Razorbacks Report

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith was curious like the rest of the Razorbacks staff to see early signee McTelvin Agim in his first college workout on Saturday.

“I skipped skelly today to go watch him in one-on-one, that’s how excited I was,” Smith said. “Explosion is the one word I’d use to describe him.”

Agim, a 6-3, 268-pound defensive lineman from Hope, graduated high school earlier this week, signed with the Razorbacks on Thursday and couldn’t wait to get on the practice field on Saturday.

“He was here three hours ahead of time to get taped, so I know I’ve got a guy that loves it,” Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said. “He’s very quick, very sudden, hard, hard, hard worker.”

Bielema said the Razorbacks had to go through a lot of red tape to get Agim eligible to practice. He also speculated Agim might be the first player ever to graduate early, go through bowl practices and play in the Under Armour AllAmerica game.

Agim, who had 72 ½ tackles and 14 sacks as a senior at Hope, can practice on campus, but not when the Razorbacks travel to Memphis on Dec. 28 for the Liberty Bowl. The Under Armour game will be held in Orlando on Jan. 2, the same day the Razorbacks face Kansas State.

“He’s been waiting to get here for the longest time,” defensive line coach Rory Segrest said. “We just kind of threw him into the fire today to watch him move around a little bit and kind of coach him on the run. He’s obviously, as far as a physical talent standpoint, going to bring a lot to the table.”

Next on O-line

Bret Bielema said his aim is to have his next offensive line coach in place after the American Football Coaches Association convention, which is Jan. 10-13 in San Antonio, Texas.

That would be in time for Arkansas’ first recruiting week in January.

“Some of the guys I’ve been looking at have NFL contracts that have to be worked through,” Bielema said. “Not only do they have to finish the NFL season, but then if they have a multiyear contract there are things we have to work through there. If I go through a collegiate coach, some of them may be involved in bowl games. So it really gets down to the timing of their schedule.”

Bielema said he and offensive coordinator Dan Enos have been researching candidates and reached out to gauge the interest of some of them. Bielema said he intends to meet with Enos the day after the Razorbacks’ Liberty Bowl game against Kansas State on Jan. 2.

“I would like to have a coach, if at all possible, that I could take on the road with me that first week of January to the O-line recruits and introduce him,” he said.

Bielema said graduate assistant Eric Mateos has signed a short-term contract to finish out bowl preparations as the offensive line assistant before he moves on to his first fulltime assistant coaching job. Former Razorback Brey Cook moved into Mateos’ graduate assistant’s role last week.

Ramsey return?

Former Arkansas linebacker Randy Ramsey is hoping to become a future Razorback linebacker after being deemed academically ineligible for the 2015 season.

Ramsey, 6-4, 222, left the program when he didn’t pass enough hours through the summer, but he’s been taking classes though the University of Arkansas’ Global Campus in an attempt to regain his eligibility. Ramsey, from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Dillard, had eight tackles in seven games as a true freshman in 2014. Ramsey has discussed making a return with Bielema.

“I think a lot of that is up to Randy and how he finishes,” Bielema said. “I want to see how the grades turned out.

“I have all the things that are very important to me besides just playing football, and I have to make sure those things add up.”

Scholarships

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema announced at the team’s senior banquet on Friday that scholarships have been awarded to punter Toby Baker, defensive lineman Karl Roesler and linebacker Nicholas Thomas-Smith.

Bielema was asked Saturday about the players’ reactions.

“Karl was closest to me. I saw Karl’s reaction,” Bielema said. “Nick, I already knew because I had to talk him into coming back. Toby I think was floored. His parents were in the crowd. I didn’t watch the crowd, but everybody said the crowd’s reaction was pretty cool and magnetic.”

He knows K-State

Junior receiver Drew Morgan said he thinks wide receivers coach Michael Smith gives the Razorbacks an extra weapon as they prepare for their Jan. 2 meeting with Kansas State.

“He’s got the best knowledge on K-State out of all these coaches,” Morgan said. “He knows their guys like the back of his hand. He knows what they’re going to play, and he’s told us what they’re going to play.”

Smith, a Kansas State graduate, served two tenures on Bill Snyder’s staff with the Wildcats, the last ending after the 2012 season.

Mr. Clean

Defensive coordinator Robb Smith has shaved off a beard he had for more than year.

Smith said he began growing the beard last year as part of the “No-Shave November” campaign to help raise awareness for prostate cancer.

“I just kind of let it ride,” he said.

Smith said he shaved the beard Dec. 1.

“It was time,” he said. “I think my wife was in that group voting that it was time for it to go. She’s not upset. I’m trying to get my boyish good looks back.”

UA 15th in revenues

The Arkansas athletic department was tied for 15th in the country in revenues for the 2014-2015 school term based on figures provided to the U.S. Department of Education and analyzed by CBS Sports.

The Razorbacks claimed $116.2 million in revenue on their Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) report for the 2014-2015 term. That figure was tied with Georgia for seventh in the SEC.

Texas led the nation with a reported $179.6 million in revenue, followed by Ohio State’s $170.9 million. Alabama led the SEC and was third in the nation with $150.6 million.

LSU ($138.9 million), Oklahoma ($135.7 million), Michigan ($132.3 million), Florida ($130.8 million), Penn State ($127.9 million), Auburn ($126.6 million) and Wisconsin ($125.8 million) rounded out the top 10.

Other SEC schools ahead of Arkansas were No. 11 Tennessee ($121.8 million) and Kentucky ($116.5 million), while No. 17 South Carolina ($113.2 million) and No. 19 Texas A&M ($110 million) were just behind.

CBS reported that three FBS schools — Texas, Ohio State and Florida — exceeded $100 million in revenue during the 20072008 school year, 11 schools hit that mark in 2011-2012 and 28 schools made $100 million in the latest figures.

The CBS story noted the addition of College Football Playoff revenue and increased television dollars with new the latest round of broadcasting contracts contributed to the rise in revenues.

Roster news

Arkansas defensive lineman Anthony Brown indicated on social media this week he was leaving the team. Brown, a 6-3, 270-pound sophomore from Miami, worked some at fullback early in the year before returning to the defensive front, where he was not on the two-deep depth chart.

Receiver Kendrick Edwards posted on social media on Thursday “Last day in Arkansas.” Edwards moved in and out of Coach Bret Bielema’s dog house. Arkansas’ run of injuries at receiver earlier in the year removed an intended redshirt from the sophomore, and he caught four passes for 51 yards while playing in five games.