Freshman nabs SEC accolade
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas tailback Chase Hayden picked up SEC freshman of the week honors Tuesday after a performance that Coach Bret Bielema said only began to scratch the surface of his potential.
Hayden had 120 yards, including a 5-yard score, in Arkansas’ 49-7 victory over Florida A&M.
“Chase Hayden, as much as you may not believe it, I don’t think he was even close to what he has shown us at times,” Bielema said Monday. “I think even he himself admitted he was taken aback by that first half for sure, and then kind of settled down into it. That’s why I kept playing him a little bit more. I just thought he needed more and more reps to get used to game speed.”
Hayden is the fifth running back at Arkansas to be named SEC freshman of the week, joining Darren McFadden (2005), Felix Jones (2005), Dennis Johnson (2008) and Alex Collins (2013). McFadden and Collins did it twice in one season.
He joined Jones and Collins as the only Arkansas freshmen to rush for 100 or more yards in their college debut.
“We wanted to get Chase quite a bit of reps because he’s a freshman,” Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos said. “We knew he was going to have a significant role this season, so we tried to make sure he got the majority of the carries.”
Injury report
Bret Bielema said with the exception of cornerback Ryan Pulley, who is out for an extended period with a pectoral muscle injury, the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville is much healthier than last week.
Receiver Jared Cornelius,
who played briefly last week because of a tight back, is expected to be ready for a longer run against TCU, as is T.J. Hammonds, a receiverrunning back.
“Jared looked good [on Sunday], so I would say his role will increase significantly,” offensive coordinator Dan Enos said. “T.J., I think again his role will continue to get going as he gets more comfortable.”
Bring ’em along
Freshman Kamren Curl, who is expected to start at cornerback in place of injured Ryan Pulley, has plenty of veteran defensive backs to help, such as seniors Kevin Richardson, Henre Toliver and Josh Liddell, and junior Santos Ramirez.
“We’ve been saying it all along, that he has the ability to play right now,” Richardson said. “We’re just going to have to pick Kam up and bring him along.”
Freshman Chevin Calloway and sophomore Britto Tutt also figure in the cornerback rotation without Pulley.
“It’s just a matter of preparing them with the game plan and getting them to be mentally ready to play their game,” Richardson said. “We have overtime meetings. We try to watch film with them and help prepare them.”
Ranked Frogs
TCU entered The Associated Press poll at No. 23 on Tuesday. The Horned Frogs will represent the 27th ranked team Arkansas has played in Coach Bret Bielema’s 53rd game at the helm, or 51 percent of the Hogs’ opponents in that time.
“The challenge goes up, most definitely,” Arkansas defensive end McTelvin Agim said. “Their offensive line is coming back, they’re more athletic, have more depth and they’re bigger.”
Agim praised TCU quarterback Kenny Hill, who racked up 470 total yards against Arkansas last year.
“Kenny Hill has done nothing but get experienced and get better over the years he’s been in college,” Agim said. “I feel like it’s going to be a very tough game.”
TCU is the first team among those receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches poll and is the fourth team also receiving votes in the Football Writers Association of America-National Football Foundation Super 16.
DB down
Arkansas has lost a key defensive back to a seasonending pectoral injury in the opener for the second consecutive year. Last year it was Kevin Richardson. This year it’s Ryan Pulley, one of the SEC’s top cover corners.
“To see somebody with that capability, that type of talent taken away like that it’s a big blow to us,” Richardson said. “I’ve been through it, and I know the whole experience.
“I’m just trying to keep Ryan’s head up, keep him in good spirits, because it’s tough to sit out a whole year when you had high expectations for yourself and this team. I know it sucks for him.”
Richardson said Pulley will take freshman corners Kamren Curl and Chevin Calloway under his wing.
“He’s got that dog in him to go out and prepare those guys just like he prepared himself,” Richardson said. “If he can do that, those guys will be some great players for us.”
T.J. tout
Defensive end T.J. Smith said his roommate, Rawleigh Williams, helped him get calm before his first college start last week against Florida A&M.
Smith, a 6-3, 290-pound sophomore, had two tackles while starting at left end.
“I was kind of nervous, the first time starting in college, and he kind of got the nervous feeling out of me and made me feel a lot more confident, because he was in the same place last year,” Smith said of the former Arkansas running back.
Defensive line coach John Scott praised Smith’s effort.
“T.J. had a nice game,” Scott said. “T.J.’s a technician. He’s the type of player you love as a coach because he’s going to do exactly what you tell him to do. He puts the extra time in. I thought he was well prepared.”
Coaches’ picks
The Arkansas coaching staff selected cornerback Henre Toliver as its defensive player of the week, while tailback Chase Hayden, guard Hjalte Froholdt and tight end Austin Cantrell split the honors on offense.
The staff’s special teams player of the week was Ryder Lucas. On the scout teams, offensive lineman Shane Clenin, linebacker Tyler Phillips and linebacker Tyler Pennington were chosen players of the week.
Beating Big 12
Bret Bielema will look to improve to 5-1 against Big 12 teams at Arkansas.
“I didn’t even know.” Bielema said of his 4-1 record. “I’m excited to play nonconference, and TCU is as good as it gets. I’m excited to get them to return here. I think our kids are very excited.”
The Razorbacks won at Texas Tech 49-28 and beat Texas in the Texas Bowl 31-7 in 2014; lost to Texas Tech 35-24 at home and beat Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl 45-23 in 2015; and won 41-38 at TCU in double overtime last season.
TCU has a 2-3 record vs. SEC teams under Coach Gary Patterson.