HawgBeat - Arkansas defensive line in better shape for 2023 season
Arkansas football's defensive line is shaping up to be improved in 2023 with new additions.
arkansas.rivals.com
Arkansas football broke the program sack record with 42 sacks during the 2022 season. After losing players either to the transfer portal, NFL or they had no more eligibility, it seems like head coach Sam Pittman and his staff have put together an even more impressive defensive line for the 2023 season.
To be fair, 22 of the 42 sacks came from defensive linemen and the other 20 came from linebackers — 9.5 of which came from third round draft pick to the Denver Broncos, Drew Sanders. On the line, defensive end Jordan Domineck had the second most of any Hog with 7.5 sacks while defensive ends Zach Williams and Landon Jackson combined for 7.5 on the year.
Williams and Jackson are back for another year in Fayetteville, but Domineck transferred to Colorado. The Hogs also lost a pair of starting defensive tackles as Isaiah Nichols transferred to Purdue and Terry Hampton ran out of eligibility.
Pittman and defensive line coach Deke Adams hit the transfer portal hard in search of legit difference makers on the defensive front and they might have struck gold with a few.
The first addition was Pittsburgh transfer defensive end John Morgan III, who played five seasons with the Panthers, and saw his best years come at the tail end of his time there. In 2021, he posted a career-high 5.5 sacks and 26 tackles, including one pass deflection and and a forced fumble.
His 2022 stats show a lower production, as he totaled 19 tackles and three sacks, but he also forced two fumbles last season. In 2020, he logged four sacks for the Panthers and made 12 tackles.
Morgan posted a Pro Football Focus pass rush grade of 77.6 in 2022, which would have been the highest of any Arkansas defensive lineman.
The Razorbacks then added Missouri transfer defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat, a former First Team All-SEC performer. During his redshirt senior season at Missouri in 2022, Jeffcoat started 10 games and recorded 21 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack.
Jeffcoat's best season came in 2020, when he was named First Team All-SEC by the Associated Press. That year he had 23 total tackles, six TFLs, a team-high six sacks and seven quarterback hurries.
With Williams, Jackson and Jashaud Stewart all returning, the additions of Morgan and Jeffcoat seemed to sure up the edges and turn the focus to the interior. Arkansas' first addition at defensive tackle was Maryland transfer Anthony "Tank" Booker Jr. on April 12.
His best year with the Terrapins was in 2022, when he tallied 25 tackles, four of those for loss and two sacks. He also deflected one pass and forced two fumbles. In 2022, Booker's PFF defensive grade of 77.1 was the second best of any Maryland defender and he had a 78.3 rush defense grade and a 66.1 pass rush grade across 234 total snaps.
Adding Booker was great, but the Hogs still needed another experienced transfer in the middle. Adams and Pittman did just that with the addition of First Team All-Conference USA selection Keivie Rose from Louisiana Tech.
Rose racked up 24 total tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks in 12 games as a senior last season. For his career, Rose has 54 tackles, four sacks, 32 quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles with Louisiana Tech.
Though he is not a transfer, defensive tackle Taurean Carter is back healthy after not playing the 2022 season as he recovered from a torn ACL suffered in the spring of 2022. Pittman described having Carter back as almost another transfer addition this spring and he should have a big impact up front this fall.
Arkansas also has a very talented redshirt sophomore in Cameron Ball, who seems primed to take the next step at defensive tackle. Sophomore Nico Davillier has a chance to see snaps as an edge rusher and redshirt senior Eric Gregory can slot in at defensive end or defensive tackle if needed.
With all of the experienced transfers and talented returning players on the defensive line, it almost seems unlikely for intriguing freshmen Quincy Rhodes Jr., Kaleb James and Ian Geffrard to see the field much on defense.
The group that Adams has built in his second year as the defensive line coach looks like a true SEC defensive front with a high ceiling.
