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Ellis first two-time Academic All-American for Razorbacks

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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AUSTIN, Texas — Senior linebacker Brooks Ellis became the first Arkansas football player in school history to earn Academic All-America honors twice in a career  on Thursday when he was named to the 2016 Academic All-America Division I football team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The 20th football Academic All-American in school history, Ellis is a first-team honoree after earning second-team acclaim a year ago.

He is the only player from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) to be selected to the first team.

A three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member and two-year team captain, Ellis carries a 3.82 GPA as a pre-professional exercise science major with aspirations of being a doctor after his playing days.

In addition to his major, Ellis is on a pre-med plan and spent a week in Belize this past May with his biology classmates.

Earlier this month, the Fayetteville, Arkansas, native was named a National Scholar-Athlete and one of 12 finalists for the 2016 William V. Campbell Trophy by the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame.

Considered by many to be the “Academic Heisman,” the Campbell Trophy recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. Ellis and the 11 other finalists will each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments.

The finalists are set to travel to New York City for the 59th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 6, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports.

At the event, one member of the class will be declared the winner of the 27th William V. Campbell Trophy and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.

Ellis also was selected to the 2016 Academic All-District 6 first team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) for the second straight year and was tabbed a semifinalist for the 2016 Wuerffel Trophy both on Nov. 3.

On the field, Ellis led the Razorbacks in tackles during the regular season for the second straight year with 78 and also recorded a team-high 7.0 tackles for loss.

For his career, he has totaled 285 tackles, including 22.5 for loss, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, 13 pass breakups and four interceptions, returning one 47 yards for a touchdown during a win at then-No. 15 TCU earlier this season.

SEC Storied chronicles undefeated ’64 Hogs featuring Jerry Jones, Jimmy Johnson

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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The next installment in ESPN Films’ SEC Storied series, “Before They Were Cowboys,” premieres on Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 8 p.m. on SEC Network.

before-they-were-cowboys_keyart_revisedThe film looks at how Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson teamed up to help lead the 1964 Arkansas Razorbacks football squad to its only undefeated season in history, long before they joined forces to win two Super Bowls with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

This evocative and revealing SEC Storied documentary tells the remarkable backstory of two extraordinary men linked by alphabet, alliteration, uniform numbers (60 and 61) and fate. But they were also brought together by Frank Broyles, the legendary coach who taught them how to make their own histories.

Broyles is just one of the film’s witnesses to those great old days when Jones was an offensive guard with an eye for the dollar sign, and Johnson was a nose guard with a grasp of X’s and O’s.

Back then, they were vital senior members of the 1964 undefeated team that won a national championship.  But “Before They Were Cowboys” shows just how they came to be two of the biggest men in the NFL.

The film is directed by Corey Frost and narrated by country singer Trace Adkins.

An encore presentation will air on Saturday, Dec. 31, at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

Razorbacks rally to down Tulsa, keep unbeaten streak going

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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TULSA, Okla. — Behind some late shutdown defense, Arkansas remained undefeated with a 57-50 win over Tulsa on Wednesday night in the Reynolds Center.

With the win, Arkansas improves to 7-0, its best start under Jimmy Dykes.

Defensively, the Razorbacks held Tulsa to 29.7 percent shooting and 2-of-14 shooting from 3-point range.

They also held the Golden Hurricane without a field goal for seven-plus minutes late in the fourth quarter, as they finished the game on a 17-2 run, including 17 unanswered.

Jessica Jackson led all scorers with a season-high 22 points and also pulled down a season-high nine rebounds. She was 9-of-17 from the field and also knocked down two 3-pointers. Bailey Zimmerman added 11 points, and Jailyn Mason finished with eight points.

Key Run
Tulsa opened the second quarter on a 9-1 run and held Arkansas without a made field goal until 58 seconds left in the quarter. Arkansas committed seven turnovers and was 0-of-10 from the field and 0-of-3 from 3-point range during the 9:02 stretch. After being held without a field goal for the first nine-plus minutes of the second quarter, Arkansas made two field goals in the final minute to tie the game at 26-26 heading into halftime.

Key Run II
Trailing 48-40, Arkansas came up with 11 straight defensive stops, as the Razorbacks scored 17 consecutive points on the offensive end to take a 57-48 lead. Arkansas went ahead 49-48 on a lay-up by Jailyn Mason with 2:42 left. Leading 51-48 in the final minute of the game, Arkansas forced a shot-clock violation after a jump ball left four seconds on the shot clock.

Key Stat – 50
Arkansas held Tulsa to season lows in both field-goal percentage (29.7 percent) and 3-point field-goal percentage (14.3), as the Razorbacks limited the Golden Hurricane to a season-low 50 points. That included just 11 points in the fourth quarter, when Arkansas outscored Tulsa 23-11 to erase a 39-34 deficit.

Notable
• Arkansas has won six of its last seven meetings against Tulsa and also avenged last year’s 74-67 defeat in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks improve to 20-3 all-time against Tulsa, including 11-1 in games played in Tulsa.
• Tulsa marked the first true road game of the season for Arkansas. With the win, the Razorbacks improve to 8-17 in road games, including 5-4 in nonconference road games, under head coach Jimmy Dykes.
• Arkansas completed a 2-0 sweep of AAC opponents on its schedule, having already defeated Memphis, 91-61.
• Arkansas has used the same starting five for each of the first seven games: Malica Monk, Jailyn Mason, Jessica Jackson, Bailey Zimmerman and Alecia Cooley.
• Jessica Jackson has scored in double figures in each of the first seven games this season. She is averaging a team-best 15.8 points per game.
• Jessica Jackson led all scorers with a season-high 22 points. It was her second 20-point game of the season and her 22nd career 20-point game.
• Jessica Jackson scored 10 of her 22 points in the first quarter. She scored 10 first-quarter points for the second time this season (Stetson) and the third time in her career.
• Arkansas has won the rebounding battle in six of the first seven games this season, improving to 29-7 when outrebounding its opponents under head coach Jimmy Dykes.
• Arkansas is off to a 7-0 start for the first time under head coach Jimmy Dykes and the first time overall since the 2013-14 season, when the Razorbacks won each of their first 13 games.

Quotable – From Jimmy Dykes
“This was a huge win on the road for us. We’re 7-0 and we continue to find a way to win games. We didn’t play great, but I think we beat a good team on the road. Our defense in that fourth quarter was the difference.”

Quotable II – From Jimmy Dykes
“We’re sitting over there in the fourth quarter on the road and we’re down eight. We kept talking to our kids about hanging in there and to keep grinding, get stops and get boards, get stops and get boards. I don’t think we ever talked about our offense in the fourth quarter. It was all about defense and rebounds.”

Up Next
Arkansas returns home for an SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup with Texas Tech on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. from Bud Walton Arena, and the game will be televised on the SEC Network. Arkansas also plays host to Butler on Wednesday, Dec. 7, before returning to the road for a game at Missouri State on Sunday, Dec. 11.

Bielema will be guest analyst on SEC Network pregame show

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas coach Bret Bielema will be getting more television exposure during the SEC Football Championship broadcast Saturday from Atlanta.

Bielema will be on SEC Nation with Maria Taylor, Tim Tebow, Marcus Spears, Paul Finebaum, Laura Rutledge and Ryan McGee as a special guest analyst that will air starting at noon on Saturday.

The SEC Network is providing extensive on-site coverage of the SEC Football Championship on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 3-4 including two sets, three live shows.

In addition to the 12-hours of live programming in Atlanta, the network is debuting an original features show celebrating 25 Years of the SEC Championship this week and also capping the weekend with an SEC Now: Bowl Special on Sunday at 5 p.m.

UA confirms sophomore guard Jordan Danberry has left Razorbacks women’s team

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Sophomore guard Jordan Danberry, one of six players who took a knee during the national anthem earlier this month, has left the Arkansas women’s basketball team six games into the season.

There is no clear answer why she left, but a spokesperson for the UA confirmed the report Tuesday. Coach Jimmy Dykes was not available for comment.

Danberry was averaging 4.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for the Razorbacks.

After the incident that drew criticism from much of the state, Danberry said the following week she knelt because of “social injustice that we recognize in our society,” but stood for the anthem in subsequent games.

As a freshman last season, Danberry played in all 30 games and started 13 times. She led the team with 70 assists and averaged 6.7 points per game.

Danberry had not started any of the six games this season for the Razorbacks, who are coming off two wins at the Nugget Classic in Reno, Nev. They are scheduled to play at Tulsa on Wednesday.

ESPN rated Danberry a five-star recruit out of Conway High School and she was the Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior.

Hogs return to form, downing Mount St. Mary’s behind

Andy Hodges
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Arkansas improved to 4-1 on the season with a 89-76 win over the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers on Monday night inside Bud Walton Arena.

Arkansas improves to 4-1 to start the season for the 10th time in the last 14 years, while Mount St. Mary’s falls to 1-7 on the year.

The win marks the 50th victory against unranked non-conference opponents in Bud Walton Arena under coach Mike Anderson, moving to 50-1 in such games.

The Razorbacks saw two new faces in the starting lineup Monday night as Anton Beard recorded his first start of the season, 18th of his career, while Manuale Watkins started for the first time this season and the 10th time in his career.

Arkansas had five players score in double figures with Daryl Macon leading the way with 15 points. Jaylen Barford and Dustin Thomas finished with 13 each, while Dusty Hannahs tallied 12 and Anton Beard added 11. The Razorbacks have had four or more players score in double figures in four of the first five games this season. Hannahs has now scored in double figures in 13 straight games dating back to last season.

Moses Kingsley entered the game ranked second in the nation in blocks per game and added to that total in the second half as he finished a point shy of his second straight double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds.

The Razorbacks outscored Mount St. Mary’s 21-9 in transition to improve their streak of tying or leading their opponents in fast break points to 10 straight games. Arkansas has also outscored its opponents in the paint in six straight games dating back to last season after outscoring the Mountaineers 48-34. The Razorbacks capitalized on Mount St. Mary’s turnovers, turning 11 miscues into 18 points the other way.

QUOTABLES
“Some of the things I wanted to see in his particular game, I saw. We cleaned up our turnovers and talked about sharing the basketball and I thought we did a much better job at that. We played a lot of guys and got efficient minutes out of them. I thought Dustin Thomas was the highlight guy in the first half. He was on the receiving end of a lot of nice passes, rolled to the basket and was able to finish around the basket. It was good to see us attack inside.” — coach Mike Anderson

“Tonight, we played with a lot more confidence on the offensive end. We played our game and we weren’t thinking about it. Last week, when we played Minnesota, we were thinking about our shots and hesitating. Tonight, we went out there and played with a lot of energy and played our game and offensively good things happened for us.” — junior guard Daryl Macon

UP NEXT
The Razorbacks will play their second game of a five-game homestand on Thursday, Dec. 1, hosting Stephen F. Austin at 8 p.m. inside Bud Walton Arena. The non-conference showdown will be televised on SEC Network.

Anderson talks about Hogs’ win over Mount St. Mary’s

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Sprinkle accepts invitation to play in Senior Bowl in January

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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MOBILE, Ala. — Arkansas tight end Jeremy Sprinkle has accepted an invitation to play in the 68th annual Reese’s Senior Bowl game on Jan. 28, 2017 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, the bowl announced Monday.

Sprinkle becomes the second Arkansas player this year to accept an invitation to the Senior Bowl, joining punter Toby Baker who was among the first dozen players from around the nation to accept on Nov. 14.

Arkansas has had at least one player participate in the Senior Bowl each of the last 10 seasons, and 20 Razorbacks have played in the game during that span.

Sprinkle has caught 33 passes for 380 yards and four touchdowns this season. He ranks fourth in both receptions and receiving yards and is tied for second in touchdown catches among SEC tight ends.

For his career, Sprinkle has made 71 receptions for 921 yards and is Arkansas’ all-time leader in touchdown receptions by a tight end with 11. Of his 71 career catches, 47 have resulted in either a first down or touchdown for a conversion rate of 66.2 percent.

Baker, a Burlsworth Trophy semifinalist, has punted 50 times for 2,228 yards, ranking fourth in the SEC and 14th nationally with a 44.56 average.

He’s boomed 19 punts 50 yards or longer, including a career-best 60-yarder last Friday at Missouri that was downed at the 1-yard line. In addition, he’s showcased his accuracy, placing 19 punts inside the 20-yard line with only three touchbacks. Of his 50 punts, 17 have been returned, while 20 have been fair caught.

His 19 punts of 50-plus yards are 13 more than his career total entering the season. The Memphis, Tennessee, native has pinned at least one punt inside the 20 in 12 straight games he’s punted in dating back to last season.

Senior Bowl practices will begin on Jan. 23. The game will kick off at 1:30 p.m. CT on Jan. 28. ESPN2 and NFL Network will broadcast live from the practices and NFL Network will carry the game.

Bielema may stick with status quo, which likely will have similar results

Andy Hodges
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After watching his team fall on it’s face in the second half against Missouri, some asked Arkansas’ Bret Bielema if he was planning any staff changes.

Bob Holt of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette was close enough to get it all:

Bielema specifically was asked by a reporter whether he would be evaluate his staff during the Razorbacks’ bowl preparations.

“Evaluating our staff?” Bielema said. “You mean am I going to make changes?”

Yes, the reporter replied.

“No,” Bielema said.

But do you start the evaluation process?

“Well, you always do a season review obviously before the bowl game,” Bielema said. “And obviously after the final game, which will be our bowl game, you always take self-inventory as a head coach. You always make evaluations and make decisions. You sit down and talk to your coaches.

“I can’t predict what’s going to happen in the world of college football, but I know what we’re going to do.”

Another reporter asked Bielema whether he’ll make staff changes after the bowl game?

“I don’t plan on making changes,” Bielema said.

While you wouldn’t expect a coach to announce the changes right after a game, if he gave himself a lot of wiggle room you really can’t complain.

A flat-out rejection of the idea was a little surprising.

Considering Bielema doesn’t make changes, there’s really only a few reasons why:

• He doesn’t see a problem that’s due to coaching. In other words, it’s a shortfall of talent. The problem with that is there is absolutely no ground being gained on the rest of the SEC West. In fact, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings, in the top five in this recruiting cycle, four are from the SEC West. The Razorbacks currently rank 10th in the league and sixth in the West, ahead of the only school bogged down in a never-ending NCAA investigation.

• Bielema is loyal to his assistants. That has been the downfall of more than one coach for the Hogs. A head coach is only as good as his assistants because, quite frankly, they do most of the work.

• He’s convinced himself the program is still moving upward. We covered this in another story, but the cold, hard truth is they are not. This year saw Bielema’s program go backwards in the SEC.

• Bielema just flat-out didn’t want to talk about it. This one might be closer to the truth. No coach is going to throw his staff under the bus immediately after a loss. In many ways it’s not fair to ask it then, but it is a question that is going to be asked.

• He doesn’t grasp the situation. If he thinks the cupboard was bare when he came in, most felt Bobby Petrino inherited worse back in 2008. That’s a subject that can be debated for about a week or so.

Bielema has got to do some things to get the football program jump-started, according to people far more familiar with how to do these things than me:

• Recruiting has to improve. Not by just a little bit here and there. Four of your division opponents are in the first 11 right now while the Hogs’ current commitments rank 24th. You’ve got to make a leap and get a whole lot faster in a hurry.

The inevitable result is you aren’t going to make up any ground. The only way to close a gap that large is by getting some highly-rated junior college players.

• Change your approach. With Ed Orgeron being hired at LSU and saying you have to have a spread offense with dual-threat quarterbacks, that should get your attention. He was a pro-style, run-first coach and in the past vowed to never change.

While Arkansas’ current style may be unique, that doesn’t matter if the other side is signing bushels of fast defenders who run around your slow, clumsy offensive linemen.

Bielema may think sticking to what he’s done the last four years is the way to go. That’s certainly his decision and worked for him, as we’ve been told, in the Big 10.

Only thing is that’s like comparing winning wagon races with Clydesdales and applying the same thought process to running with thoroughbreds in the SEC.

And, in case you weren’t aware, no Clydesdale has ever won the Kentucky Derby.

Oh, and the only Big 10 team to win a national title since 2002 was Ohio State in 2014. With a spread offense and the speed to compete with an SEC team.

No, Bret may not replace any assistants.

But the guess here is some will get job offers to go elsewhere. With a strong recommendation from Bielema.

Of course. Problem solved.

 

Loss to Tigers shows Hogs haven’t really gotten out of middle of the pack

Andy Hodges
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Nobody expected Arkansas to lose at Missouri on Saturday.

If there was any question previous to today, it was put to rest when Tigers linebacker Eric Beisel couldn’t pronounce the name of Arkansas correctly, then more or less challenged the Razorbacks.

He then proceeded to have eight tackles in the Tigers’ 28-24 win Friday, including six of them solo. Everybody apologized, but it may have fired up Beisel more than the Hogs.

That’s just one of the wrinkles to a game that exposed a lot of Arkansas’ problems that have been bubbling near the surface for most of the year.

And now, it’s time for reflection and examination.

Despite what Bret Bielema and some were saying this was not a year of progress. The talking heads on TV and radio say that because they’re just looking at the won-loss schedule and giving you affirmation, not information.

Arkansas had four gimme wins, two of them that were much closer than they should have been. The wins over Louisiana Tech and TCU early showed this team might not be that far ahead of last year.

It turns out it’s not as good.

The final record will show 7-5, the same as last season, which could have been anywhere from 9-3 to 5-7. It was that wild in games against Toledo, Texas Tech, Tennessee, Auburn, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Ole Miss.

Let’s face it, there’s seven games that could have gone either way, affecting the final record. But it is what it is and that’s what counts.

But — and this is the most important stat — the Razorbacks were 5-3 in the SEC last season, with losses only to Alabama, Texas A&M and Mississippi State. You could easily see a couple of plays that could have made that 7-1.

Fast-forward to this season and the Hogs’ finish of 3-5 in league play. Again, where you finish in the league should be the only barometer of whether you’re making progress or not.

There’s not a lot of ambiguity in there, either. With the exception of the Missouri game, the Hogs were blown out four times in the league and their conference wins were not really in doubt in the fourth quarter.

The only quality league win was over a Florida team that played four quarters like Arkansas did the second half against the Tigers.

Here are the straight-forward numbers of where the Hogs’ program sits four years into the Bielema era:

SEC Record: 10-22. At this same point, Bobby Petrino and Houston Nutt were both 17-15 after four years as a sidenote, but they were both getting to play an extra game against an SEC East opponent.

SEC West: 7-17. Throw out the first season at 0-6 and you’re still 7-11.

Overall Record: 25-25.

November Record: 7-9 overall, 7-5 over last three seasons. Pick the side of .500 you like.

This is not a call to fire anybody. That’s something others decide, using whatever criteria they like.

But you have to wonder what the expectations are these days.

Some of us old-timers remember when eight wins a season had coaches in a dead panic over whether they would be fired or not. Anything less than being in contention for a league championship in November every season was not acceptable.

It wasn’t that long ago that Arkansas was in a position of putting up double-digit wins. They still finished third in their own division when the smoke cleared, but at least it was close enough to be there if somebody fell apart in November.

Over the last 10 years, Arkansas has finished tied for second one time (2010), third (2011), tied for third twice (2015, 2007), tied for fourth twice (2009, 2008), tied for fifth (2016), sixth (2012) and two seventh-place finishes (2014, 2013).

The averaging finishing position is 4.5, just below the middle of the pack.

It was former athletics director John Barnhill nearly 60 years who said, “teams are remembered less for what they accomplish in November than what was expected of them in August.”

That means, simply, the November result better match the August guessing or it’s an uncomfortable winter.

Or at least it used to be.

The Razorbacks are an SEC program mired in the middle of the pack in the West.

And the guess here is until expectations change, the results won’t.

Spinning a shocking loss to Tigers will be hard for Hogs to do

Andy Hodges
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To his credit, Bret Bielema wasn’t trying to control the spin Saturday evening after a second-half collapse allowed Missouri to come away with a shocking 28-24 win over Arkansas.

That will come later. You can count on that.

As he usually is, Bielema was pretty straight-forward.

“One (thing) that was very, very obvious was a tale of two halves,” he said later.

Yes, it was very obvious. The Razorbacks led 24-7 at halftime. The Tigers’ biggest boost in the first half was a 44-yard field goal attempt by Adam McFain that hooked left of the uprights.

Yeah, the Hogs dominated the first half that badly. Oh, they did give up an 82-yard run by Missouri wide receiver Johnathon Johnson down the left sideline. Only a deep angle by Ryan Pulley kept it from being a 92-yard scoring play.

The Tigers scored when running back Ish Witter dropped the ball before crossing the goal and, since the Hogs’ defenders were looking at each other while Missouri celebrated, J’Mon Johnson reached down to get the ball that was lazily rolling around and got a touchdown for his effort.

But that was it for the Tigers in the first half. You could see the potential problem looming as Missouri’s wide receivers kept getting open on deep patterns down the sideline but quarterback Drew Lock missed some and the receivers dropped some.

You got the idea if they started clicking it was going to be trouble.

Missouri took the second-half kickoff and drove 63 yards in nine plays to cut the lead to 10, 24-14.

No problem, right?

Arkansas then proceeded to drive to the Tigers’ 3, but another uh-oh appeared. Austin Allen’s third-down pass was hurried and Cale Garrett intercepted in the end zone and brought it out to the 4.

Still, no worry. The Razorbacks’ defense had Missouri set up to punt from the end zone, except the Tigers ran a fake punt and got it out to their own 21. Lock then hit two passes, including a 67-yarder to Johnson, and it was suddenly 24-21 with the entire fourth quarter left to play.

Missouri scored on it’s first possession of the second half after a 49-yard pass completion to Moore set up three straight runs by Nate Strong to put the Tigers on top, 28-24 with 12:48 to go.

From there, Missouri’s defense was hanging on by it’s fingernails. Meanwhile, Arkansas couldn’t get a big play when it needed one and ended up getting bogged down in the red zone twice.

The result, well, was not what the folks in Hog Country expected.

“(We) felt like we were going to come back and do what we did in the first half,” Allen said in the initial post-mortem later. “But it just didn’t happen.”

Whatever Tigers coach Barry Odom said at halftime worked.

Whatever Bielema said didn’t.

“We didn’t match the intensity that we needed to in the second half,” Bielema said.

In the SEC, regardless who you’re playing, that’s a problem.

“I don’t care what the records are, you can throw that out the window; it’s about who executes,” Bielema said. “Give credit to Missouri. Obviously they responded well in the second half.”

Well, yes, and the result will keep the radio talk shows going for at least a few weeks.

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