Phil & Tye hit on Chad Morris naming Ben Hicks the Week 1 starter, Connor O’Gara, and more!
Morris: Hicks starter at quarterback, previews season opener
Arkansas coach Chad Morris named Ben Hicks as the starting quarterback for Saturday’s opener against Portland State and talked about the decision process Monday.
Craddock: Growth, maturity of Hicks over years big key
Hogs offensive coordinator Joe Craddock talked Monday about how he’s seen quarterback Ben Hicks grow and mature over the last few years and how that was part of decision.
Chavis: Excited to start season; not worried about youth
Razorbacks defensive coordinator John Chavis talked Monday about the youth on the defense isn’t something to worry about and how he’s excited to start another season.
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Monday
John & Tommy discuss the quarterback situation, gameweek with Clay Henry, Portland State and more!
Razorbacks suffer first loss of season, falling in double overtime to OU
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas (1-1) fell in double overtime to the Oklahoma Sooners (2-0) in front of 2,241 fans on Sunday night at Razorback Field.
The two squads were even (10) in the shots department, but OU held a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal.
How it happened
• Sooner forward Kaylee Dao put home a rebound in the 105’ after Arkansas ‘keeper Katie Lund saved a shot by Hailey Davidson.
The run of play
After a relatively quiet first half, the Sooners controlled the pace of play early in second stanza, earning a shot by Lauren Tovy that was eventually blocked in the 60th-minute.
Junior Abbi Neece would get the first decent look in the half for the Razorbacks with a shot from distance that sailed over the crossbar in the 67th-minute.
The chance of the match for the Razorbacks came in the 70’ off a corner kick by freshman Cara Young.
The Sooners were forced to block several shots by Arkansas inside the box as Oklahoma goalie Nikki Panas was eventually forced to punch it out. Reagan Swindall’s shot on the rebound was deflected away before making it to the goal.
The Razorbacks and Sooners were knotted up at 0-0 after 90 minutes, as the squads headed to extra time.
After neither team was able to get a shot off in the first period of OT, Davidson got on the end of a cross, forcing Lund to make a save in the 105th-minute that Dao would eventually clean up to give the Sooners their second win of the season.
Next up
Arkansas will head to Oxford, Miss. for a pair of neutral match-ups with Minnesota and Southeast Missouri.
The match against Minnesota is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 29, and the Razorbacks will face SEMO on Sunday, Sept. 1. First kick is slated for 4 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
Regardless of choice, quarterback auditions may continue for week
It is highly anticipated Chad Morris will announce a starting quarterback in his press conference Monday, but over the weekend a phrase he’s often uttered popped back into my head.
“It’s not a lifetime appointment,” he has said on multiple occasions.
If he says it again Monday it won’t be surprising but it is good to hear him say it and hopefully that’s the way he views it.
Quarterback is the most pressure-packed position in football at any level. It has especially been the case at Arkansas where it gets the second-most blame or credit behind the coach (and slightly above the athletic director, which has always been puzzling).
Of course we’re all assuming this is not Morris playing the media attention angle. That might not be a bad idea, either, come to think of it. After 2-10 it’s one way to keep the interest level peaking.
And it’s been all of that and more, building back in spring to being the primary topic of conversation throughout the summer and fall camp.
Everybody’s got a source and an opinion. I’ve heard from people who get to stay longer at practices than anybody in the media and every one of them has had a differert view, depending on the day they were at practice.
Some say Ben Hicks. The next is convinced it’s Nick Starkel. A couple have said John Stephen Jones.
In case you’re wondering, we’re hearing the same thing about practices. Exactly how anyone can determine anything from practices these days is beyond me.
Everybody wants to believe the worst and hope for the best.
All of this is building to the point that whoever Morris names this week (and the guess is it will be Monday) is not cast in stone for the rest of the season.
The Portland State game may be the final audition.
Nate Olson mentioned the really important question is who will be starting against Ole Miss in the second week, which I agree with.
Let’s be honest here, the Vikings couldn’t play dead in a cowboy movie against an SEC team and basically are treating this like a team outing with a scrimmage. The coach even considered taking a bus and several days for the trip, but it’s cheaper to fly.
If Arkansas isn’t up 30-0 at halftime there’s a problem in this game.
Whether the Monday morning quarterbacks agree or not, it’s going to be a chance to look at several quarterbacks without jeopardizing a win. How much leeway the starter has to screw up is not known.
You get the feeling Morris is going to use The Force to decide, similar to what Tom Landry always went with. Tom usually had disastrous results with that, even going with alternating Craig Morton and Roger Staubach every single play.
It took Staubach going to Landry on the team plane coming back from that game and telling him if he wasn’t going to be the starter, trade him somewhere. He started the next week, finishing the year with a Super Bowl win and the rest is history.
Landry also had problems announcing a starter in the 1980’s, going so far as to step to the podium in the late stages of training camp in 1984 and announcing Pozderac as the starter before catching himself, rolling his eyes, and announcing Steve Pelleur over incumbent Danny White.
The reason the proclamation of Phil Pozderac as the starter was alarming that he was a rather unremarkable career as an offensive tackle and being the tallest player in the league (a half-inch taller than Ed “Too Tall” Jones) and accumulating an impressive number of holding calls at the worst possible times.
Pozderac was so star-crossed that a few weeks after the announcement he stood up in a Dallas nightclub while watching Monday Night Football, slipped and broke his ankle.
Landry’s infamous “feel” for who should be quarterback was a big factor in the collapse of the Cowboys.
Fans are hoping Morris’ decision-making doesn’t collapse the Hogs.
May The Force be with him.
FACES OF CAMP: Photos from Saturday’s ‘Beanie Bowl’ inside stadium
PHOTOS BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM
Knox, O’Grady not playing, but moving well at ‘Beanie Bowl’
Arkansas coach Chad Morris said earlier in the week he thought freshman wide receiver Trey Knox would be back for Saturday’s Beanie Bowl, he was there, but in sweats.
While that may not be the greatest news for fans, it’s not completely bad because he was moving freely and throwing passes and catching the ball along with tight end C.J. O’Grady, who had arthroscopic knee surgery a couple of weeks ago.
Knox’s sitting out really wasn’t that surprising, considering he’s been out sick and his conditioning was likely limited.
The practice Saturday was a half-step above a walk-through (but not a walk-through as the coaches loudly proclaimed on a couple of occasions).
Real question is who will be starting quarterback against Ole Miss?
Many Razorbacks fans and media members have exerted a lot of energy on who will start at quarterback when the Hogs host Portland State next Saturday.
Who cares?
I am much more interested in this new Popeyes chicken sandwich and how it compares to my beloved Chic-fil-A sandwich. I still can’t settle that debate because I can’t squeeze into the lot of any of the Little Rock Popeyes locations.
But back to football.
You can ring your hands all you want and yell at Chad Morris through the TV, but it really doesn’t matter who he starts against Portland State.
What I want to know is who is going to start Week 2 at Ole Miss. The SEC opener is the biggest game Morris will coach in during his short tenure.
We can all agree that what happens in Oxford will go a long way in guiding the trajectory of the season. Win that game and a bowl berth is very possible. Win that game and don’t worry about hearing about the SEC losing streak.
Win that game and have something to call recruits about.
Lose that game, and the season is already mired in negativity before it gets started. You get the idea, and the importance of this game is nothing new.
The talking heads have hammered it all summer.
So, that’s why I couldn’t care less who starts Week 1, but will be very interested in the Week 2 announcement.
That guy may be the winner of the QB sweepstakes, although if things go bad, Morris could be hopping back and forth all year like he did last year. If you think whoever starts in the opener is a shoe-in to at Ole Miss, think again.
I would even dare say that if the Portland State starter struggled early, he may be pulled and not play again the rest of the game.
Morris can’t take anything for granted.
A squad that was a 2-10 team a year ago can’t look past anybody, so either guy will have a quick hook if the first few series are disastrous.
If this battle is as close as it looks, ideally, the Portland State game would be an audition for the Ole Miss game, sort of like an NFL preseason game. Both guys play and whoever looks better, regardless of who started, that guy would get the not at Oxford.
I’ve believed all along that Morris has intended for SMU graduate transfer Ben Hicks to start the season atop the depth chart.
He has all of the advantages other than playing against SEC defenses every Saturday. He knows the staff, the playbook, and he’s more familiar with the personnel going through spring practice.
Texas A&M grad transfer Nick Starkel is a better athlete and is experienced with the speed of the SEC with his time starting for the Aggies.
However, Morris’ offense is complex and Starkel has had to learn it and get acquainted with his receivers since arriving this summer.
So, don’t blame Morris and staff for dragging the process out to the end of camp to see how far along Starkel is.
Some are frustrated because they think Morris has already picked a starter and is just biding his time. If this is gamesmanship with Portland State, that’s OK, too. Don’t let the opponent know too early. That is a classic coaching tactic.
Whatever the reason, contrary to the belief of some, not publicly revealing the starter has no impact on the team or the offense.
The other 10 guys in the huddle don’t need to know who the starter is now to have confidence in him Week 1.
They are getting to know each QB and will be ready for whoever is under center and if three or more play Saturday, that will work, too. The players won’t be surprised.
So, let’s resume this discussion after Portland State game when we’ve seen the combatants take some game snaps.
I’ll tell you then who should start at Oxford.
Also by then I should be able to tell you which fast-food chicken chain has the best sandwich.
Three Razorback freshmen named to pair of watch lists for season
FAYETTEVILLE — Three members of the Arkansas football team have been named to a pair of freshman All-America watch lists.
Defensive back Greg Brooks Jr. and wide receiver Trey Knox were recognized by the Football Writer’s Association of America (FWAA) on its Preseason Freshman All-American Watch List, while wide receiver Treylon Burks picked up the distinction from ESPN.
Brooks and Knox enrolled early after signing with the Razorbacks in December 2018, going through spring ball and playing in the annual red-white game.
Knox has missed the last few fall camp practices with an undisclosed illness.
Burks arrived on campus with the rest of the freshman class for summer workouts. All three were rated as four-star prospects coming out of high school.
