Tye & Tommy on Derian’s commitment, KJ #4 QB in SEC, weird ice cream flavors and more!
The Morning Rush is LIVE! Derrian Ford joins the show, Recruiting Thursday and more!!!
Tye Richardson and Tommy Craft are joined by Razorback commit, Derrian Ford, then its a recruiting Thursday with Tom Murphy and Richard Davenport.
Cunningham, Morgan to be at Media Days with Pittman
Seniors Myron Cunningham and Grant Morgan will represent Arkansas along with Sam Pittman next week at SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala.
After a year hiatus due to the pandemic, SEC Media Days returns beginning on Monday, July 19 and concluding on Thursday, July 22, when the Razorbacks will take their turn in front of the cameras and microphones alongside representatives from Missouri and Auburn.
Cunningham returns for his third season on the Hill after a stellar 2020. The big left tackle started all 10 games for the Hogs, playing a team-high 705 offensive snaps to help the Arkansas offense improve under offensive coordinator Kendal Briles.
According to Pro Football Focus, Cunningham produced four pass blocking grades of 80+, including a season-best 88.1 at Missouri. The Warren, Ohio, native allowed only two sacks during the season and was flagged just four times.
Morgan recorded one of the most remarkable seasons for a Razorback in recent memory, becoming just the 16th player in program history to earn Walter Camp All-America honors being named to the second team.
The Greenwood native led the nation in tackles per game averaging 12.3 and finishing with 111 tackles despite playing in only nine games. Along with being named an All-American by Walter Camp, he picked up All-America status from the AFCA (second team) and Phil Steele (third team) to go with his first-team All-SEC accolades from the AP and SEC coaches.
Coach Pittman will make his debut at SEC Media Days after leading Arkansas to the program’s most SEC wins since 2016 in his first season. The Hogs earned a berth to the Texas Bowl, the team’s first bowl berth since 2016, before the game was canceled due to covid issues within the TCU program.
Pittman, Cunningham and Morgan will begin their rotation on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. inside the Hyatt Hotel.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Neghbors gets extension, raise after guiding Hogs to NCAA
Mike Neighbors and Arkansas have a new agreement aimed at securing his leadership of the Razorback women’s basketball program through the 2028 season.
Neighbors’ previous agreement was set to expire following the 2023 season.
His new agreement extends his tenure through at least the 2026 season, with automatic year roll overs for up to two NCAA appearances that could push the full length of the agreement to April 30, 2028.
As part of the new agreement, Neighbors will receive annual compensation of $600,000 through June 30, 2023, with a scheduled increase to $700,000 on July 1, 2023. Neighbors also can receive $50,000 increases to his base salary for each of the program’s first two NCAA appearances following the 2022-23 season.
“What Coach Neighbors has done in his first four seasons as the head coach of our women’s basketball program has been extraordinary,” athletics director Hunter Yurachek said in a statement. “He has guided our team to success in the Southeastern Conference and nationally, while transforming Razorback Women’s Basketball into one of the most dynamic and exciting college basketball programs in the nation. With his up-tempo style of play, infectious enthusiasm and enduring commitment to Arkansas, Coach Neighbors has captured the attention of fans throughout our state and attracted some of the nation’s very best players to the University of Arkansas. I am excited for the future of our women’s basketball program under Coach Neighbors’ leadership.”
Entering his fifth season as head coach, Neighbors has elevated the program into one that is nationally recognized.
He has collected 78 wins at Arkansas in just four seasons, already the fourth highest win total by a head coach in program history, trailing only Gary Blair, John Sutherland and Tom Collen.
Neighbors’ 176 wins as a head coach through eight seasons puts him in rarefied air in terms of quick coaching success — he is one of two NCAA Division I coaches to have won that many games in eight or fewer seasons.
Under his watchful eye, the Hogs have also become a consistent winner in the SEC. His 2020-21 team helped cement that, as the Razorbacks finished 9-6 in the league, the first time in program history with back-to-back winning seasons since joining the SEC back in 1991.
By knocking off both UConn and Baylor in 2021, Neighbors became the first Head Hog in the history of the women’s basketball program to notch two top-five wins in the same season.
The 2020-21 season culminated with the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2015, and if not for the COVID-19 pandemic, it would have been the first back-to-back appearances for the program since the 2002 and 2003 NCAA Tournaments.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to continue living my dream as the head women’s basketball coach at the University of Arkansas,” Neighbors said in a release. “This meaningful investment in the future of our program is an endorsement of the progress we have made and further validation of our success both in the Southeastern Conference and nationally.”
The turnaround Neighbors has executed at Arkansas has been incredible.
In his first season with the Hogs, they entered the SEC Tournament as the 14th seeded team in the conference. This year, they entered the NCAA Tournament as the 14th ranked team in the nation.
He’s done it by implementing his functionally fast offense, one that has produced several program records in his four years back on the Hill, including highest single season PPG (83.4, 2019-20) and the most three-pointers hit in a single season (314, 2019-20), which also broke the SEC record.
His offense has also helped unlock several great players that have come through the program during his tenure, most notably Chelsea Dungee. Dungee, who transferred to Arkansas because of Neighbors, was named an AP All-American, one of just 10 WBCA All-Americans, and finished third on Arkansas’ all-time scoring list despite only playing for the Hogs for three seasons.
As a result, Dungee was taken fifth overall in the WNBA Draft, nine slots ahead of teammate Destiny Slocum, who Neighbors also landed out of the transfer portal. Neighbors’ track record of developing elite-level talent predated his Arkansas days, however, as he also piloted the incredible career of Kelsey Plum, who still holds the NCAA Division I women’s basketball scoring record.
Neighbors’ success and unique charisma has amounted to successful recruiting, which has the Hogs’ future looking brighter than ever. Despite the departure of players like Dungee, Slocum and former First-Team All-SEC player Alexis Tolefree, Arkansas now boasts a roster that has five former five-star players, headlined by former McDonald’s All-Americans Amber Ramirez, Sasha Goforth, Maryam Dauda and Jersey Wolfenbarger.
He also has developed players like Makayla Daniels and Marquesha Davis, who will both be back for the 2021-22 season.
TRUSTING THE PROCESS: Andy Hodges of HitThatLine.com
Tye and Andy on early days of internet, owning radio stations, playing Arkansas games on radio stations in Mississippi!
King on SEC Media Days, Nebraska’s new AD, Hogs won’t leave SEC
Nashville Sports Radio’s Bill King talked about the long history of SEC Media Days, Trev Alberts hired by Huskers, money keeps Hogs in SEC.
Halftime Pod Presented by Eastside Liquor: Ferrara, King
Hogs baseball looks stacked again; How do other Arkansas cities view NW Arkansas? Change My Mind, and the Korean Bunt Derby.
Guests- Vince Ferrara & Bill King
Ferrara on changes with Tennessee’s athletic department … for the better
With Danny White coming in as athletic director, Vince Ferrara of The Sports Animal in Knoxville said on Halftime it’s stabilizing the Vols.
Slavens on decision to return for another year with Hogs after draft
Arkansas first baseman Brady Slavens talked with Tye Richardson and Tommy Craft on The Morning Rush about his choice to come back.
Musselman picks up commitment from Ford for 2022 class
In a year filled with good players in Arkansas, Eric Musselman landed a key commitment from Magnolia guard Derrian Ford on Wednesday morning.
“First off I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to tell th world this. I put in a lot of hard work to get to this point. I want to thank all the coaches for showing great interest in me. I loved each and every college. Unfortunately, there was only one college that I could choose. I am pleased to announce that I will be sstaying home to further my education and basketball career. With that being said, I will be committing to the University of Arkansas. #HogNation,” Ford posted on social media.
#ThatWork PSA!!! God gets all the glory!!??? pic.twitter.com/CWQOhjcBi3
— Derrian Ford (@thetruthballers) July 14, 2021
Ford is the No. 50 overall player in the country, according to the 247Sports composite rankings system.
At 6-4, 180, he has the size and is ranked the ninth-best combo guard in the country.
It’s been a good week for Musselman as he picked up a commitment from Barry Dunning, a 6-6, 205-pound wing out of Alabama. Joseph Pinnion from Morrilton had already committed.
Other key in-state commitments North Little Rock center Kel’el Ware, 6-11, 210, is the No. 1 ranked prospect in the state and checks in at No. 17 nationally. Right behind him is Sylvan Hills guard Nick Smith, who is listed at No. 20 nationally.
Goode on advantages for recruits of Fayetteville, Northwest Arkansas
Former Razorback Brett Goode talked about how Fayetteville has changed and is a drawing card for potential recruits.
