Hoping for health
Coach Hud Jackson (above) and quarterback Hunter Leppert arrived at Arkansas-Monticello within a few months of each other. Jackson was the coach tasked with helping the Boll Weevils navigate the newly formed Great American Conference, and Leppert was the quarterback chosen to help him to do so. Four years later, it hasn’t gone as smoothly as either would have liked.
Hud Jackson and Hunter Leppert arrived at Arkansas-Monticello within a few months of each other.
Jackson was the coach tasked with helping the Boll Weevils navigate the newly formed Great American Conference, and Leppert was the quarterback from Minden, La., chosen to help him to do so.
Four years later, it hasn’t gone as smoothly as either would like.
Leppert has struggled to stay healthy, and the Boll Weevils have had a hard time fielding a complete and balanced team capable of competing with GAC heavyweights Ouachita Baptist, Harding and Henderson State.
But Leppert is back for a fifth and final season, and Jackson hopes this team has what it takes to turn a corner after compiling a 13-30 record over the past four seasons.
“It’s about time that something positive shows up,” Jackson said. “It takes time to build a program, but it’s time for us to do something that makes us feel like we’ve accomplished something.”
Leppert needs that time to be now, considering his remaining UAM career can be measured in just a few months.
Recruited by Jackson when he took the job in 2011, Leppert started as a freshman and passed for 771 yards and five touchdowns without an interception in the first three games before tearing the ACL in his right knee. He returned to play seven games in 2012, but he played in four games before tearing the same ligament. That time it forced him to miss the rest of 2012 and all of the 2013 season.
He returned for the second game of last season and played nine games. This year, his fifth at UAM, he’s hoping to play an entire season for the first time and help progress a program that he signed on to help almost five years ago.
“The healthy thing, that’s big,” Leppert said. “You want to stay healthy, especially with it being my last year, but there ain’t nothing like winning. That’s what we strive for.”
Throughout the surgeries and rehabilitation, Leppert said he never thought about quitting football.
“Right when I found out, the first time, it hit me pretty hard,” Leppert said. “The next year, that was really rough, too, but it’s just hard to walk away from. I can’t get enough of it. And it feels good now. There were no problems last year. It’s going to be sore sometimes, but it’s not preventing me from doing anything.”
Leppert has played in 19 games since 2011 and is a career 58.6 percent passer with 3,504 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He will try to help UAM improve on last season’s 2-8 finish in which it was seventh in the GAC in scoring (27.5 points per game) and total offense (354.0 yards per game), 10th in rushing (92.7) and fourth in passing (261.3).
Leppert likes the pieces that surround him. Senior Cody Bordelon was a second-team All-GAC selection last year after catching 39 passes for 591 yards and 6 touchdowns. Trey Taylor and Jalen Tolliver also return after combining for 40 catches for 472 yards and 3 touchdowns.
“We feel really, really good about that whole group,” Jackson said.
Up front is where Leppert can’t help them, and that’s also what worries Jackson the most.
UAM was held to an average of 2.7 yards per rush last year, and its leading rusher, Rod Smith, gained just 398 yards. The Boll Weevils were last in the 11-team GAC in rushing defense, yielding 244 yards per game and 37 rushing touchdowns, more than all but two NCAA Division II teams.
UAM returns two starters from the offensive line and one from the defensive line, but Jackson likes what he sees from a group of transfers that includes former Arkansas State end Jabari Mathieu.
“The defensive line is key for everything,” Jackson said. “That’s something we knew we had to go out and fix, and it’ll be interesting to see. Some really positive things have been happening. It’s always good when you feel your defense is a little bit ahead of your offense.”
Jackson knows what Leppert can do if the quarterback can stay on the field. It also would be a nice send-off for a player who has been at UAM longer than any other.
“I would love nothing more than for Hunter to have a great year,” Jackson said. “If he’s having a great year, we’ll be more productive. He’s gone through ups and downs. He’s matured a bunch. It’s been nice seeing him grow up while he’s been here.”