Delay on defensive coordinator adds to intrigue
Arkansas has terminated the contracts of all the previous coaching staff except one — Barry Lunney, Jr.
That makes sense. It’s also what most new coaches do, replacing the entire staff, but keeping one holdover for some sort of continuity.
It also might be a good guess that Chad Morris has met Barry Lunney, Sr., at some point. He did spend time in Arkansas meeting with Gus Malzahn and the name probably popped up along the way.
Keeping Lunney, who is the key recruiter in the state and also has as good of a track record as anyone in developing tight ends, is probably a smart play.
Monday, reports began surfacing that Morris’ assistant head coach and running backs coach Jeff Traylor would be coming to Arkansas after the Mustangs quickly moved to hire Sonny Dykes to replace Morris.
Source: New SMU head coach Sonny Dykes will coach the Frisco Bowl as associate head coach Jeff Traylor will be leaving to take a position under Chad Morris at Arkansas
— Adam Grosbard (@AdamGrosbard) December 12, 2017
And, of course, that came during a separate report that had Traylor in the mix to go to Missouri as offensive coordinator.
SMU interim Jeff Traylor could end up back with Chad Morris at Arkansas, but I’m told he also has significant traction with Missouri as OC. https://t.co/8p4tvvZkfN
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) December 11, 2017
With the head coaching situations starting to be a little more resolved, now the assistant coach carousel starts spinning.
But the biggest question most Razorback fans has is who will be the defensive coordinator?
Could it be Brent Venables of Clemson in some sort of associate type position? That probably is a little far-fetched. It might be one of the other members of Clemson’s staff, however.
Or could Morris be talking to former Texas A&M, LSU and Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavis?
Earlier today our friend Trey Schaap from The Buzz in Little Rock had a rather cryptic tweet:
There will be a new “Chief” in the state soon.
— Trey Schaap (@trey1037TheBuzz) December 11, 2017
Now that doesn’t exactly mean Chavis, but it could.
One thing that is interesting through all of this is how locked-down the hunt seems to be on the defensive coaches.
There aren’t the usual bevy of “sources” leaking anything about this, it seems.
But if it is Chavis, what’s the delay in announcing it?
It’s not like he’s tied up with anything else too pressing right now.
Broyles, Dicus named to inaugural Sugar Bowl hall
NEW ORLEANS — The Sugar Bowl announced on Monday an inaugural Hall of Fame class that includes the late Arkansas athletics director and football coach Frank Broyles as well as Razorback All-American wide receiver Chuck Dicus among the 16 legends to be honored later this month.
The first class of Hall of Famers spans seven decades of Sugar Bowl action and includes 12 players, two national championship coaches and two individuals who had the rare distinction of playing and coaching in the bowl.
The living members of the inaugural Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame class have been invited to New Orleans for the playoff semifinal set for January 1, 2018 between top-ranked Clemson and No. 4 Alabama at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Broyles served the University of Arkansas for more than five decades as a coach and athletics administrator. He coached Arkansas to four different Sugar Bowls and when adding in his experience as an AD and broadcaster, he was a part of 18 Sugar Bowls. In 19 seasons (1958-76) as head football coach, Broyles amassed a record of 144-58-5, seven Southwest Conference titles and 10 bowl bids. In 1964, Broyles led the Razorbacks to an undefeated season and a national championship.
Dicus, who played from 1968 to 1970, posted arguably the best back-to-back Sugar Bowl performances in history.
In the 1969 game, he had one of the greatest receiving days in Sugar Bowl history when he caught 12 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown in a 16-2 win over Georgia.
One year later, on January 1, 1970, Dicus proved 1969 was no fluke as he caught six passes for 171 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown. His two-game totals of 19 receptions and 340 receiving yards are both tops among individuals in Sugar Bowl history.
Allstate Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame – Inaugural Class
Sammy Baugh, TCU (1936)
Raymond Brown, Ole Miss (1958)
Frank Broyles, Georgia Tech and Arkansas (1944, 62, 63, 69, 70)
Bear Bryant, Kentucky and Alabama (1951, 62, 64, 67, 73, 75, 78, 79, 80)
Chuck Dicus, Arkansas (1969, 70)
Tony Dorsett, Pitt (1977)
Bo Jackson, Auburn (1984)
Johnny Majors, Tennessee and Pitt (1956, 77, 86, 91)
Archie Manning, Ole Miss (1970)
Dan Marino, Pitt (1982)
Davey O’Brien, TCU (1939)
Major Ogilvie, Alabama (1978, 79, 80)
Pepper Rogers, Georgia Tech (1953, 54)
Claude “Monk” Simons, Tulane (1935)
Gene Stallings, Alabama (1993)
Herschel Walker, Georgia (1981, 82, 83)
Razorbacks start gymnastics season ranked in Top 20
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas is ranked No. 19 in the 2018 National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W) preseason coaches poll announced Monday.
The Razorbacks tallied 872 points in the poll. In 2018, Arkansas will face off against nine top-25 teams, including road matchups against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Alabama and No. 17 Missouri.
The Razorbacks were tabbed as having the second hardest schedule in the nation by Road To Nationals.
All eight Southeastern Conference teams are ranked in the top 19 in the poll, including three in the top five.
Arkansas will face all seven other SEC teams this season, including No. 3 LSU in the season opener Jan. 5, 2018 in Baton Rouge.
Senior Amanda Wellick returns after suffering a season-ending injury in January of last season and missed what would’ve been her senior season.
She has since returned to the gym and is expected to be in Arkansas’ lineup this season.
Arkansas also welcomes back NCAA Individual participants Braie Speed and Jessica Yamzon.
Yamzon earned a spot at the NCAA Championships last season as a freshman, scoring a 38.925 in the all-around.
Speed posted a 9.825 on the vault at NCAA’s, tying her third-best score from last season.
The team will be in action for a free showcase at the first Holidays With The Hogs intrasquad meet this Sunday inside Barnhill Arena.
The meet will begin at 5 p.m. with doors opening an hour before at 4. More details can be found here.
NACGC/W Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1: Oklahoma (1769 points) (33 first place votes)
2: Florida (1728 points) (10 first place votes)
3: LSU (1692 points) (7 first place votes)
4: Alabama (1584 points)
5: Utah (1544 points)
6: UCLA (1477 points)
7: Michigan (1443 points)
8: Denver (1313 points)
9: Nebraska (1214 points)
10: Kentucky (1213 points)
11: California (1201 points)
12: Oregon State (1141 points)
13: Boise State (1125 points)
14: Auburn (1119 points)
15: Washington (1114 points)
16: Georgia (1011 points)
17: Missouri (975 points)
18: Stanford (903 points)
19: Arkansas (872 points)
20: Iowa (819 points)
21: George Washington (701 points)
22: Ohio State (690 points)
23: Illinois-Champaign (609 points)
24: Southern Utah (605 points)
25: Penn State (599 points)
Despite injury, Ragnow named to All-American team
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas senior center Frank Ragnow added a pair of All-America honors to his collection Monday, earning second-team status from the Football Writers Association of America and third-team acclaim from The Associated Press.
Ragnow, who also accepted his invitation to the 2018 Reese’s Senior Bowl on Monday morning, is the first offensive lineman in school history to earn All-America honors in back-to-back seasons since 2007 Rimington Trophy recipient Jonathan Luigs (2006-07).
Last week, Ragnow was named a first-team All-American at center by Pro Football Focus for the second consecutive season, leading all Football Bowl Subdivision offensive linemen with a 93.7 overall grade.
He paced all centers with a 92.4 grade in the run game to go with an 88.3 mark in pass protection in eight games played. He allowed only one pressure on his 255 pass blocking snaps.
A finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and semifinalist for both the Wuerffel Trophy and Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award, Ragnow started 33 consecutive games and didn’t allow a sack over 2,603 career snaps at center and right guard before sustaining a season-ending ankle injury during the Auburn game on Oct. 21.
He had only missed 43 offensive snaps since becoming a permanent starter as a sophomore in 2015.
Ashdown’s Bishop flips from Bulldogs to Hogs
Arkansas coach Chad Morris has flipped another commitment, this time in Arkansas.
Ashdown cornerback Ladarrius Bishop (6-1, 190, 4.35 in the 40) was previously committed to Mississippi State and decommitted over the weekend.
I’m Staying Home???????? #WPS #RazorFAST18 pic.twitter.com/eJAMnhCexO
— Ladarrius bishop™ (@ladarrius_09) December 11, 2017
He also had offers from Florida, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Illinois, Iowa State and others. He plans to officially visit Fayetteville this weekend, according to multiple reports.
Gafford gets top freshman award in SEC for week
FAYETTEVILLE — Following a dominant performance in a win over No. 14 Minnesota Saturday, freshman forward Daniel Gafford has been named the SEC Freshman of the Week the league office announced Monday morning.
The 6-11 big man helped Arkansas go 2-0 last week with home wins over the Colorado State Rams and the nationally ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers. Gafford combined to go 13-of-17 from the floor, including a perfect 8-of-8 performance against Minnesota.
He became the seventh Razorback player in the last 30 years to go 8-of-8 or better from the floor and is the first Razorback to earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors since Anton Beard on Feb. 23, 2015.
Against the Gophers, Gafford finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and a career-high six blocks and added 14 points and six rebounds in a 26-point victory over Colorado State.
The El Dorado, Arkansas, native is responsible for 21 of Arkansas’ 37 dunks and has recorded more dunks than six SEC teams. He ranks in the top five in the SEC among freshmen in scoring, rebounds and blocks.
Hogs’ balance on offense paces 67-41 win over Tulsa
FAYETTEVILLE — Four players in double figures and a great rebounding effort led Arkansas to a 67-41 win over Tulsa in Bud Walton Arena on Sunday.
Junior Malica Monk scored a game-high 14 points and graduate student Devin Cosper had her fifth double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 boards. Both players have scored in double figures in all 10 games for Arkansas (7-3) this season.
Sophomore Kiara Williams dropped in a career-best 13 points and had seven rebounds in 17 minutes. Sophomore Jailyn Mason finished with 11 points and has scored in double figures in five games, including four consecutive games, this year.
Arkansas jumped on Tulsa from the opening tip and finished the first quarter on an 8-0 run holding the Golden Hurricane scoreless for more than two minutes. That gave the Razorbacks a 21-12 lead after the first period and Arkansas never looked back. The Razorbacks had 16-6 rebounding advantage that they stretched to 61-39 by the end of the game.
The +26-rebounding advantage is the largest margin since the Razorbacks out-rebounded Grambling State by +37 in 2014.
Junior Keiryn Swenson tied her career-best with nine rebounds as did junior Bailey Zimmerman with seven boards. Freshman Taylah Thomas also had seven rebounds in the win.
Notes
• Arkansas improved to 21-3 all-time against Tulsa.
• Kiara Williams scored a career-best 13 points and was in double figures for the fourth time this season and the fourth time of her career.
• Malica Monk reached double figures early in the third quarter. It is her 10th consecutive game with double figure points and the 26th game of her career in which she has scored in double figures.
• Devin Cosper reached double figures early in the third quarter. It is her 10th consecutive game with double figure points. Cosper has scored in double figures in 33 career games.
• Devin Cosper had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. It is her fifth double-double of the year (in 10 games) and the fifth of her career.
• Arkansas posted a season-best 61 rebounds. It is the fourth time in 10 games the Razorbacks have out-rebounded its opponents. It is the largest rebounding margin since the 2014-15 season.
• Jailyn Mason scored 11 points. It is her fifth game of the year in double figures and her fourth in a row. It is the 15th double-digit game of her career.
• Arkansas is 5-0 at home this year and have a +73 scoring margin against those opponents.
Up Next
The Razorbacks break from competition for final exams this week. Arkansas returns to the court hosting UT-Arlington, on Sunday, Dec. 17, followed by a road game at Arizona State on Dec. 21. The Razorbacks host Grambling State on Dec. 28 and open Southeastern Conference play with Ole Miss on Dec. 31.
