Arkansas coach Mike Anderson met with the media Thursday and talked about the Hogs’ schedule over the holidays and playing Troy at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock on Saturday.
Beard, Macon on playing last game in hometown
Arkansas’ Anton Beard and Daryl Macon will play the last game in Central Arkansas on Saturday when the Hogs host Troy.
Ferrell dropping UCLA visit, coming to Fayetteville
Fordyce defensive lineman apparently liked what he saw in meeting new Arkansas coach Chad Morris on Wednesday afternoon.
He has cancelled an official visit to UCLA and will be coming to Fayetteville this weekend, according to Recruiting Thursday’s Richard Davenport at WholeHogSports.com.
“I dropped UCLA, I’m going to Arkansas for this weekend,” Ferrell said. “He was saying the rest of the Arkansas recruits were coming in too, and we could connect and our families could connect and that would be better than me coming up by myself and visiting.”
Ferrell, a 6-3, 330-pound lineman with offers from Arkansas, Alabama, Wisconsin and Louisville to go along with others from Colorado State, Arkansas State, Memphis, Massachusetts and others, was swayed by Morris’ message he was needed, according to Davenport’s article.
“He was telling me how I was one of his top priorities of the eight people that he was trying to sign,” Ferrell said. “He said there was a new generation of recruits coming to Arkansas and we could make a big impact.”
Ferrell has mentioned Alabama and Louisville as possible visits he’ll make in January.
Could Grinch be Hogs’ next defensive coordinator?
In the unknown that is Arkansas’ search for a defensive coordinators, Washington State’s Alex Grinch got thrown into the mix Wednesday.
ESPN commentator Brock Huard on his radio show in Seattle threw out the positions at Texas A&M and Arkansas as possible landing spots for Grinch.
Brock Huard says on @710ESPNSeattle WSU DC Alex Grinch is weighing multiple job offers, including Texas A&M and Arkansas. Says he’ll be surprised if he stays in Pullman.
— Jessamyn McIntyre (@JessamynMcIntyr) December 13, 2017
No, Jimbo Fisher hasn’t settled on his defensive coordinator, either.
But there is a report from FootballScoop.com that Grinch might not be in the mix for the Aggies job, either
Washington State: Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is “weighing multiple offers, including Texas A&M and Arkansas,” Brock Huard noted on 710 ESPN Seattle today. Huard added that he’d be surprised if Grinch opts to stay in Pullman. Update> Sources tell FootballScoop Texas A&M has their eyes on another person and that Grinch was never offered Texas A&M defensive coordinator.
Well, that wasn’t exactly the coach at Washington State many Razorback fans had their sights set on a month ago. Many were calling for Cougars coach Mike Leach to take over the Hogs.
Chad Morris’ hiring last week squashed that, but now Grinch’s name has surfaced, albeit only from one mention on a Seattle-based radio show.
He is the nephew of former Missouri coach Gary Pinkel and was the safeties coach for the Tigers until 2015 when he was hired by Leach to be Washington State’s defensive coordinator.
Grinch has done well with the Cougars’ defense.
They are No. 15 in the FBS in total defense, allowing 313.6 yards per game, No. 47 in scoring (24.4 points per game), No. 5 in pass efficiency defense and No. 12 in sacks (3.0 per game).
Washington State is tied for seventh with 8.17 tackles for loss per game.
The Cougars ranked No. 97 in total defense (442.3) the year before his arrival, and improved to No. 84 (416.2) in his first season and No. 62 (405.9) in 2016.
Neighbors on Sunday’s game against Texas-Arlington
FAYETTEVILLE — Final exams may be over, but Arkansas will test itself against the UT-Arlington Mavericks on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas has won two in a row and four of their last five games as the team, under the direction of first-year head coach Mike Neighbors, continues to build momentum. The game airs on SECN+.
Scouting Arkansas
Arkansas returns to competition after a week of final exams.
The Razorbacks are 7-3 on the year with three non-conference games remaining before the start of Southeastern Conference play. Arkansas leads the SEC and ranks second in the nation averaging 10.0 turnovers per game.
The Razorbacks lead the conference in fewest turnovers (100) and 3-point field goals attempted (294) and rank second in rebounds per game (43.2), 3-point field goals made (80) and 3-point field goals per game (8.0).
Graduate student Devin Cosper and junior Malica Monk have provided the lion’s share of the offense and have scored in double figures in all 10 games this year.
Sophomore Jailyn Mason has been in double-digits in four consecutive games and the rebounding efforts of Kiara Williams and Taylah Thomas have been key in recent wins.
Scouting Texas-Arlington
Picked to win the Sun Belt title, UT-Arlington enters the week with a 5-4 record. The Mavericks have lost four in a row including back-to-back road games.
They have a convincing win over Oral Roberts, 70-46, a team the Razorbacks defeated by 11 points earlier this year.
Crystal Allen leads the team with 14.6 points per game. She is the leading 3-point threat as well with 19 makes from beyond the arc. Rebekah VanDijk also averages double figures with 11.6 ppg and leads the team with 8.9 rebounds per game.
Up Next
Arkansas returns to the road for their sixth game away from Bud Walton Arena traveling to Arizona State on Dec. 21.
The team breaks for the holiday and hosts Grambling State on Dec. 28, in the final non-conference contest.
SEC play starts early this year as Arkansas welcomes Ole Miss to Bud Walton Arena on Dec. 31.
