Hawgs Illustrated’s Clay Henry, Tommy Craft preview start of fall camp Thursday with guest Tom Murphy of the Democrat-Gazette.
Biggest questions facing Hogs heading into another season
Just a few days from the start of fall camp, everybody is playing the guessing game around Arkansas football … which is normal.
About the only thing certain in August is we don’t know how things will be in November.
Facing the toughest schedule in the conference (primarily because the Razorbacks aren’t on their own schedule), some think they will win enough to get to a bowl game, others aren’t even sure they’ll win a game in the SEC.
One thing we do know is the Hogs might not be sneaking up on anybody this year because Sam Pittman showed in last year’s 3-7 season he can get players to give a good effort. He just ran out of players in a crazy November where they could have picked up two or three more wins.
But there are questions, though. How those are answered through the course of a dozen games will be in direct proportion to the record.
Can KJ get the job done at quarterback?
It’s the most important position on the field these days and Arkansas is going with a guy that looked good in his only real appearance and that didn’t end up as a win.
The Missouri loss wasn’t his fault. He got them within 43 seconds of a win.
But the facts are the facts and last year has absolutely nothing to do with this season. Lou Holtz used to harp on that for years and it turned out to be pretty accurate.
Jefferson showed flashes against the Tigers, but the Hogs prepared him the week of the game while ducking every possible question about Feleipe Franks’ availability.
The Tigers didn’t have a lot of preparation for him.
Now teams have one entire game to study and you learn over decades of watching it don’t base anything on one semi-surprising appearance by a quarterback because defensive preparation can change things.
Will another wide receiver take the pressure off Burks?
Fellow former Warren Lumberjack Treylon Burks is the marquee wide receiver on this team but opponents can shut down an offense with only one option to catch passes.
De’Vion Warren has made plays before, but Burks had nearly twice as many catches as everybody else combined. Trey Knox all but disappeared last season after a promising freshman year and that has to change.
The tight ends, Blake Kern and Hudson Henry, could help some. But they’ve got to do. They had just 36 catches between them all year.
Has the defensive line improved pass rush this year?
Too often last season the Hogs’ defensive pass rush required bringing everybody except the cheerleaders to pressure passers.
The front couldn’t get any sort of consistent rush. Given enough time any quarterback is going to complete passes because there’s not enough defensive backs who can stay with every possible receiver forever.
New faces bring hope there will be some new pass rush up front.
Is it possible the special teams can really be special?
We’re not talking about the kickers and punters here because they are just one part in the entire process. Much like the quarterback, they get the blame when one of the other 10 on the field don’t do their job.
Punt returns were virtually non-existent. The Hogs only returned four and it was clear the theory was fair catch as many as possible and reduce mistakes. It also reduced the possibilities of big plays and there were none.
The Hogs had as many interceptions as returns and turned that into 190 yards compared to just 175 yards in kick returns. Opponents had 608 yards in kick returns, an average over 4 first downs every game (43.3 yards).
Problems last year weren’t easy to pinpoint but it was a complete team failure on too many occasions. Blocking on returns and avoiding blocks on kicks happened with too much frequency.
We’ll see how it plays out.
Has this team developed the depth necessary?
Teams in the SEC don’t win just on the 22 starters, but how good are the backups?
That’s a huge question for the Hogs and there’s no way to know how that plays out, despite Pittman’s assurances. He’s not going to tell us this team doesn’t have any depth.
Arkansas’ starters can compete with anybody or they wouldn’t be on the team.
How good is everybody else because we’re going to find out. Injuries, someone suddenly developing into a much better play and even the transfer portal play a role nobody can predict.
Which is why we don’t have the answers now.
Check back about Halloween … at the earliest.
For Hogs, adding teams in SEC about $$$ because it’s not football wins
Since Arkansas came into the SEC in 1992, four teams have now been added and it hasn’t exactly been the success fans hoped for when initially announced.
The past week’s drama surrounding Texas and Oklahoma being admitted in about a week’s time won’t help that.
In 2012 before Missouri and Texas A&M’s first year in the league, the talking heads on sports radio in Arkansas were counting those as extra wins for the Razorbacks.
One sports radio host went so far as to say it would take the Tigers a decade to get enough SEC-quality linemen to do much in football. It took them two years to win a division title in back-to-back years.
Oh, and the Hogs are 1-5 against them in SEC games.
Maybe the Aggies were a bigger surprise. The Hogs had just beaten them three times in a row in games that were not league games and now they are on the downside of an eight-game losing streak.
Do the math. The Hogs are 1-13 against the last two teams to join the SEC.
Now Texas and Oklahoma are coming into the league. Folks are wagging on and on about how they are going to not have the same success they had in the Big 12 because, well, it’s the SEC.
It will be harder, but somehow you just get the idea coming into the league is going to force the Longhorns and Sooners to pick up their games. OU has been at a pretty high level and will likely continue at that pace. Texas has been a mess for most of the last 45 years being just good enough to be close to a title, but only getting one.
As a side note, the Longhorns have historically under-achieved compared to their talent level. They have one national title with a coach other than Darrell Royal, who won three in the 1960’s.
The guess is Steve Sarkisian might be the guy that changes that. He walked into a team filled with talent on the par with the best teams in the SEC (Tom Herman wasn’t fired because he couldn’t recruit).
Arkansas has won 29.3% of their matchups all time with Texas. When they were in the same conference it was 27.1% of the time. The Hogs took advantage of some bowl matchups later where the Longhorns weren’t too interested in even being at the game (which has always been a bigger deal for Arkansas fans).
It’s the same story against the Sooners. The Hogs have won 29.2% of the all-time matchups. There will always be the 31-6 win in the Orange Bowl after the 1977 season (which is still, for my money, the best Razorback team of all time).
The vote to let those two into the SEC where they will almost certainly be in the same division and an annual matchup for the Hogs had nothing to do with expecting more wins in football.
Every sport at the UA is going to have two more opponents in the league in all sports.
More importantly, it’s about money and the coming arms race and that’s going to be about online streaming, which is how more and more people consume their sports, news and entertainment.
Texas and Oklahoma help deliver that, creating more interest and, at least for everybody at the UA, opponents fans can be passionate about.
But the bottom line in the Hogs’ vote for expansion is, well, the bottom line looking into the future.
And not letting the past affect that decision.
Keeping running quarterbacks healthy key at most important position
Since spring practice, Sam Pittman has left no wiggle room saying KJ Jefferson will be the starting quarterback.
“Does he have competition?” he said at SEC Media Days and it wasn’t really a question. “You’re dang right he’s got competition, but he has proven that he can play well in the Southeastern Conference in a game. He started one game, but he played well during that game.”
There’s a lot of hope among coaches and fans that Missouri game to end the 2020 season that was “almost” a win was enough to be the basis for a guy ready to take over the team.
The problem is you can’t measure “almost” because almost doesn’t really matter.
Jefferson was 18-of-33 for 274 yards with three touchdowns plus 32 yards rushing with another touchdown. He put 48 points on the board. Missouri’s game-winning field goal as time ran out wasn’t his fault.
The two-point conversion pass he threw would have given the Razorbacks their fourth win of the season, but it came with 43 seconds left and Missouri managed to kick a game-winning field goal as time expired.
His mobility is what has everybody excited.
“We just have to have that in the back of our mind whenever we do drop back to pass the ball,” offensive tackle Myron Cunningham said. “We just have to have that in our mind that he could be scrambling. So we just have to be ready for it.”
Jefferson was a highly-rated four-star coming out of North Panola, Mississippi, but hadn’t really done anything against the type of players he would face in the SEC.
Without much high-level coaching, he didn’t progress in a freshman season where he got beat up in appearances against Mississippi State and LSU. If nothing else, Jefferson found out he couldn’t run over SEC defenders like he did in high school.
Now everybody is hoping their confidence shows up on the field on Saturdays this fall.
“KJ’s matured a lot,” super senior Grant Morgan said at Media Days. “He’s stepped up and he’s being the leader he needs to be.”
All of that confidence in him is really positive hope. Nobody knows how it’s going to play out over a season, but a lot of fans are hanging their hats on his ability to avoid pass rushers and make something out of nothing pays big dividends.
The problem with hanging your hopes on a mobile quarterback these days is the athleticism of defenses in the league. They will get to quarterbacks that don’t get away from them.
Behind Jefferson is Malik Hornsby, who has less time on the field, but maybe more athleticism.
How this season plays out is going to be in direct proportion to how the quarterback position performs. The talent at wide receiver is there, the offensive line is going to be more experienced but there are questions.
A lot of questions.
But not a lot of answers.
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SEC officially names Texas and, oh yeah, Oklahoma as SEC members
Officially, Texas and Oklahoma will be members of the SEC in four years but nobody really thinks it’s going to take that long.
Here is the full announcement from the league office:
The Southeastern Conference today announced that the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas will become members effective July 1, 2025, with competition to begin in all sports for the 2025-26 academic year.
The addition of Oklahoma and Texas will bring the number of SEC members to 16 beginning July 1, 2025. Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt have been members since the formation of the SEC in 1933. The Conference has twice previously expanded, adding Arkansas and South Carolina in 1991, followed by Missouri and Texas A&M in 2012.
“The Presidents and Chancellors of the Southeastern Conference are pleased to welcome the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas,” said Jere Morehead, President of the University of Georgia and current President of the SEC. “Both universities are prestigious academic institutions with strong athletics programs similar in tradition, culture and success to our current member universities. We look forward to a productive and successful future together beginning in 2025.”
Oklahoma and Texas submitted requests for invitations for membership to the SEC on Tuesday. The Conference’s Presidents and Chancellors voted during a meeting conducted by videoconference on Thursday to extend invitations to the two universities. Both universities’ Boards of Regents officially accepted the invitations during meetings conducted on Friday morning.
“This is an important moment for the long-term future of the Southeastern Conference and our member universities,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “Oklahoma and Texas are outstanding academic institutions with two strong athletics programs, which will add to the SEC’s national prominence. Their additions will further enhance the already rich academic, athletic and cultural legacies that have been cultivated throughout the years by our existing 14 members. We look forward to the Sooners and Longhorns competing in our Conference starting in the 2025-26 academic year.”
Notably, the University of Texas will be the fifth institution in the SEC to hold membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities, joining Florida, Missouri, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
“The Southeastern Conference’s dedication to the success of our member institutions – and our members’ commitment to one another – has produced a sustained level of excellence unrivaled throughout college sports,” Sankey added. “It is the unity and collaboration of our institutions that makes the SEC special, and Wednesday’s decision of the Texas A&M Board of Regents to approve a vote supportive of Conference membership for their long-time in-state rival is an example of the overall culture of this Conference. I appreciate the opportunity for our Conference to move forward with a spirit of unanimity.”
The University of Oklahoma, founded in 1890 and located in Norman, supports a student population of approximately 28,000, including the Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City and a Tulsa campus. The university offers 170 majors. In athletics, Oklahoma has won 39 national team championships dating back to its first in wrestling in 1936. Its first women’s team national title came in softball in 2000.
The Sooners sponsor 21 varsity sports. Men’s sports include football, cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field, basketball, golf, tennis, baseball, gymnastics and wrestling. Women’s sports include volleyball, soccer, cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field, basketball, gymnastics, golf, tennis, softball and rowing. Oklahoma participates in every sport sponsored by the SEC except men’s and women’s swimming & diving and equestrian. The SEC sponsors every sport in which the Sooners participate except women’s rowing, men’s gymnastics and wrestling.
The University of Texas, founded in 1883 and located in Austin, supports approximately 51,000 students across 18 colleges and schools. In athletics, Texas has won 58 national team championships dating back to its first in baseball in 1949. Its first women’s team national title came in swimming & diving in 1981.
The Longhorns sponsor 20 varsity sports. Men’s sports include football, cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field, swimming & diving, basketball, golf, tennis and baseball. Women’s sports include volleyball, soccer, cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field, swimming & diving, basketball, golf, tennis, softball and rowing. Texas participates in every sport sponsored by the SEC except women’s gymnastics and equestrian. The SEC sponsors every sport in which the Longhorns participate except women’s rowing.
It’s official, fans. But don’t think it’s going to take until 2025 for it to happen.
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Today’s guests include David Cobb at 11:30, Aaron Torres at 12:30 and, of course, Dumas of the Week.
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