Hogs need energy boost against Prescott
FAYETTEVILLE - Nobody on the Arkansas Razorbacks’ defense plays any bigger than the unit’s smallest man.
Six-foot Kevin Richardson, at 175 pounds, is 20 pounds heavier than when he walked out of Jacksonville. The sophomore nickel back is the only Arkansas defensive player caoch Bret Bielema praised after the team’s 53-52 overtime victory at Ole Miss two weeks ago. Richardson, with 10 tackles, was named Arkansas’ MVP on defense and special teams for that Oxford epic.
“Kevin Richardson is a kid that has been unbelievable since coming here as a walk-on,” Bielema said two days after the Ole Miss game. “He has earned himself into a starting role (and a scholarship awarded last August) and is one of our steadiest performers and one of our best disciplined athletes on the team as far as film study. What you see in practice is what you get. He had six tackles on special teams, five of which were inside the 20 yard line.”
Richardson played a lot against spread formation Ole Miss. He wasn’t used as much, with nickel often subbed for a strongside linebacker, in last week’s upset victory at LSU. Still, he caught his coaches’ attention.
“He made a play the other night where he was on the opposite flat,” defensive-backfield coach Clay Jennings said after Wednesday’s practice. “He went from the boundary hook and he made a play in the strong flat. What Kevin brings is energy, fanatical energy.”
Energy the Razorbacks (64, 4-2) will need against the visiting Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-3, 3-3) in Saturday’s 6 p.m. ESPN-televised game at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Richardson will get his nickel’s worth against the spread formation that Bulldog coach Dan Mullen employs operated by powerful (6-2, 230) preseason all-SEC run-pass quarterback Dak Prescott.
Prescott is such a dual presence it takes two scout-team quarterbacks impersonating him, Richardson said.
“We have put Austin Cantrell (a 6-4, 250 redshirting freshman tight end) at quarterback to try to play the role of Prescott when he does run the ball,” Richardson said. “And then we have Ricky Towns (the redshirting freshman quarterback transferred from the University of Southern California) back there throwing the ball like Prescott when they throw the ball.”
Arkansas has been hurt by dual threat run-pass quarterback threats but held Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs to 16 yards on seven carries in the Razorbacks’ 24-20 road victory.
“We have to attack him because he is bigger than the Tennessee quarterback and he’s better,” Arkansas junior defensive end Deatrich Wise said. “We have to affect him running and throwing for us to have a good day.”
Bielema says Prescott’s sheer power on the run sets him apart as does his vastly improved passing.
“He can throw throw the football very effectively and I don’t know if I would have said that as much last year,” Bielema said. “He is throwing the ball for unprecedented yardage and the ability he has to run the football is very, very good. It is a very tough thing to defense.”
Alabama, which has stopped everybody it has played except Ole Miss, sacked Prescott nine times bludgeoning the Bulldogs 31-6 last week.
Expect a competitor like Prescott to shake that off, the Hogs say, though Wise notes nobody in mind or body likely completely flushes such a memory within a week.
“I know it’s in the back of his mind and I know it’s in the back of his O-linemen’s mind,” Wise said. “So if we can go have our way with their O-line good things will happen.”
Certainly Wise, Bielema’s defensive MVP against LSU, made good things happen for Arkansas in Baton Rouge. Of his six tackles in the game, Wise recorded 2.5 sacks of quarterback Brandon Harris, officially hurried him into one incompletion and broke up two other passes.
Officially, Arkansas thirdyear sophomore defensive end Tevin Beanum had no stats against LSU yet significantly impacted the game, defensive coordinator Robb Smith said.
“He was disruptive,” Smith said. “I don’t know whether he got credited with it or not, but he certainly got his hands on a football that ended up bouncing around a few times. Tevin’s becoming a very disruptive guy for us.”
The Razorbacks finished Thursday with a closed practice.
Local playoff
Lake Ouachita: Todd Gadberry, Mountain Harbor Resort, said bass are biting well on topwater baits, spy baits and crankbaits fished on points with cover. Drop-shot rigs are still producing some good spotted bass when baited with finesse worms and live crayfish. Walleye are fair on three-quarter-ounce CC spoons jigged vertically near structure. Stripers are fair to good on live bait, hair jigs and some topwater lures on main-lake points and humps. Crappie are biting very well around brush in 20-30 feet of water on jigs, small spoons and minnows. Catfish are good on nightcrawlers and stinkbait.
capsules
Lake conditions: 64-68 degrees, stained, 569.38 feet msl (full pool 578 feet msl).
Lake Catherine: Shane Goodner, Catch’em All Guide Service, said stocking of rainbow trout begins this month with fish present in the tailrace the week of Thanksgiving. Although few shad are present to attract gamefish, white bass have been observed schooling below the bridge with fair numbers in the 2-pound range. Jerk baits and quarter-ounce white jigs are baits of choice as these fish chase available shad and attack an artificial lure that resembles an injured minnow. Hybrid and striper action is very slow with no topwater action observed. Trout stocking will good numbers of hybrids and striped bass to feed, C-10 Redfins and Super Spooks in rainbow-trout coloring drawing vicious strikes. A few catfish in the 10-pound class have been hooked at night below the bridge in the main channel using cut shad. Deepest water holds catfish most of the year, with goldfish and gizzard shad excellent choices when targeting large cats.
Lake conditions: 67 degrees below Carpenter Dam, clear in tailrace. Entergy has scheduled a minimum flow pattern, releasing water every few days as needed to maintain lake levels.