Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
RAZORBACKS REPORT: Injured players’ statuses discussed.
FAYETTEVILLE — First-year University of Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman is very guarded about revealing player personnel news, such as injuries, covid-19 issues, academic problems, disciplinary decisions or otherwise.
The Pittman personnel policies made for some awkward moments on his Monday video conference as reporters checked in on the status of injured stars such as tailback Rakeem Boyd, receiver Treylon Burks, cornerback Montaric Brown and defensive end Dorian Gerald; and inquired about others, such as defensive end Julius Coates and running back A’Montae Spivey who were not active Saturday.
Pittman said after Saturday’s 21-14 victory at No. 16 Mississippi State that he didn’t think any of the injuries to standout players were season ending.
He provided a little more insight Monday, saying of Burks, “He’s fine. He’ll be back at practice today. Rakeem will as well. [Brown] is fine as well. He got dinged up. He may or may not be at practice today, but we feel like he’ll be available on Saturday.”
Boyd was wearing a walking boot on his right foot on the sideline Saturday, while Burks posted on social media he was having an MRI done on the outside of his knee.
Pittman said posting injury news was against team policy. When a reporter mentioned he wasn’t trying to get Burks in trouble, Pittman replied, “Hey, he’s not in my dog house, trust me.”
Burks had a huge opening game, with career-highs of seven receptions for 102 yards and his first college touchdown. He, Boyd and Brown all came out in the first half in Starkville, Miss.
Pittman said Coates is healthy and should be back in action this week, and Spivey is also healthy. He said Gerald, who suffered an ankle injury in the opener, is still questionable. He was less definitive about the defensive back situation, where
cornerbacks Malik Chavis and Khari Johnson traveled but played sparingly — even after Brown’s injury — and safety Micahh
Smith traveled but did not play, according to the participation chart.
Walk-on cornerback
Hudson Clark provided a solid performance after
Brown’s departure, with
Pittman saying on Saturday that defensive coordinator
Barry Odom and cornerbacks coach Sam
Carter told him Clark had earned the playing time.
Chavis and Johnson are listed as the top backups to Brown and Jerry Jacobs, respectively, on this week’s depth chart. Boyd and Burks are also listed as starters, while Coates and Gerald are listed first in co-starter positions with Eric Gregory and Zach Williams.
Foucha, Pool share
Arkansas linebacker Bumper Pool and safety Joe Foucha were named co-SEC defensive players of the week by the SEC office for their work in the Hogs’ 21-14 win over No. 16 Mississippi State.
Pool posted 20 tackles, 7 solo, and 2 pass breakups, while Foucha had 2 of the Razorbacks’ 3 interceptions, notched 2 tackles and had a halftackle for loss with Grant Morgan.
“I think it’s a great
honor, and I’m happy for them,” Coach Sam Pittman said. “Obviously they had good games and were helped by their teammates to receive those honors, but we’re very, very proud of them and happy for them.”
Pool and Foucha are the first Razorback defenders to win the weekly SEC defensive award since linebacker Martrell Spaight in 2014.
Arkansas’ first interception off K.J. Costello was by Greg Brooks Jr., who returned it 69 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring.
Hurricane watch
The super-active hurricane season is not over yet, and there’s a chance the Arkansas at Auburn game on Saturday could be affected by the latest one. Tropical Storm Delta is churning in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to make landfall some time Friday morning along the Gulf Coast. By the 3 p.m. kickoff time on Saturday, the storm could be dumping rain in the Auburn area.
Coach Sam Pittman said he’s heard of no discussions between Arkansas and Auburn officials about tinkering with the kickoff time, and that he and the staff are aware of the forecast.
“We are aware that there’s a great possibility it’ll rain,” Pittman said. “So, we’re starting today in practice throwing and catching and handling and snapping wet balls. And we will do that throughout the week.”
Tube talk
The Razorbacks’ next home game against Ole Miss on Oct. 17 will be a day game.
The SEC office announced Monday the Rebels vs. Razorbacks will kick off at 2:30 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN 2.
Arkansas’ series with Ole Miss has been the most competitive of all the Razorbacks’ SEC West rivalries in recent seasons, with the teams splitting the last eight meetings.
Closed Mike
Coach Sam Pittman had his mask on but was clearly jawing at receiver Mike Woods, who received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that stopped the clock with 1:21 remaining with Mississippi State out of timeouts and the Razorbacks trying to run out the clock with a 21-14 lead.
If Woods had not drawn the penalty,
Arkansas could have run the clock to roughly 41 seconds before taking their thirddown snap, and essentially down to zero before their fourth-down snap. Instead, the Razorbacks were moved out of field goal range, had to get off a clean punt and then defend the Bulldogs for 25 more seconds.
Reid Bauer did a good job rolling out behind the three-man shield and launching a rugby punt to the 12, and the defense held Mississippi State on the final five plays.
“It was a good learning experience because we didn’t lose,” Pittman said. “I just visited with him about, ‘That can’t happen.’ We don’t fight at practice for a reason. We do everything in practice exactly like we’re going to do it in a game. Exactly. That’s tempo. That’s physicality. That’s [not] fighting. That’s when we score at practice there’s no showboating.
“For us to get that penalty, it’s not smart and he knows that. The clock stopped.”
Limiting chunks
Mississippi State bludgeoned LSU with 15 plays of 20-plus yards — all in the passing game — in its 44-34 win in Baton Rouge on the opening weekend. At that point, the Bulldogs led the country in 20-yard plays per game. Not anymore.
The Bulldogs managed only one such play against Arkansas’ zone defense, a 34-yard strike from K.J. Costello to Osirus Mitchell on the Bulldogs’ third offensive possession in the first quarter.
Wobbly Hill
Mississippi State tailback Kylin Hill, a preseason All-SEC selection, appeared to suffer a head injury on his one and only carry against the Razorbacks, and he nearly lost a fumble in the process.
After his 7-yard run on the Bulldogs’ fourth offensive snap, Hill’s helmet got caught up in the chest area of Zach Williams as he took a shot on the ball from safety Simeon Blair. When Hill’s helmet came clear of Williams, it whip-lashed into the grass with enough force that it left Hill shaken.
Replays appeared to show Blair’s shoulder shot jarred the ball loose, and safety Jalen Catalon’s hip popped it free before Hill’s knee touched and linebacker Bumper Pool fell on the loose ball. SEC Network announcers Roy Philpott and Kelly Stouffer both felt the ball had come loose before Hill’s knee was down and the replay booth would overturn the call on the field.
Hill, still shaky on his feet, tried to push away from trainers and re-enter the game, but he was pulled for good, likely due to concussion protocols. The replay review did not overturn the call on the field, ruling Hill was down before the ball came loose. A lost fumble would have been the first of Hill’s career.
Power rankings
On the SEC Network show “SEC This Morning” with Peter Burns and Chris Doering, the No. 1 pick on their “Power Rankings” segment was the Razorbacks’ win over Mississippi State.
The No. 1 “up” ranking came with the title “Yesssirr,” a reference to Coach Sam Pittman’s catchphrase.