We continue HawgBeat's series of analyzing Arkansas' games through the lens of Pro Football Focus after the Razorbacks' 63-31 loss to No. 19 Ole Miss on Saturday.
The analytics from PFF keep track of grades for each player on a scale of 0-100. The website goes further into depth on specific grades, but for the purpose of this story, we will just look at defensive grades.
Here are the grades on the defensive side of the ball from the Ole Miss game...
Team Grades
~Overall: 67.2
~Defense: 56.5
~Run defense: 87.8
~Tackling: 70.0
~Pass rush: 63.0
~Coverage: 30.4
Notes
~ For the most part, PFF thought Arkansas tackled well. However, poor grades from Jaheim Singletary (54.2), Landon Jackson (49.3), Jayden Johnson (29.5), Miguel Mitchell (29.2) and Doneiko Slaughter (28.9) hampered the final team tackling grade.
~ It says a lot when seven out of the bottom 10 graded defensive players are defensive backs, as they all finished with coverage grades below 60.0. The best coverage grade of that group came from Mitchell (57.5), while Larry Worth III had the worst (30.3). Even Slaughter — the highest-graded overall defensive back — had just a 60.1 coverage grade.
~ Landon Jackson disappeared against Ole Miss' offensive line, according to PFF. His 70.3 run-defense grade was okay, but the aforementioned tackling grade and 57.5 pass-rush grade just isn't enough for a player of his caliber.
~ Speaking of pass-rush, not a single Razorback graded out above 70.0 in that department. The best grade belonged to a linebacker (Xavian Sorey Jr., 67.7) and the defensive lineman with the highest grade was Eric Gregory (65.5).
~ It's beginning to appear clear that Quincy Rhodes Jr. has a bright future ahead of him. The big-bodied pass-rusher had a 73.7 run defense grade and a 71.3 tackling grade to help push his overall grade to 69.8 (second on defense), which puts his season PFF grade at 78.6.
Arkansas Offense PFF Grades - Ole Miss
| Player, position | PFF Grade - Ole Miss | Snaps vs Ole Miss |
|---|---|---|
| Keivie Rose, DT | 78.3 | 27 |
| Quincy Rhodes Jr., DE | 69.8 | 23 |
| Cam Ball, DT | 68.3 | 58 |
| Nico Davillier, DE | 66.6 | 39 |
| Eric Gregory, DT | 65.0 | 60 |
| Doneiko Slaughter, NB | 63.7 | 79 |
| Stephen Dix Jr., LB | 62.0 | 62 |
| Xavian Sorey Jr., LB | 61.8 | 80 |
| Brad Spence, LB | 61.0 | 22 |
| Ian Geffrard, DT | 60.5 | 23 |
| Bradley Shaw, LB | 60.2 | 1 |
| Alex Sanford, LB | 60.0 | 1 |
| Landon Jackson, DE | 58.8 | 62 |
| Miguel Mitchell, S | 58.2 | 20 |
| Hudson Clark, CB | 54.9 | 65 |
| TJ Metcalf, S | 54.6 | 63 |
| Marquise Robinson, CB | 53.1 | 69 |
| Jaheim Singletary, CB | 49.1 | 26 |
| Anton Juncaj, DE | 48.3 | 12 |
| Jayden Johnson, S | 47.9 | 65 |
| Anthony Switzer, LB | 46.4 | 7 |
| Larry Worth III, S | 46.0 | 38 |
