Arkansas center Daniel Gafford talked with the media Thursday about the SEC opening game on Saturday afternoon on the road against the Aggies and how team is ready.
If Kentucky can get 10 wins so can Hogs, plus some bowl notes
This bowl season is exactly why predicting those games is often a waste of time, not an indicator of any team’s strength and, realistically, fill-in programming for television and little else.
One of the most interesting in all of the games from an SEC standpoint was Kentucky’s 27-24 win over Penn State in the Citrus Bowl. Frankly, the Wildcats even making that game was eye-opening, then beating Penn State was, well, something not a lot of folks saw coming.
Arkansas fans should take note.
The last time the Razorbacks played the Wildcats was on a miserable, rainy night back in 2012. It was 49-7 at halftime, the weather was getting worse, so everybody just said it was good enough and the game was called and John L. Smith got his third win of the year.
The Wildcats were on their way to a 2-10 season and coach Joker Phillips’ firing. The Hogs were already looking for a coach because by mid-October it was evident Smith wasn’t the answer to replace Bobby Petrino.
Since then Arkansas has been 31-44 while Kentucky is 36-39. Granted, this season made the biggest difference there as while the Hogs lost 10, the Wildcats won 10.
At the end of the 2012 season the Razorbacks hired Bret Bielema and Kentucky hired Mark Stoops. At the time I said it was the worst hiring at Arkansas since Otis Douglas in 1950 and, well, we all know how that worked out. The Wildcats were so bad not many people outside of Kentucky paid attention. Or cared.
Now the Hogs are on another coach after going 29-34. Kentucky stuck with Stoops, who was 26-36 going into this year.
Patience paid off in Lexington, but will there ever be enough of that to make it work in Fayetteville?
Stoops started 2-10, then went 5-7 for a couple of years, moving to 7-6 for two years before breaking out this year.
Bielema wasn’t going 10-2 at Arkansas this past season, so don’t even start that. His best team was 2015 and he used more luck in that one season than some coaches have in a career going 8-5.
Kentucky had the good fortune this year to have one of the best running backs in the league plus a sound defense and catching some teams early with new coaches (Florida and Mississippi State).
Hey, luck is part of it.
But if it takes six years to turn things around with the Wildcats, it’s possible at Arkansas.
And I don’t think it takes six years.
LSU ends UCF nonsense
Thank you, Ed Orgeron and LSU.
With the Tigers’ 40-32 win over Central Florida in the Fiesta Bowl we don’t have to listen to a team in a junior varsity conference awarding itself a national title and complaining about being left out of the playoff for a year.
Also, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow showed he was one tough sonofagun getting absolutely blown up after he threw an interception, then bouncing back to go 21-of-34 for 394 yards and four touchdowns.
Considering the Golden Knights couldn’t make big plays against the Tigers’ third and fourth team secondary, do you really think they ever belonged in the conversation to begin with?
Of course LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda compensated by sending everybody with any eligibility remaining after the UCF quarterback. They hadn’t seen that and couldn’t handle the speed.
Oh, and don’t thrown Auburn out there last year in the Peach Bowl. The Tigers had virtually zero interest in that game after blowing up in the SEC Championship Game.
That leads us to …
Another face plant by SEC runner-up
We should have known something was up with Texas on Tuesday night when the normally docile Bevo charged Uga, Georgia’s mascot, in the pregame.
Everybody was okay, including the cowboy who grabbed Bevo’s horn and the people who busted their tail trying to get the hell out of his way.
Pro tip: When a full-size longhorn comes your way with his head down, drop everything in your hands but a baby and run at an angle, not straight ahead. Those steers can do pretty good straight ahead, but forcing them to make sharp cuts is your best option. Especially on field turf.
After that, Texas just beat the daylights out of Georgia on the field. The Bulldogs had a couple of good series that prompted some people to think they could have done that all night, but that’s dreaming up excuses.
And it may not have mattered.
Not with Jake Fromm throwing the ball just about everywhere but to his receivers in critical situations. The Longhorns were making the plays when it counted the most.
The Aggies can’t win it all when they win
Texas A&M throttled North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl, 52-13 … and still managed to lose in it’s ongoing public relations battle with the Longhorns.
While Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies are third in the country in the composite national recruiting rankings and boasting about their bowl win, Texas does it to them again. By the way, the ‘Horns are ninth in the recruiting rankings, which means they aren’t exactly getting overwhelmed in recruiting.
The Longhorns love to proclaim they do everything bigger and better.
In the never-end PR war with the Aggies (that’s been going on for 100 years or so), well, they accomplished that this year. Sorry, A&M, but Texas’ win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl is a bigger, better win.
Oh, and they finished 10-4 while A&M is 9-4.
And the Aggies continue to be, well, the Aggies … and always will be.
???? Wednesday Halftime Pod — featuring Mike Neighbors
Phil & Tye discuss NYE, interview Mike Neighbors, and Change My Mind!
Hogs’ recruiting ranking better nationally, but same in SEC
It’s good that Chad Morris has come in and kicked up Arkansas’ recruiting … or at least injected some more enthusiasm into the whole process that has become a season unto itself.
In the 247Sports.com composite rankings of the 2019 class, the Razorbacks are sitting at No. 20 with some more players still to sign, but the commitments expected to sign in February already count in the rankings.
Where it counts, though, the Hogs aren’t improving in the SEC. They are still ninth in the league … and sixth in the SEC West.
The highest national ranking in the modern age of recruiting is only keeping Arkansas at the status quo in the league pecking order.
As the marketing slogan goes, it just means more in the SEC.
At No. 9, that’s, well, right where Bret Bielema and Bobby Petrino ranked in the league ratings of incoming players.
Bielema averaged a No. 10 ranking in his five years with two No. 9-rated classes. Bobby Petrino’s five classes (and, remember, he didn’t fly through the handlebars until after his fifth signing day) averaged an 8.8 ranking. Of course the league only had 12 members then as Texas A&M and Missouri were in the Big 12 then.
As I’ve said for years, don’t pay attention to the national ranking. What matters most is how you stack up with the other teams in the SEC West.
For the Hogs, they are where they have been since 2008 … either at the bottom of the division or one spot above it.
The only time in the last 12 recruiting seasons (that includes 2019) Arkansas hasn’t finished in one of the last two spots in the division was 2008 when they were fourth in a six-team SEC West.
In case you’ve forgotten that 2008 class probably had as many skill-position playmakers as any group since maybe the 1969 class (the Joe Ferguson group including Mike Reppond, Jim Hodge, etc.).
The Hogs still haven’t had offensive playmakers like Jarius Wright, Tyler Wilson, Joe Adams, Chris Gragg and Greg Childs as a group since then. They also rounded up some solid defensive playmakers, too.
Morris’ class this year has some potential of playmakers, but anybody that tells you any of them are a lock is guessing because not a single one of them has caught, thrown or run the ball for a single play at the SEC level.
Nobody knows.
But what is known is the Hogs have to be recruiting at the level they are now just to have a chance to keep pace. In the Top 25 of the composite rankings, the SEC has 11 teams ranked there.
By the way, this is not where Morris wants to be in the rankings.
The guess here is his goals are higher than yours.
Neighbors knows he’s starting with best in league Thursday
Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors is well aware of Mississippi State’s lofty ranking and how difficult they will be to match up with in Thursday night’s SEC opener.
Morris’ recruiting looking more like Clemson’s path than Alabama
Forget about Chad Morris building a recruiting machine that will compete with Alabama for the best recruiting classes in the country anytime soon.
If it does ever happen, it won’t be quick.
No, Morris made it clear in his opening press conference last December that he was wanting to pattern Razorback football more along the lines of what Dabo Swinney did at Clemson than what Nick Saban has done with the Crimson Tide.
Let’s face it, Alabama has been recruiting at a Top 20 pace since the 1920’s and Saban inherited a program that was at that level. He just bumped it to a higher level. Kirby Smart is doing the same thing at Georgia and Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M … that’s the Saban coaching tree.
Morris is the first Swinney assistant to land a head coaching position, so there’s not really a coaching tree there yet.
What Morris started at SMU (and didn’t come close to finishing) gives you an idea that what he’s done at Arkansas in his first year (and second recruiting class) is along the lines of what Swinney did at Clemson.
Don’t start comparing the Razorbacks’ job Morris inherited to what Dabo got at Clemson. He’d been on the staff for six years before taking over on an interim basis from Tommy Bowden in 2008.
And the Tigers hadn’t been terrible under Bowden. In the last 21 years they’ve had one losing season — in 1998.
No, what it appears Morris is doing in following the same path. Clemson’s recruiting has never been at the level of Alabama and didn’t consistently get into the 247Sports.com composite top 10 until Swinney’s seventh season.
In Swinney’s 11 seasons, they’ve landed 83 four-stars and 15 five-stars. His first year they were No. 36 in the recruiting rankings, up to No. 27 in the second year. Morris is on track to have a bigger differential between his first and second recruiting classes than that.
Alabama? In those same 11 seasons, they’ve landed 190 four stars and 47 five stars. More than double the four-star players and over three times the number of five-star players as the Tigers.
How has Clemson even gotten in the College Football Playoff the last four years and will now be playing for the title for the third time in that period?
It gets to the other part of what Morris has said about recruiting. Getting the players is one thing, but it doesn’t mean much if you don’t develop them after they get there.
If Saban and his staff do anything, it’s develop those talented players they get.
There is an argument to be made Swinney and his staff are better that that.
By comparison, over the last 11 seasons, Arkansas has landed, well, 50 four-star players and just two five stars. Neither of the highest-rated players performed at that level.
Darius Winston (signed in 2009) and McTelvin Agim (signed in 2016) played, but not at the level you expect from a five-star recruit. Those are the players you hope are around for only three years.
The last highest-rated Razorback recruit recently that played to a five-star level (for whatever reason) was Darren McFadden (and that was 12 years ago). Mitch Mustain’s saga has been well documented and Ryan Mallett had a five-star arm and two-star decision-making after transferring in from Michigan.
The Hogs aren’t going to be recruiting at even the Clemson level for a couple of years. If they did, the fans wouldn’t particularly like it because wading through NCAA investigations that could go on for five or six years is worse than the final penalties.
There probably won’t be overnight results … in either recruiting on wins-losses. Ignore the internet sociopaths and the bipolar lunatic fringe in Razorback Nation.
It will get better, though.
Mainly because it’s hard to see how it could get worse.
Overstreet five back at Patriot All-American in Arizona
LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. — Defending champion and first round co-leader Mason Overstreet shot a 3-over-par 73 Sunday and sits at even par, 5-shots back, at the Patriot All-American Invitational presented by the Valley Toyota Dealers at The Wigwam Resort.
Isaiah Jackson and Alex Scott share the second round lead at 5-under par (135). Final round action will begin Monday morning (Dec. 31) off both the 1st and 10th tees with a champion crowned at approximately 5 pm.
Jackson, a junior at the University of Memphis from Golden, Mississippi, entered the day tied for first place. His second round 2-under-par 68 included six birdies, with back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 to closeout his round.
Jackson is playing in honor of his great grandfather U.S. Army Private First Class Willie B. McGill. Private First Class McGill was killed in combat action on December 4th, 1944.
Alex Scott, a senior from Grand Valley State University, began the day one-shot off the lead. Scott’s second round 3-under-par 67 included five birdies. Like Jackson, Scott also had back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18.
Scott is playing in honor of U.S. Army Corporal Jordan E. Goode of Kalamazoo, Michigan. On August 11, 2007 in Zormat, Afghanistan, Corporal Goode was killed when a roadside bomb detonated beneath the truck he was driving. He was 21 years old.
Quade Cummins from the University of Oklahoma (70-66) and Jackson Suber from Ole Miss (69-67) both sit one-shot back at 4-under par (136). Suber is looking to become the second Ole Miss Rebel to win the Patriot All-America, joining teammate Braden Thornberry who was the 2015 Patriot All-America champion.
Now in its 8th year, the Patriot All-America Invitational is a golf tournament unlike any other, as participants play in honor of a fallen or severely injured soldier by carrying a golf bag bearing the name of that soldier.
Before the tournament, participants receive a card with the soldier’s story, so they can be familiar with who that person was, what they represented and how they were killed or wounded in action.
The Patriot All-America has been honoring fallen or severely wounded soldiers in this unique way since the event’s inception in 2011 and it continues to have a deep impact on the young golfers.
The Patriot All-America Invitational features a field of 84 PING All-America golfers from all three NCAA Divisions, NAIA and NJCAA rankings as well as from U.S. Military Academies and universities outside the United States.
The Patriot All-America is a collaboration between the Arizona Golf Association, JDM Partners, The West Valley Mavericks and the Golf Coaches Association of America in partnership with the Folds of Honor Foundation.
The Thunderbirds, hosts of the PGA TOUR’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, volunteer at and support the event.
Patriot All-America alumni now playing on the PGA TOUR, include three-time major winner Brooks Koepka (2011 Patriot participant); Justin Thomas (2011); Daniel Berger (2012); Bryson DeChambeau (2013); and Cameron Champ, the 2016 Patriot All-America Invitational champion.
The winner of the tournament receives a sponsor exemption into the Web.com Tour’s Wichita Open played June 20 – 23 at Crestview Country Club in Wichita, Kansas. For more information and live tournament scoring, visit patriotallamerica.com.
Tolefree, Dungee pace Razorbacks to win over Jackson State
FAYETTEVILLE — Alexis Tolefree hit a 3-pointer at the 8:43 mark in the third quarter sparking a furious second half surge as Arkansas defeated Jackson State, 76-57, in the final non-conference game of the season on Sunday.
Tied at 28-all at the half, Tolefree’s 3-pointer ignited a 20-3 run that allowed Arkansas (11-3) to pull away for good. The Razorbacks outscored the Lady Tigers (4-7) 48-29 in the final 20 minutes of the game.
Tolefree finished with a team-high 17 points going 5-for-10 from distance tying her career best for made 3-point field goals.
Chelsea Dungee added 13 points and Malica Monk had 11 points as they scored in double figures for the 12th and 11th times, respectively.
The slow start comes on the heels of a 10-day break from competition for Arkansas. The Razorbacks edged the Lady Tigers 16-15 in the first quarter but lost the second quarter capping a half that saw seven ties and 10 lead changes.
Tolefree’s shot started the second half scoring for the Razorbacks but it came on the heels of back-to-back defensive stops by Arkansas. The increased defensive pressure seemed to speed up the game which favored the Razorbacks.
Arkansas grabbed 21 boards and had six steals while limiting their turnovers in the second half.
Notes
• Arkansas Starters: Alexis Tolefree, Malica Monk, Kiara Williams, Jailyn Mason, Chelsea Dungee.
• Arkansas played 10 players in the first quarter as they tried shake off the rust from the holiday break.
• Arkansas has won six games in a row.
• Arkansas has won 19 consecutive games between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. The last loss came in 2005-06 at FIU (58-54).
• Arkansas started the game 0-13 from distance.
• The game was tied at 28-all at halftime. It is the first time this season the Razorbacks and its opponent have been tied at the break.
• Arkansas has had double figure steals in nine games. They finished with 17 against JSU.
• Arkansas has forced 20+ opponent turnovers in seven games including today with JSU committing 28 miscues.
• Arkansas has had double figure 3-point field goals in five games this season.
Up Next
The Razorbacks begin SEC play hosting No. 8/7 Mississippi State on Thursday in Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas travels to Ole Miss for a Sunday contest as the second half of the season gets underway.
Neighbors pleased with team’s nonconference results
Razorbacks coach Mike Neighbors talked with the media after a 76-57 win over the Tigers on Sunday in the final nonconference game before opening league play Thursday.
Tolefree on recovering from slow start for win over JSU
Arkansas’ Alexis Tolefree talked with the media after scoring 17 points to lead the Hogs to a 76-57 win over Jackson State on Sunday afternoon.
Strong second half run lifts Razorbacks past Governors
PHOTOS BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM
FAYETTEVILLE — Keyshawn Embery-Simpson tied his career high with 14 points — all in the second half — to help Arkansas rally past Austin Peay, 76-65, on Friday night at Bud Walton Arena in the final non-conference game of the season for both teams.
Embery-Simpson fueled a 20-5 Arkansas run that turned a 52-48 deficit into a 68-57 Razorback advantage. He scored 12 during the run, including seven straight Arkansas points, and capped the rally with a 3-pointer with 4:12 left in the game. Embery-Simpson finished with all 14 of his points in the second half (nine minutes of playing time).
The Razorbacks (9-3) battled through foul trouble and a scrappy Austin Peay (8-5) team that outrebounded Arkansas 42-34.
The Governors, who entered with a six-game winning streak, led 50-46 midway through the second half when Arkansas’ leading scorer, Daniel Gafford, landed awkwardly in the lane and hit the floor with a right leg injury.
Gafford was helped to the bench and went to the locker room for a brief period before returning to the game. His dunk off a Reggie Chaney feed gave the Razorbacks the lead for good at 54-52 with 8:22 left in the game.
Gafford recorded his sixth double-double in 12 games this season as he scored 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds while adding four blocked shots.
Jabari McGee helped the Governors rally to pull within six, 68-62, scoring five of his 10 points, but the Razorbacks locked down the win on Jalen Harris’ 3-pointer from the left wing, just his third 3-pointer of the season in 27 attempts, giving Arkansas a 71-62 lead with 1:48 left.
Arkansas led 34-33 at halftime as Isaiah Joe scored 12 of his 15 points including four 3-pointers.
Joe, who sat out the final 4:34 of the first half after picking up two fouls in the span of 21 seconds, hit his first three 3-point attempts, then later drilled his fourth to give the Razorbacks a 26-23 lead with 7:08 left in the first half. Joe added a career-high five steals on the defensive end.
Austin Peay took a 29-28 lead on a pair of free throws by Terry Taylor and could have extended the lead further but missed the front end of three straight one-and-ones in the final minutes of the half.
The Governors took their last lead of the half on Chris Porter-Bunton’s 3-pointer from the top of the key that gave them a 33-32 lead.
Jordan Phillips gave Arkansas back the lead with a pair of free throws with 48 seconds left in the half.
Arkansas will return to action Jan. 5 as the Razorbacks will open Southeastern Conference play at Texas A&M. Tip-off in College Station is set for 5 pm and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network. This is Arkansas’ 28th season in the SEC and the Razorbacks are 15-12 when opening league play.
FIRST HALF: Arkansas 34 – Austin Peay 33
• Isaiah Joe scored the first points of the game, a 3-pointer. He started the game making each of his first three from long range.
• However, the Governors were in control the first 13 minutes of the game until Isaiah Joe drained a 3-pointer from the right corner to give the Hogs a 26-23 lead at the 6:58 mark.
• The game stayed tight with Austin Peay taking a brief lead on a three pointer, but Jordan Phillips made a long jumper, sank two free throws and got a steal to help the Razorbacks lead, 34-33, at halftime.
• Isaiah Joe was the leading scorer at the break with 12 points. He was the only player to reach double figures in the first half.
SECOND HALF: Arkansas went on 20-5 run with Embery-Simpson scoring 12 in the run.
• Adrio Bailey had two dunks to start the second half for the Razorbacks, but the Governors scored seven straight to lead by three, 42-39, and maintained the advantage until a Daniel Gafford dunk put the Hogs up one, 43-42, at 15:51.
• Arkansas’ defensive effort picked up as the Razorbacks went on an 11-0 run to go up 59-52. Daniel Gafford started the run with two free throws, Keyshawn Embery-Simpson made a layup and Gafford slammed home a basket off a Reggie Chaney assist to put the Razorbacks up 54-52 with 8:20 left. Embery-Simpson capped the run by making a lay-up and a 3-pointer.
• Overall, Arkansas went on a 20-5 run. Keyshawn Embery-Simpson scored seven straight and a total of 12 during the run to give Arkansas a 68-57 lead.
• The Razorbacks were just 15-of-24 from the free throw line for the game but were 5-of-6 at the charity stripe inside the final 1:30.
GAME NOTES:
• Arkansas’ starters were Isaiah Joe (G) – Jalen Harris (G) – Mason Jones (G) – Adrio Bailey (F) – Daniel Gafford (F). This has been the starting lineup in 11 of Arkansas’ 12 games
• Arkansas controlled the tip. Isaiah Joe scored the first points of the game, a 3-pointers at 19:05.
• This was the fourth meeting between Arkansas and Austin Peay. The Razorbacks also won the previous three meetings.
• Jalen Harris, who entered the game third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, finished with seven assists and just one turnover. Over the previous two games, Harris had just five assists with four turnovers.
• Keyshawn Embery-Simpson tied his career high with 14 points. He also had 14 points in a win at Colorado State. It was his second time to reach double figures in scoring.
• Isaiah Joe, who entered the game eighth in the NCAA in 3-pointers made per game (3.82), drained four treys and finished with a career-high five steals.
• Arkansas had 21 assists on 27 made baskets. It is the fourth time Arkansas has had at least 20 assists in a game and the sixth time at least 70 percent of the team’s made baskets came directly from an assist.
• Arkansas had a season-high 14 steals and it was the fourth time to record double-digits in steals.
• Arkansas only had 11 turnovers, but just four came in the second half. The 11 turnovers are the second-lowest total of the season by the Razorbacks, who a season-low seven versus both Colorado State and Western Kentucky in back-to-back games.
• Daniel Gafford recorded his sixth double-double of the season. He has nine for his career. He added four blocked shots and three steals.
• As Arkansas’ defensive intensity picked up, it helped fuel the #FASTEST40 style, including five second-half dunks – two by Adrio Bailey to start the half, two by Daniel Gafford and one by Reggie Chaney.
• Reggie Chaney scored a career-high 12 points.
• Isaiah Joe (15 points) and Daniel Gafford (16 points) are the only Razorbacks to score in double figures in all 12 games this season.
