Early red alerts there for Hogs
FAYETTEVILLE — When people look back on the 2012 Arkansas football team, they will likely note there were plenty of omens that foreshadowed the highly regarded Razorbacks’ stagger out of the gate.
Beginning with Bobby Petrino’s fateful Harley-Davidson ride April 1 and his firing nine days later, bad fortune has seemingly wrapped around a football program that had energized the state with its 21-5 record over the previous two seasons.
Fixing significant problems in the middle of the SEC football season is sort of like dealing with a leaky gasket under a green flag in the middle of the Indy 500. You get passed. From injuries to key personnel to turnover problems to a sluggish running game and a leaky pass defense, the Razorbacks’ warts have been exposed to all of college football as the rest of the SEC motors on.
The Razorbacks, ranked No. 10 in the preseason, take
their myriad issues and a 13 record into their first road game Saturday at Texas A&M, and they understand there are no tears being shed for them among the rest of the SEC.
“The thing about it in football, all these players, all these coaches are warriors,” Arkansas defensive coordinator Paul Haynes said. “This is what we do. We’re not going to lay down. We’re not going to be divided. We’re going to fight.”
Quarterback Tyler Wilson, who evolved into a de facto spokesman for the Razorbacks after the departure of Petrino, said he is encouraged by the lack of finger-pointing during the team’s three-game losing streak.
“It’s wild, with a few losses and expectations the way they were, you’d think there would be some [finger-pointing], a lot of crazy things and such happening,” said Wilson, who added he has seen an all-in attitude from his teammates this week.
The Razorbacks will have to fight through personnel problems, which have included a spate of injuries, to get back into contention in the SEC West.
Top fullback Kiero Small, who was preparing to take more snaps at linebacker, was lost for the season after the season opener with a broken foot.
“If you ask our players and even our coaches — ‘Hey, who’s the best player on the team?’ — most would say Kiero Small,” running backs coach Tim Horton said. “Not having Kiero has hurt us.”
Small’s replacement, Kody Walker, broke his leg on a special teams play in the fourth quarter of the Razorbacks’ 34-31 overtime loss to Louisiana-Monroe, after Wilson already had been knocked out with a concussion and cornerback Tevin Mitchel had been carted off on a stretcher with a concussion from a helmet-to-helmet collision with Highsmith.
Mitchel, safety Eric Bennett and tight end Chris Gragg, who suffered a deep bone bruise in last week’s 3526 loss to Rutgers, have been ruled out for Saturday.
Arkansas’ defensive injuries haven’t been as devastating, but another bad sign arose when Alonzo Highsmith, Tenarius