From @DanielFair
Most eyes were on the offense in the Arkansas Razorbacks' (1-0) season-opening win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-1) on Thursday night, but the defense put together a strong performance as well.
Altogether, the Arkansas defense held the Golden Lions scoreless, and UAPB only gained a total of 130 total yards in the 70-0 loss to the Razorbacks at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman spoke to the media after the game, and said he was impressed by not just the starters, but the backups as well to preserve the shutout.
"It's hard to shut somebody out, I thought our defense did a good job with that," Pittman said. "The ones, and then the twos and threes that came in, I thought they played extremely hard and I wanted to keep that shutout."
Arkansas in total played 83 players in Thursday's game. Because of the size of the lead, it meant most players had the chance to see the field. That was prevalent along the defensive line, and it's something Pittman said is important in developing depth.
"Quincy Rhodes Jr., we kept him in a little bit more than most of the twos because he was substituting with Landon (Jackson)," Pittman said. "Keivie (Rose), I think JJ Hollingsworth went in there played well. So we have to continue to develop that depth, and I think we got a good head start on that tonight."
Sixth-year defensive end Eric Gregory echoed Pittman's comments about getting the younger players developed.
"I think it's a real confidence booster for the young guys," Gregory said. "Just to get that experience of playing and just being a part of the team. Not just seeing the ones do it, or even the twos do it, for the young guys to get that experience I feel like was big."
All told, 22 Razorback defenders recorded a tackle in Thursday's win. Along with the usual suspects like linebacker Brad Spence, defensive lineman Cam Ball and Georgia transfer linebacker Xavian Sorey — who all figure to see meaningful playing time this year — true freshmen like defensive end Charlie Collins and linebacker Bradley Shaw also got in on the action.
Shaw finished the game with one tackle, which was a sack on Golden Lions quarterback Mekhi Hagens in the fourth quarter.
Surprisingly, senior defensive end Landon Jackson had a quiet game. He only recorded one tackle and one tackle for loss in the game, but his presence was felt more than just on the stat sheet. On the other side of the line, though, third-year defensive end Nico Davillier cleaned up well.
The Maumelle native, who was named a team captain for Thursday's game, had five total tackles to lead the team and 0.5 tackle for loss. After the game, Davillier said it was good to get into some live action for the first time.
"It just builds a lot of confidence going into next week," Davillier said. "It just felt good going against another team today."
The Arkansas Razorbacks will have a few extra days of rest before their next matchup against Oklahoma State. That game will kick off on Sept. 7 at 11 a.m. CT from Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It will air on ABC.
Most eyes were on the offense in the Arkansas Razorbacks' (1-0) season-opening win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-1) on Thursday night, but the defense put together a strong performance as well.
Altogether, the Arkansas defense held the Golden Lions scoreless, and UAPB only gained a total of 130 total yards in the 70-0 loss to the Razorbacks at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman spoke to the media after the game, and said he was impressed by not just the starters, but the backups as well to preserve the shutout.
"It's hard to shut somebody out, I thought our defense did a good job with that," Pittman said. "The ones, and then the twos and threes that came in, I thought they played extremely hard and I wanted to keep that shutout."
Arkansas in total played 83 players in Thursday's game. Because of the size of the lead, it meant most players had the chance to see the field. That was prevalent along the defensive line, and it's something Pittman said is important in developing depth.
"Quincy Rhodes Jr., we kept him in a little bit more than most of the twos because he was substituting with Landon (Jackson)," Pittman said. "Keivie (Rose), I think JJ Hollingsworth went in there played well. So we have to continue to develop that depth, and I think we got a good head start on that tonight."
Sixth-year defensive end Eric Gregory echoed Pittman's comments about getting the younger players developed.
"I think it's a real confidence booster for the young guys," Gregory said. "Just to get that experience of playing and just being a part of the team. Not just seeing the ones do it, or even the twos do it, for the young guys to get that experience I feel like was big."
All told, 22 Razorback defenders recorded a tackle in Thursday's win. Along with the usual suspects like linebacker Brad Spence, defensive lineman Cam Ball and Georgia transfer linebacker Xavian Sorey — who all figure to see meaningful playing time this year — true freshmen like defensive end Charlie Collins and linebacker Bradley Shaw also got in on the action.
Shaw finished the game with one tackle, which was a sack on Golden Lions quarterback Mekhi Hagens in the fourth quarter.
Surprisingly, senior defensive end Landon Jackson had a quiet game. He only recorded one tackle and one tackle for loss in the game, but his presence was felt more than just on the stat sheet. On the other side of the line, though, third-year defensive end Nico Davillier cleaned up well.
The Maumelle native, who was named a team captain for Thursday's game, had five total tackles to lead the team and 0.5 tackle for loss. After the game, Davillier said it was good to get into some live action for the first time.
"It just builds a lot of confidence going into next week," Davillier said. "It just felt good going against another team today."
The Arkansas Razorbacks will have a few extra days of rest before their next matchup against Oklahoma State. That game will kick off on Sept. 7 at 11 a.m. CT from Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It will air on ABC.
