Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Arlington game still attractive for UA
and understand how to play physical. That was a concern for Arkansas until last week. The Razorbacks stepped up against Auburn with more physical play.
The question remains: Can the Hogs do that every week? Morris knows that’s the nature of the SEC.
“The game will be won in the trenches,” he said. “What we got last week (as far as effort) is what we want. You know that the physical part of the game will happen every week in this league.”
7. Pass Protection — Can the Hogs give Storey enough time to execute the passing game without running for his life? The Aggies are good with third down defense, among the best in the nation.
“They do a lot of things on third down,” Storey said. “But I’m comfortable that we’ve got a good plan.”
The Hogs have been poor on third downs. They converted just 3 of 17 against Auburn.
“We’ve had penalties and we’ve had missed assignments,” Morris said. “We have to become more efficient on third down.”
That comes down to pass protection from a rebuilt offensive line with Ty Clary at center, Hjalte Froholdt at left guard and Colton Jackson at left tackle. The constants from the first four games have been Brian Wallace at right tackle and Johnny Gibson at right guard.
8. The Start — Morris has a math degree from Texas A&M. He cited the number of plays Auburn ran in the first quarter inside Arkansas territory.
“Auburn had 58 snaps in the game, 34 were snapped on our side of the 50,” Morris said. “We took a huge punch in the first quarter. They snapped 13 of 17 in our territory. We have to get off to a better start.”
It was a similar problem against North Texas the week before when the Mean Green scored 17 points in their first 16 plays.
The Hogs have to improve in the first quarter if they want to stay with the Aggies.
9. Defensive Growth — The Hogs appear to be improved on defense, especially with the return of Ramsey and Greenlaw. Chavis said it’s not just the physical presence of good players. It’s continuity with leadership on the field and ability, too.
It’s an understanding of how to communicate both on and off the field. That’s giving coaches feed back on what is happening on the field and allowing for quick adjustments.
“Dre and Randy brought us senior leadership,” Chavis said. “Those two have played a lot of football. They made a difference with communication.” That’s on the field and off. “They can get us lined up right, but they can also communicate on the sideline what’s happening on the field,” Chavis said. “We played Dre too many plays. He was playing well, but we left him out there too long.
“What Dre was able to do was keep guys up on the sideline. There is not a price you can put on that.”
10. The Boyd Factor — It might be an emotional week for running back Rakeem Boyd, perhaps the starter with Devwah Whaley doubtful to play because of a concussion sustained against Auburn.
Boyd was at Texas A&M one year, redshirting there two years ago. He went to junior college last year because of academic issues.
Coaches have been asked this week if they’ve sensed its a big game for Boyd. They admit it no doubt is, but they can’t see much change in the low-key Boyd.
“You would expect him to be excited this week, to play against his old team,” Craddock said.
Expect Boyd to play more this week. He had 66 yards on eight rushes and 39 yards on two receptions against Auburn. He could be a difference-maker against his old team.
“Auburn had 58 snaps in the game, 34 were snapped on our side of the 50,” Morris said. “We took a huge punch in the first quarter. They snapped 13 of 17 in our territory. We have to get off to a better start.” — Chad Morris, UA head football coach