Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
BEST & WORST
REVIEWING THE BEST AND WORST OF ARKANSAS’ 2020 FOOTBALL SEASON
It’s hard to believe there can be literally dozens of highlights in a 3-7 season, but Sam Pittman’s first as head coach was sprinkled with lots of great performances.
None were better than what Treylon Burks did to Ole Miss in a 33-21 victory in the fourth week of the season. Burks caught 11 passes for 137 yards and rushed four times for 37 yards.
Burks had missed most of the previous two games with a knee injury and was less than full speed against the Rebels. It’s hard to imagine what Burks at 100 percent would have done in that game.
His catch for the first Arkansas touchdown of the second half – with 7:36 left in the fourth quarter – is one for the ages. He ran an out pattern and went up in the left corner of the end zone to make a one-hand grab and then touch a toe just short of the sideline.
The Hogs were playing before just 16,500 in Reynolds Razorback Stadium, but the catch brought two roars. The first one was when he slid to the ground 10 yards out of bounds and popped up to give the ball to the referee with the touchdown signal. The second came after the replay confirmed the 7-yard TD catch.
“You could see the rust from not playing (or practicing),” Pittman said of Burks. “He is far from being healthy. But he’s a leader and very physical.
“He’s playing at about 80%. He’s a great player. Treylon, what a great catch. That was a great drive.”
BEST STAT LINE
There were lots, including impressive tackle numbers by Grant Morgan (111), Bumper Pool (101) and Jalen Catalon (99). But what Florida transfer Feleipe Franks did at quarterback might be best.
Morgan made second team AllAmerica by the American Football Coaches Association. He was first team All-SEC by the coaches and the Associated Press All-SEC.
Franks set the Arkansas record by completing 163 of 238 passes (with 17 TDs and four interceptions) to break the school record with a 68.5 completion percentage. Kevin Scanlon’s mark of 66.7 had stood since 1978 when he was voted the most valuable offensive player in the Southwest Conference.
Franks displayed toughness along with accuracy. He sometimes held the ball to a fault and also was effective as a runner in the Kendal Briles offense. He carried the ball 105 times for 204 yards, subtracting 183 for sacks.
Pittman praised Franks all year for displaying great leadership, including with young quarterbacks when rib injuries knocked him out of the Missouri game. A battered Franks played against Alabama and was set to give the Hogs one last game when TCU opted out of the Texas Bowl.
BEST RUN
Gritty jitterbug Trelon Smith, transfer from Arizona State, played his way into the starting lineup and might have influenced Rakeem Boyd’s decision to opt out after the LSU game was rescheduled.
Smith had many highlight plays, but the best came at Florida when he cut behind a block by pulling tight end Blake Kern to dash 83 yards for a touchdown. Smith started left, then cut sharply right after finding the clearing block. He went the distance untouched, outrunning pursuit along the Arkansas sideline.
Smith led the Hogs in rushing with 710 yards and five touchdowns, both team bests. Arkansas rushed for 11 touchdowns.
“We were not surprised by Trelon,” Pittman said. “We knew what he could do.”
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Some had to be surprised by the high level of play by Morgan and Catalon on defense, but they were at least predicted starters in preseason.
But the biggest surprises were Kern and cornerback Hudson Clark.
The tight end position was the worry of preseason camp. Pittman treaded carefully on how to describe the constant shuffling of personnel in an attempt to find both depth and a starter.
True freshmen Blayne Toll and Marcus Henderson, not thought to be tight ends during their recruitment, were given tryouts there.
Ultimately, the Hogs did just fine with Kern, a fifth-year senior from Lamar. The former high school quarterback rotated in the starting lineup with redshirt freshman Hudson Henry. Both were more than adequate.
Kern caught 20 passes for 201 yards, a 10.1 average. He finished with two touchdowns. His big play of the year went for 35 yards. Kern had played in 22 games the previous two seasons, but had not recorded a catch.
The 6-4, 269-pound Kern will return for a sixth year, one of seven seniors to take advantage of the NCAA rule for extra eligibility. He turned some heads with the way he had to make his announcement, through tight ends coach Jon Cooper. Kern has no social media account.
Clark started the season as a third team cornerback, but quickly moved up the depth chart, partly because of defections but also with good practice play. He was the starter by the midpoint of the season.
Often targeted because of his inexperience, Clark made 47 tackles, fifth best on the team. His three interceptions against Ole Miss earned him national defensive player of the week.
BEST SAM PITTMAN QUOTES
After the Hogs outlasted Ole Miss, 33-21, among the notable quotes from the Arkansas head coach: “I didn’t do nothing. I just stood out there and watched. I didn’t do nothing. (Hudson) Clark got the three picks. (Grant) Morgan got one and took it back.”
After the victory at Mississippi State snapped a 20-game SEC losing streak, Pittman was given the game ball from athletics director Hunter Yurachek, then said, “It means a lot. To be honest, I’m humbled and proud. I’m proud for our state. I’m damn proud.”
BEST USE OF DAMN
Pittman was fond of damn early in the year, getting a lot of notoriety for yelling for someone to “turn that damn jukebox on” after the victory at Mississippi State.
After the Ole Miss triumph, he was asked if he was “damn proud” again. He said, “I say damn too much, but why wouldn’t I be (proud)? We can find some things to get better at, but I’m proud of our staff, proud of our state and proud of the fans that were here. The fans get to go celebrate and stick their chests out and this is what they needed to be done for a long time.”
BEST STRATEGY EXPLANATION
Morgan delivered great analysis in several post-game Zoom interviews during the season. He could break down what defensive coordinator Barry Odom coached in the scheme.
After the Hogs picked off Ole Miss sophomore quarterback Matt Corral six times, Morgan said, “We spied the quarterback and got in our zones. (Odom) simplified the defense because they go so fast. We lined up and read his eyes. Our coaches knew their tendencies.”
Then, when Florida passed for 385 yards and seven touchdowns, Morgan described what senior quarterback Kyle Trask was doing to the Arkansas defense with his eyes.
“He is really good with his eyes,” Morgan said of Trask. “He looked us off a lot. He was looking off the high safety or the middle linebacker flooding into the hole.”
BEST STANDARDS
Odom wasn’t available during the season except after the Florida game, when he was interim coach with Pittman out because of a positive covid-19 test. So we learned of his scheme and motivation through his players.
Clark, the redshirt freshman who earned playing time at cornerback, was asked to explain the mindset given to the defense by Odom after his three interceptions against Ole Miss.
“Coach Odom said last night (about setting the standard) that people watched what we did against Mississippi State and they should mimic what we do on the field,” Clark said.
Morgan expanded on those thoughts. “We want to set the standards for what other teams do,” he said. “We want them to say, we play like Arkansas. We know it’s an offensiveminded league where people want to score 60. We say to heck with that.”
WORST CROWD ESTIMATION
The capacity at Texas A&M’s home stadium of Kyle Field is 103,733. The Aggies announced the crowd for their game with Arkansas as 27,114. That was probably 20,000 under the number at the game.
Home attendance at Arkansas games was capped at 16,500 and no one argued that there were ever more than that. The crowd at Auburn was announced at 17,900. It was the second lowest behind the A&M game.
Social distancing seemed to be followed at most SEC stadiums, except Kyle Field. The Aggies explained that since the A&M band “lives as a family” there isn’t a need for spacing at football games. Students may be another matter, but there section was packed.
MOST IMPROVED
There can be good discussion on this topic because the 2020 Hogs were improved in many areas, especially with effort and fight. Blocking and tackling improved by leaps and bounds.
The ability to force turnovers helped a defense that was still outmanned most of the season. The Hogs were among the top teams in interceptions for most of the season. They finished with 13, including three returned by touchdowns by Morgan, Catalon and Greg Brooks. Clark and Catalon shared the team lead with three interceptions. Morgan’s “pick six” sealed the Ole Miss victory.
Pool and Morgan excelled under new coach Rion Rhoades in the Odom system. So did nose tackle Jonathan Marshall and safety Catalon. The linebackers playing behind Marshall got a free run at ball carriers because of the double teams required to handle Marshall.
It was also clear the Hogs were better in the offensive line. There is plenty of room to improve, but there was good to say about the rotation of Myron Cunningham, Brady Latham, Ty Clary, Ricky Stromberg, Beaux Limmer, Dalton Wagner and Noah Gatlin. All got starts. Luke Jones also contributed with meaningful snaps.
WORST OF THE WORST
With so many bests and highlights, this section is shorter than most seasons. It centers on SEC referees.
The way the SEC replay office botched the end of the Auburn game will live in infamy. Referee Jason Autrey and replay official Ken Switzer join the officiating wall of shame for Arkansas fans.
The Hogs needed only to take a knee to kill what was probably going to be the game’s final 30 seconds after Joe Foucha recovered a backward pass by quarterback Bo Nix.
But a 5-minute replay – that included calls to the SEC office crew in Birmingham – decided that Foucha had not recovered the fumble soon enough for it to be a continuous play. As they say, Hog wash.
No national expert from the officiating community agreed, but Auburn got the victory.
There were other questionable calls during the season, including two ejections of Catalon for targeting (A&M, LSU) that Arkansas officials argued against privately.
One of the worst calls came at Missouri when Foucha was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after turning away from a hit that he made to break up a pass to fold his arm in a pose. Similar plays during the year (in many SEC games) were not called the same way.
BEST BREAK
That came with 43 seconds left in the Missouri game when Arkansas took a 48-47 lead on a two-point pass caught by Mike Woods. A Missouri linebacker had the ball in his hands, but it popped out and straight to Woods in the back of the end zone.
What followed would be another section in this space for worst sequence. The Tigers drove to a winning field goal on the game’s last play.
BEST QUARTER
That would be a 24-point explosion against Tennessee after the Vols broke to a 13-0 lead at halftime. Franks got hot in the passing game. He completed three TD passes in the quarter when the Hogs totaled 257 yards of offense. He had a 59-yard TD pass to Burks and a 56-yarder to Woods to set up another score.
BEST HALF
The Hogs led Georgia at the half in the season opener, but the 20-0 first half against Ole Miss was the most complete team performance. There was a pick six by Catalon. A.J. Reed kicked two field goals and Rakeem Boyd capped a 95-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run. The big play in the drive was a 55-yard pass by Franks to Burks. There was a goal line stand by the Hogs when Catalon recovered a fourth down fumble.
OTHER WORSTS
Special teams had the most worsts over the season. There were three blocked punts, a blocked field goal, a blocked extra point, a missed extra point, a punt return allowed for a touchdown and other assorted miscues on punts, including penalties for illegal formation.
Some of that could be explained because of roster shuffles each week because of covid-19 quarantines. Pittman avoided any references to problems for most of the season, but ahead of the regular season finale admitted that it was often a case of filling out depth charts (especially on special teams) on Friday morning after the final covid-19 tests are returned.
Covid-19 produced crazy lineups in the offensive line all season. It was tough to keep enough on the field in preseason to scrimmage. The defensive line was seriously depleted for the LSU game and the Hogs finally had to postpone the trip to Missouri because of the same issues.