Hogs fans shouldn’t worry about baseball’s loss to Little Rock
Arkansas fans were already on edge Tuesday night.
With a men’s basketball coaching search that appears to be going off the rails, the last thing Razorbacks fans needed was a baseball loss to Little Rock in the teams’ inaugural meeting.
Not just a loss but a 17-7 clubbing at Baum-Walker Stadium.
It didn’t take long and social media was buzzing with distraught fans who claimed the series was a bad idea from the get-go.
Last year, Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek gave the OK for Hogs programs to play University of Arkansas System programs. The announcement halted a decades-long moratorium.
The reaction was a mixed bag, but when the Trojans routed the Hogs, some were livid.
To those who are bent — I know you are already upset about the prospects of firing Mike Anderson to possibly hire a mid-major coach or re-tread, but you don’t need to worry about this baseball loss.
Forgive me, but I am going to lean on my Iowa roots again. I know you get sick of that sometimes, but trust me, it’s applicable here. Growing up, Iowa State and Iowa, the state’s Power Five programs, played mid-majors Drake and Northern Iowa in most all sports –even football.
Hapless Iowa State lost to Drake the year the Bulldogs announced they were transitioning to a non-scholarship program. The Cyclones have also lost to UNI in football a handful of times.
Drake and UNI have beaten both Iowa and Iowa State in basketball over the years.
In a recent meeting, Iowa blocked to field goals on back-to-back possessions (because of penalties) to preserve a win in the final seconds.
And guess what?
The Cyclones and Hawkeyes haven’t lost revenue or recruits to those lesser programs. They still run the state, even though the Panthers and Bulldogs pull the occasional upset.
Obviously, this is a foreign concept in Arkansas since it’s brand-new. No one really knows how to react because these games have been taboo.
But this loss will show that in the grand scheme of things, it really doesn’t mean much.
Little Rock will have a great highlight video to show recruits and photos to include in the media guide. It’s a feather in their cap, but it won’t allow them to host an NCAA Regional, or even make one, let alone make a College World Series Run.
It won’t build them a new stadium they need or sway the top recruits from Arkansas to go there.
It also must be pointed out that in these nonconference midweek games, bigger schools don’t pitch their weekend starters. Could Little Rock beat Hogs No. 1 starter Isaiah Campbell? I wouldn’t bet on it.
Also this week, the University of Central Arkansas won at No. 24 Oklahoma State and No.18 Ole Miss, who only beat Little Rock 11-8 earlier this month, lost 10-6 to North Alabama.
These losses to mid-majors happen without much consequence and most know that the big boys aren’t wasting their top pitching.
The Hogs are still right where they want to be to make a deep postseason run. The Auburn series, which begins Friday, with a doubleheader is much more important.
Arkansas needs to bounce back after dropping two of three to SEC West rival Ole Miss last weekend at home. A couple of wins on The Plains and the Little Rock loss will be well in the rearview mirror if it isn’t already.
So, don’t fret over this. Your concern over the coaching search is a valid one. A baseball loss to an instate school? Nah.
Trust me, I know.
Photos from Razorbacks’ final regular spring practice Thursday
Thursday was the last day of a regular spring practice, but the players were sporting the Hogs on the helmets as they worked getting ready to finish up spring drills, starting with the Red-White game on Saturday.
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Friday
John & Tye discuss the flavor of the day, grading the potential coaching hires, plus Arkansas head football coach Chad Morris joins the show!
Hicks on adapting to playing at Arkansas, offensive improvement
Razorbacks quarterback Ben Hicks talked after Thursday’s practice about the offensive improvement in the spring and getting ready for summer practices.
Agim on defense winning belt on final regular practice of spring
Arkansas defensive tackle Sosa Agim after his last regular spring practice and he’s planning on doing a lot of coaching in the Red-White game Saturday.
Foucha after Hogs’ last practice Thursday before spring game Saturday
Razorbacks’ defensive back Joe Foucha talked with the media after Thursday’s practice about how the defense has improved in this spring practice.
Stewart after last ‘legit’ spring practice as fifth-year senior for Hogs
Arkansas wide receiver Deon Stewart talked with the media after what he called his “last legit spring practice” Thursday before Saturday’s Red-White game.
???? Thursday Halftime Pod — featuring Bob Holt of the ADG
Phil Elson & Tye Richardson hit on how the Arkansas program has fallen, interview Bob Holt, and a little Halftime Homework!
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday
John & Tye discuss the end game, coaches worth $6 mil, plus Richard Davenport!
Morris knows quarterback depth essential in today’s college football
Don’t get hung up on who the starting quarterback is at Arkansas when August 31 rolls around and Chad Morris’ second season gets rolling … hopefully with more than two wins.
The spoiler alert is it will be Ben Hicks under center.
He knows the offense and has taken snaps in games that matter. Hicks put up big numbers at SMU when he had NFL-caliber receivers. As any Razorback fan should know, that matters.
Now the good news is physically this group of receivers looks completely different than any group the Hogs have had in recent memory. Even Jordan Jones, who has resembled a toothpick more than a big-time SEC receiver, now is starting to fill out and look the part.
They are more athletic. You can see muscles rippling in the many Razorback Drill and Attack! drills we’ve seen in practices. This is a much, much more physical group than any other in immediate memory.
All of that will make the quarterback — any quarterback — look better.
Oh, it’s doubtful a lot of fans are going to get that warm, fuzzy feeling from the Red-White game Saturday. This won’t be a dog-and-pony show like the spring game in 2012 when they loaded up the first-team offense on one side playing against the scrubs and it looked like a skeleton drill all afternoon.
Morris has kept this spring practice focused on fundamentals. We’ve seen him working with the wide receivers on one half of the field while Justin Stepp has been working the other side. That’s not a negative on Stepp is the feeling here, it’s just getting both sides an equal amount of hands-on coaching.
He’s had a lot of one-on-one instruction with Koilan Jackson, so it’s not a stretch to think he sees something there from a receiver that has been hampered by injuries and we haven’t seen him on the field a lot. He’s another one of those big, strong guys and nobody seems to remember him when talking about the position.
If that group is consistent and more physical that’s going to make a difference in the passing game and the running game. I’ve listened to coaches for years talk about how much the blocking skills of wide receivers makes a difference in the running game.
That doesn’t make a difference in the back getting a hole at the line, but it does make the difference between a 5-yard run and a 30-yard run.
Oh, the offensive line will play a big part, too, but they’ve been banged up and dealing with so many issues it’s been hard to get a good read on them.
Just from limited views, though, this group won’t be worse than last year. They actually look more like SEC offensive linemen than we’ve seen before because they are all long and their footwork looks much better.
All of this wandering around is to get to the quarterback part of this story. Just remember it takes 10 other people on any given play to allow the quarterback to be whatever he’s going to be.
Having more than one quarterback, though, is not a luxury in today’s world of college football, particularly in the SEC.
Look at teams in the championship games the last few years. Alabama needed two good ones to get to consecutive championship games. Clemson started with Kelly Bryant last year and kicked him to the curb for a true freshman, who then proceeded to become the odds-on favorite for the Heisman before spring is over.
Very few teams make it through a season with one quarterback.
Hicks will be the starter. Behind him, though, is going to be a gaggle of guys with their strong points, but not a lot of experience.
Nick Starkel and Connor Noland have the most experience. John Stephen Jones is starting to figure it out. Daulton Hyatt has filled out some. Morris and offensive coordinator Joe Craddock have talked about walk-on Jack Lindsey’s grasp of the offense from an intellectual standpoint.
Who knows what freshman KJ Jefferson will be able to do. That’s not a knock on the kid, but you don’t go out on a limb on a true freshman until you see how he handles being on his own, taking college classes and the demands of being an SEC player just a few months from going to prom.
What Morris has said repeatedly is he’s always on the lookout for another quarterback. Arkansas fans haven’t heard that before.
It’s part of the way he’s putting the program together. In other words, you get the idea no single position — or player — is more important than the team.
The first reaction is it’s good in case of injury.
More importantly, though, it’s about having somebody pushing for playing time at every position. Especially at quarterback.
“It’s not a lifetime appointment,” is one of Morris’ sayings talking about who starts a game.
Having one good quarterback is not enough.
And, these days, I’m not sure you ever have enough.
