![]() ![]() Jackson and sophomore Mike Woods, one of Morris’ first recruits to Arkansas.Īn iconic wave of the flag in the endzone of Razorback Stadium. Players to watch include incoming freshmen Trey Knox, Trey Burks, Shamar Nash, T.Q. Don’t be surprised if the Hogs’ young but talented corps draws comparisons to the Wright/Childs/Hamilton-led bunch that helped propel Arkansas to those consecutive top 10 finishes. Morris and staff are reeling in big-time receivers, and the Hogs should finally be able to exert some pressure on opposing defenses, something they just couldn’t manage a year ago. The upgrade in the quarterback room affords him time to learn and absorb without the pressure of needing to start before he’s truly ready. Jefferson, the incoming athletic 4-star and probably the Hogs’ most heralded QB recruit in years. But as a former SEC starter, and a good one, he brings big-stage presence, raw talent and perhaps more upside. A highly touted prep 4-star, Starkel set freshman records for the Aggies before a foot injury and coaching change conspired against him in College Station. A December graduate, he enrolled at Arkansas in January and participated in spring drills, giving him an immediate leg up on Starkel, the former A&M starter who made it to campus this summer. ![]() Hicks is the former record-setting starter under Morris at SMU who knows the offense inside-out, the significance of which can’t be understated. Hicks has one year of eligibility remaining and Starkel two. With Connor Noland off to pitch full time at Baum-Walker Stadium, impact graduate-transfers Ben Hicks (SMU) and Nick Starkel (Texas A&M) will compete for the starting job behind center. The Razorbacks emerge from the tunnel amidst a cloud of smoke to take the field. Former QB co-starters and transfers-out Ty Storey and Cole Kelley simply didn’t fit the roles they were asked to play, and the record reflected it. Especially at quarterback and receiver, the Hogs resembled square pegs being forced into round holes much of last season. The offense should look more like “Chad Morris” in 2019 and his Clemson pedigree more apparent. Not quick-fix promising, but the foundation seems sturdier than it’s been in years despite last fall’s avert-your-eyes finish. Indeed, to most seasoned observers, the future looks promising on the Hill. (Arkansas football’s personal Mayan apocalypse came a few months early, it seems.)īut recent history notwithstanding, it feels different under Morris. It could be argued the program hasn’t truly recovered since Bobby Petrino’s house of cards came crashing down on April Fool’s Day, 2012. Morris is following the proper formula to return the program to that level and be consistent, but last year’s hiccup revealed how far it had fallen. The Hogs were back-to-back top 10 finishers as recently as 2010-11 and are three-time SEC West champs, after all. With some of those growing pains behind him and more of his own recruits on the Hill, fans hope to see the progress reflected on the scoreboard this fall.īut despite the program’s built-in disadvantages – level of competition in the SEC small, rural state distance of campus to recruiting hotbeds - Arkansas can compete and win big in such an environment. Currently, the Hogs reside in the basement and the way out is booby-trapped in any given year, the Hogs may play as many as four ranked division foes alone.Īrkansas Head Coach Chad Morris led the Hogs to an abysmal 2-10 record in his first year, the program’s first 10 loss season in history. But the SEC, Arkansas’ own division in particular, has become an embarrassment of riches, a virtual Premier League of college football. Despite a historically bad recent run, the Hogs remain a top 30-ish program all-time. Because the Hogs head into the fall with one of the program’s best on-paper recruiting classes bolstered by a couple of seasoned, immediate-impact delivering transfer quarterbacks because Head Hog Chad Morris has had a year to cull the roster and slowly implement his high-octane system more conducive to contemporary program-building and because this new band of merry recruiters has revived a tried, true and seemingly forgotten Razorback formula: Make Texas your Sherwood Forest steal recruits from the rich and give to the Hill. Optimism, because what are Hogs fans if not patient, Linus-in-the-pumpkin-patch patient, waiting dutifully for the stars to align just right? (Not long ago, they almost did.)Ĭautious optimism, for a few reasons. Caution, because, well, 2-10 on the heels of 4-8.
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