.
“When you look across the landscape of football in general — at all levels — just the consistency at the quarterback position, when you have that, a lot of things line up for you and allow you to have success,” was what Morris said about what he’s looking for.
How about getting the ball in the end zone? Just simply playing the guy that does that the most?
Right now it’s almost like Morris is coaching to achieve a long-term goal, which makes you wonder if he knows something nobody else does.
Neither athletics director Hunter Yurachek or Jon Fagg were at Monday’s press conference. It was one of the few times neither was in attendance. Last week both were there and they might be wondering if maybe only one should show up or people notice.
Morris either has more security than we know or else he’s coaching scared. He’s coaching like he’s scared to really take a shot at winning.
With games against teams the Razorbacks should at least be competitive with in Mississippi State and Western Kentucky (at home), there is a lot of thought he has to win one of those two games.
That “lot of thought” hasn’t come from anybody that really knows, but a lot of people and folks that think they know. The group that does know what’s going to happen is small and they have proven fairly capable of keeping quiet.
Morris is trying to maintain the appearance that he’s treating the game with the Bulldogs this weekend as just another week.
“Whoever we feel like is the best opportunity for us to win that game is first and foremost who we’re going with,” was how he answered the first quarterback question.
Ah, he’s keeping another embattled coach, Joe Moorhead at Mississippi State, completely in the dark about what quarterback to prepare for.
Even though it probably is the last thing the Bulldogs are worried about right now.
Morris could either go with the quarterback that got the team in the end zone the most in fall camp (John Stephen Jones) or the one many of the fans (and many of the players) think should be playing in K.J. Jefferson.
He’s covered the whole redshirt thing with Jefferson. Jones is going to be a sophomore next year in any circumstance.
Ben Hicks and Nick Starkel haven’t shown much except that they are consistently inconsistent.
According to Morris’ own comment, that should create at the very least a point on what he says is the determining factor. You would think if they’ve consistently shown they can’t handle it, you might want to try something different.
How Morris handles it will provide the answers to whether he gets another year in Fayetteville or not.
He’ll also probably need a win … or two.
QB merry-go-round continues for Hogs; Miller to have surgery Friday
For fans expecting a change at quarterback for Arkansas this week, you’ll either get your wishes fulfilled … or go right back to the status quo.
Chad Morris ran in circles around the whole issue Monday.
“I don’t know that right now at this point,” he said. “All options are on the table and we would love to have an opportunity to get some more of our younger guys in at times.”
Which says exactly nothing, staying with the theme of the day for Morris in a press conference where he apparently didn’t make it clear about the status of injured defensive tackle Marcus Miller.
While Morris wasn’t completely clear, some took his statement about Miller’s ACL injury as he HAD surgery Friday. That surgery is scheduled for November 1, according to folks close to Miller.
Everybody pretty much missed it because everybody was focused on the quarterback situation.
And Morris didn’t particularly seem interested in making the picture clear.
“We’ll have a general idea of how we’re going to do the reps in practice, similar to kind of what we did a little bit last week,” Morris said.
Yes, that means Ben Hicks is at least having his name kept in the mix. Along with Nick Starkel, John Stephen Jones and K.J. Jefferson.
“He’ll get some reps in there as well,” Morris said about Hicks.
???? Halftime Pod presented by Jeff’s Clubhouse — Who starts at QB???
Phil & Tye have a HEATED conversation on the QB situation at Arkansas.
Morris: No quarterback set, chance for ‘November to remember’
Arkansas coach Chad Morris wasn’t naming a quarterback for Saturday’s homecoming game with Mississippi State and said they have a chance for a “November to remember.”
Chavis says defensive effort still there, previews Bulldogs
Razorbacks defensive coordinator John Chavis recapped Saturday’s loss to Alabama and said the players were still giving great effort ahead of homecoming game Saturday against Mississippi State.
Craddock on offensive problems, looking ahead to Mississippi State
Razorbacks offensive coordinator Joe Craddock talked Monday about the offensive problems against Alabama and taking a look at Saturday’s homecoming with the Bulldogs.
