HOGS’ DEFENSE up for a QB run Saturday.
Defense up for QB run Saturday
FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas defense is preparing for a capable quarterback run game from Alcorn State on Saturday.
It’s not like they haven’t seen it already this season. Texas A& M’s Trevor Knight presented the third quarterback run- heavy scheme Arkansas has faced, following Louisiana Tech and TCU. Texas State also runs its quarterbacks, but the Razorbacks snuffed out that threat.
Knight was a different story, amassing a careerhigh 157 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
“Trevor Knight ran the ball well,” defensive end Deatrich Wise said. “He pretty much led that team to a victory.”
Alcorn State freshman quarterback Noah Johnson ranks third on the team in rushing with 128 yards and is second with 29 attempts. Johnson has scored four of the team’s six rushing touchdowns.
“The freshman really gets it done,” safety Josh Liddell said. “Watching his tape, that guy can really run.”
Johnson has been playing more than junior starter Lenorris Footman, who suffered an ankle injury early in the year. Footman has nine carries for 39 yards.
“We’ve just got to make sure we do better than last week and are not giving up big plays, that’s for sure,” defensive line coach Rory Segrest said.
Santos spotlight
Coach Bret Bielema’s 12- play highlight package from the Texas A& M game, shown to the team Sunday night, had an array of negative plays, but it also included plays that showed extra effort.
Safety Santos Ramirez was in on three of them.
The sophomore forced a fumble from punt returner Christian Kirk that Arkansas recovered and converted into a touchdown early in the first quarter. Ramirez tracked down Trayveon Williams at the end of a 15- yard run to the Arkansas 2 early in the third quarter and linebacker Dre Greenlaw recovered an Aggies fumble on the next play. Ramirez also chased down quarterback Trevor Knight at the end of a 62yard run late in the game.
“It’s always great to get praise for your attitude and your effort,” Ramirez said. “Those two things you can always control. That’s what I pride myself on and to know that Coach gave me praise about that, it made me feel good about myself.”
Defensive backs coach Paul Rhoads said Ramirez did a lot of things well, but “overall, there wasn’t anybody that graded out in a positive way. But he caused a fumble and he had two touchdown- saving tackles.”
Late to early
Defensive end Deatrich Wise talked about the weirdness of playing an 11 a. m. game in Little Rock the week after kicking off at 8: 15 p. m. on the road.
“That was a long wait,” Wise said. “We were watching everybody else play and having meetings, taking a break, and meeting again. It got tedious.”
The morning kickoff seems to suit players better.
“We have to make sure we go to bed earlier and get a good night’s sleep,” Wise said. “Hydrate throughout the week because of the early game.
“I feel like that’s a pretty good time to play. You get up and feel fresh and go play, instead of having to wait all day for the game.”
Coach Bret Bielema said he had a whole season at Wisconsin with 11 a. m. kickoffs.
“Saturday’s the only day that you get a moment to rest and I was excited to see that 11 o’clock game, but we’ll see how everybody responds to it. … I think our wake- up time is right around 6: 30 or 7 o’clock.”
Red zone rebuff
Arkansas’ red- zone scoring ratio took a beating last week with three nonscoring drives inside the Texas A& M 20 out of seven chances.
The Razorbacks’ overall success rate is now 18 of 23 (. 689), which ranks 87th in the NCAA. Arkansas’ touchdown- scoring rate in the red zone ( 15 of 23, .652) is 57th. The team’s five red zone failures came on an interception, a missed field goal, a fumble and two losses on downs.
Capps is OK
Defensive tackle Austin Capps, who missed last week’s game against Texas A& M with an eye contusion, practiced Tuesday.
Defensive line coach Rory Segrest said he expects Capps to be ready to play Saturday.
“His swelling’s gone down,” Segrest said. “We’re keeping a close eye on him, but right now he’s in good shape.”
Capps suffered the injury in a scooter accident.
“Those things don’t have a lot of protection,” Segrest said. “Any time you have an accident, there are some bad things waiting to happen. Fortunately, he came out of it OK.”
Back in the Rock
Alcorn State will be playing a University of Arkansas team in early October in Little Rock for the second consecutive year. Last season, the Braves defeated Arkansas- Pine Bluff 61- 14 at War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 3, 2015.
It’s All- Corn
Alcorn State is frequently pronounced a couple of different ways, but the correct pronunciation is AllCorn. The school explains the pronunciation on the front page of its football notes by saying it’s “AllCorn” as in “Always Alcorn.”
Sack chat
The Arkansas Razorbacks, who rank fifth in the SEC in sacks, will face one of the FCS’s hardest teams to sack Saturday.
Alcorn State is one of six FCS teams to have allowed one sack or less this season.
Karl Roesler joined Arkansas’ sack parade last week with a 5- yard takedown against Trevor Knight. Ten Razorbacks have accounted for at least a partial sack, led by Jeremiah Ledbetter ( 2.5) and Deatrich Wise ( 2.0). Arkansas ranks 32nd nationally with 2.75 sacks per game.
On the flip side, Alcorn State has posted 14 sacks in three games, the secondhighest total in the SWAC, led by 61/ from linebacker 2 Darien Anderson.