1) Stewart’s Injury Creates Opportunity - HUTCH
Nearly everyone on the board was frustrated to see Deon Stewart still atop the depth chart this fall camp, but no one was wishing for what happened to him this weekend. Although he’s not very big, I expected him to have a role on the offense this season and help bring along the young guys as a fifth-year senior.
Now that he’s out with a torn ACL, though, it’s going to force the freshman quartet to have an even bigger role than previously expected. We all knew Trey Knox was going to play a lot and it sounds like Treylon Burks has made a big impression in camp, but now T.Q. Jackson and Shamar Nash may need to step up.
If Jordan Jones’ injury is significant, that almost guarantees one of the freshmen will start the Aug. 31 opener against Portland State. Could the Razorbacks move Knox or Burks to the 2-man spot? Or will Jackson or Nash move up to first team? Hopefully we get some clarity this week.
It already feels as though this could be like the 2008 season, when Bobby Petrino took over and had a freshman trio of Joe Adams, Jarius Wright and Greg Childs combine for 68 receptions, 998 yards and five touchdowns.
All three were among the top seven leading pass catchers that season. Tight end D.J. Williams was the leading receiver (61 rec., 723 yds., 3 TD) and was followed by running back Michael Smith (32 rec., 298 yds., 2 TD). It wouldn’t be surprising to see Cheyenne O’Grady and Rakeem Boyd do something similar this year. The other two were veteran receivers Lucas Miller and London Crawford.
2) Latest Super Bowl Odds + Tom Brady - NIKKI
I get emails sometimes from odds makers trying to get their websites or whatever into stories and I checked one out this weekend that has the Chiefs with 6/1 odds and the Patriots (my guys) at 7/1 odds to win the super bowl this season.
Tom Brady is 42 years old, he's won six super bowl championships, played in nine, and I've been able to witness every single one. There is no disputing that he is the greatest of all time, and he's not even done yet! He'll be the guy that I'm telling my grandkids about, like my dad rambled on to me about Joe Montana.
Saints - 9/1
Colts - 11/1
Eagles - 13/1
Chargers - 13/1
Rams - 12/1
Steelers - 26/1
Vikings 25/1
Packers - 23/1
Cowboys - 24/1
Browns - 15/1
Bears - 17/1
Everyone else? Sorry, no chance. BookMaker.eu said so, lol.
3) Quarterback Battle - HUTCH
The season is less than two weeks away and Arkansas has yet to name a starting quarterback. If you believe what he tells the media, head coach Chad Morris doesn’t even know who it’ll be and it could come down to how they perform in Wednesday’s scrimmage and some live work Friday - eight days before the opener.
Based on the coaches’ comments leading up to fall camp, I am somewhat surprised by the lack of a decision. I figured Ben Hicks or Nick Starkel would have been named by this point. Perhaps they’ve already decided and just aren’t telling anyone, but it seems like they’re truly undecided.
Regardless of who they pick, it is imperative that the competition doesn’t last several weeks into the season as it did last year. Hicks and Starkel will probably both play against Portland State, but one or the other needs to be THE guy against Ole Miss. It could change afterward, but it doesn’t need to be a thing they go back and forth on during a game.
Based on Morris’ comments following Saturday’s scrimmage, it sounds like Starkel has the edge. He threw three touchdowns and his interception was a great defensive play, while Morris was not happy with Hicks’ interception - plus he didn’t have a touchdown pass.
John Stephen Jones’ name keeps being brought up, as well, but I still don’t think he’s a legitimate contender for the starting job. When the Razorbacks brought in Hicks, he was immediately demoted to second team. When they brought in Starkel, he was bumped down to third team. That says a lot, in my opinion.
4) The Latest Rivals Rankings - NIKKI
I typed up some furious emails this week after the latest Rivals ratings/rankings release, only to be talked down off the ledge by the Rivals network director. I had some thoughts, obviously, about Tyrece Edwards getting dropped to a 2-star (this will be brief..hopefully) and I also noticed Jashaud Stewart dropped a point in his rating after putting up some good numbers at camp this summer but at the end of the day, the message I got, that I often reiterate to you guys, is that the analysts want to be right. If they don't feel that great about a kid after rewatching his tape I guess that's something I can't really argue.
The issue I was able to make some headway on is that in the last few rankings cycles the site pubs haven't been asked for their input and, after my chat, that will be reinstated. It's ridiculously hard for the analysts to keep up to date with every single recruit, noting every camp result and sick 7 on 7 catch, but as a recruiting lead, I can at least help them keep up with those on Arkansas's radar and help point them in the direction of kids who might need a new eval.
5) Stromberg Gets First-Team Reps - HUTCH
Aside from the quarterbacks, one of the biggest stories from Saturday’s scrimmage was that true freshman Ricky Stromberg got some first-team work at guard. The scrimmage was closed to the media, so it’s impossible to give a true assessment on how he did, but he drew rave reviews from Morris and teammate Ty Clary.
However, it sounds like he still got beat a few times by seniors McTelvin Agim and T.J. Smith. That’s not particularly surprising considering he’s just 266 pounds. His weight is also why I fully anticipate him redshirting this year.
Colton Jackson and Austin Capps should be back for the opener and the Razorbacks have enough depth this year that they shouldn’t be forced to play a guy like Stromberg before he’s ready.
If I had to guess, Beaux Limmer will be the freshman lineman who gets the most playing time this year, but I’m still not convinced he won’t redshirt. In an ideal world, all four freshmen redshirt and get a full year to adjust to the SEC. Playing on the offensive line as a true freshman is extremely difficult, especially in the SEC, so that would be best.
Nearly everyone on the board was frustrated to see Deon Stewart still atop the depth chart this fall camp, but no one was wishing for what happened to him this weekend. Although he’s not very big, I expected him to have a role on the offense this season and help bring along the young guys as a fifth-year senior.
Now that he’s out with a torn ACL, though, it’s going to force the freshman quartet to have an even bigger role than previously expected. We all knew Trey Knox was going to play a lot and it sounds like Treylon Burks has made a big impression in camp, but now T.Q. Jackson and Shamar Nash may need to step up.
If Jordan Jones’ injury is significant, that almost guarantees one of the freshmen will start the Aug. 31 opener against Portland State. Could the Razorbacks move Knox or Burks to the 2-man spot? Or will Jackson or Nash move up to first team? Hopefully we get some clarity this week.
It already feels as though this could be like the 2008 season, when Bobby Petrino took over and had a freshman trio of Joe Adams, Jarius Wright and Greg Childs combine for 68 receptions, 998 yards and five touchdowns.
All three were among the top seven leading pass catchers that season. Tight end D.J. Williams was the leading receiver (61 rec., 723 yds., 3 TD) and was followed by running back Michael Smith (32 rec., 298 yds., 2 TD). It wouldn’t be surprising to see Cheyenne O’Grady and Rakeem Boyd do something similar this year. The other two were veteran receivers Lucas Miller and London Crawford.
2) Latest Super Bowl Odds + Tom Brady - NIKKI
I get emails sometimes from odds makers trying to get their websites or whatever into stories and I checked one out this weekend that has the Chiefs with 6/1 odds and the Patriots (my guys) at 7/1 odds to win the super bowl this season.
Tom Brady is 42 years old, he's won six super bowl championships, played in nine, and I've been able to witness every single one. There is no disputing that he is the greatest of all time, and he's not even done yet! He'll be the guy that I'm telling my grandkids about, like my dad rambled on to me about Joe Montana.
Saints - 9/1
Colts - 11/1
Eagles - 13/1
Chargers - 13/1
Rams - 12/1
Steelers - 26/1
Vikings 25/1
Packers - 23/1
Cowboys - 24/1
Browns - 15/1
Bears - 17/1
Everyone else? Sorry, no chance. BookMaker.eu said so, lol.
3) Quarterback Battle - HUTCH
The season is less than two weeks away and Arkansas has yet to name a starting quarterback. If you believe what he tells the media, head coach Chad Morris doesn’t even know who it’ll be and it could come down to how they perform in Wednesday’s scrimmage and some live work Friday - eight days before the opener.
Based on the coaches’ comments leading up to fall camp, I am somewhat surprised by the lack of a decision. I figured Ben Hicks or Nick Starkel would have been named by this point. Perhaps they’ve already decided and just aren’t telling anyone, but it seems like they’re truly undecided.
Regardless of who they pick, it is imperative that the competition doesn’t last several weeks into the season as it did last year. Hicks and Starkel will probably both play against Portland State, but one or the other needs to be THE guy against Ole Miss. It could change afterward, but it doesn’t need to be a thing they go back and forth on during a game.
Based on Morris’ comments following Saturday’s scrimmage, it sounds like Starkel has the edge. He threw three touchdowns and his interception was a great defensive play, while Morris was not happy with Hicks’ interception - plus he didn’t have a touchdown pass.
John Stephen Jones’ name keeps being brought up, as well, but I still don’t think he’s a legitimate contender for the starting job. When the Razorbacks brought in Hicks, he was immediately demoted to second team. When they brought in Starkel, he was bumped down to third team. That says a lot, in my opinion.
4) The Latest Rivals Rankings - NIKKI
I typed up some furious emails this week after the latest Rivals ratings/rankings release, only to be talked down off the ledge by the Rivals network director. I had some thoughts, obviously, about Tyrece Edwards getting dropped to a 2-star (this will be brief..hopefully) and I also noticed Jashaud Stewart dropped a point in his rating after putting up some good numbers at camp this summer but at the end of the day, the message I got, that I often reiterate to you guys, is that the analysts want to be right. If they don't feel that great about a kid after rewatching his tape I guess that's something I can't really argue.
The issue I was able to make some headway on is that in the last few rankings cycles the site pubs haven't been asked for their input and, after my chat, that will be reinstated. It's ridiculously hard for the analysts to keep up to date with every single recruit, noting every camp result and sick 7 on 7 catch, but as a recruiting lead, I can at least help them keep up with those on Arkansas's radar and help point them in the direction of kids who might need a new eval.
5) Stromberg Gets First-Team Reps - HUTCH
Aside from the quarterbacks, one of the biggest stories from Saturday’s scrimmage was that true freshman Ricky Stromberg got some first-team work at guard. The scrimmage was closed to the media, so it’s impossible to give a true assessment on how he did, but he drew rave reviews from Morris and teammate Ty Clary.
However, it sounds like he still got beat a few times by seniors McTelvin Agim and T.J. Smith. That’s not particularly surprising considering he’s just 266 pounds. His weight is also why I fully anticipate him redshirting this year.
Colton Jackson and Austin Capps should be back for the opener and the Razorbacks have enough depth this year that they shouldn’t be forced to play a guy like Stromberg before he’s ready.
If I had to guess, Beaux Limmer will be the freshman lineman who gets the most playing time this year, but I’m still not convinced he won’t redshirt. In an ideal world, all four freshmen redshirt and get a full year to adjust to the SEC. Playing on the offensive line as a true freshman is extremely difficult, especially in the SEC, so that would be best.
