Like It Is

Hogs' Deatrich Wise no longer smarting from injury

Arkansas defensive end Deatrich Wise (48) talks with teammates Dan Skipper (70) and Austin Allen during Belk Bowl Media Day on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016, at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, N.C.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- He's got charm, personality, wit, manners, basically he's the whole package.

Deatrich Wise's laugh came easily when he shook hands with a reporter, and the reporter asked if he had hurt him.

It didn't, nearly four months after Wise broke his right hand -- he's right-handed -- in the season's first game against Louisiana Tech.

Wise, a 6-5 defensive end, quickly learned that he wasn't shaking hands with anyone for a while after that first game.

He played on, but it was like having one hand tied behind his back. He smiled and admitted the only thing it didn't affect was his eating.

Wise, from Carrollton, Texas, was primed for a breakout season after recording eight sacks as a junior.

Instead, it was a hard-break season.

There also was a shoulder injury later in the season that kept him out of the starting lineup -- for protective reasons -- and made him an interior lineman in special situations.

Yet, the most difficult blow occurred before the season when his grandfather died.

"We were close," he said. "I come from a close family. It was my granddad, though, who stressed to me when I was 6 that if I was going to play football I needed to be more aggressive, but he did it in a grandfatherly way."

Wise, who grew as a football player, was a bit shy when he arrived at Arkansas but has learned to be a vocal leader. He was one of five Arkansas players selected Wednesday to sit at a table to answer questions from the media.

Before he sat down he made sure the other Arkansas players had found their assigned table, and all five proudly wore SEC Graduate patches. Twenty-one of the Razorbacks on this bowl trip have graduated.

Maybe 6 feet away from Wise was Virginia Tech quarterback Jerod Evans, the Hokies' main weapon offensively. He is their leading rusher as well as the leading passer.

When Wise was asked if he realized Evans was nearby, Wise said of course.

Over the next few minutes it became obvious Wise might know Evans' preference in toothpaste. Wise and the Razorbacks have studied Evans inside and out.

Think Evans will get hit by the Razorbacks? On every down, if they can, because the plan is don't let one guy beat you.

"We have to stop the quarterback first, second we have to stop the quarterback and third you know what we have to do, stop the quarterback," Wise said.

The good news for Wise is that linebacker Dre Greenlaw has been cleared to play today, which should help the Hogs carry out their pregame plan.

"Knowing he's back there, with his speed, is reassuring," Wise said of Greenlaw.

Greenlaw's presence, Wise said, enhances Arkansas' chances of containing a Virginia Tech quarterback he compared to two players who have hurt Arkansas in the past -- Kenny Hill (TCU, Texas A&M) and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (Mississippi State).

"Jerod Evans is a good quarterback who can give you problems," Wise said, "so we need everyone to be ready."

This team came to play, not just enjoy the bowl experience, although most will never forget riding in a race car at speeds up to 170 mph, and Tuesday night was their $450 shopping spree at Belk's, the department store that is the title sponsor of this bowl.

"I bought a red suede blazer, a green sweater, several jackets and a few other things," Wise said.

All week, Bret Bielema has said Wise is the Razorbacks' pregame MVP. Nobody has practiced better.

Now, Wise, who is truly healthy for the first time since the season-opener, is ready to bring it to the field one more time.

He has talent inherited from his dad, who played professional football, and he learned to be a better football player through the tough love of his grandfather.

The Razorbacks, who have followed a win-lose-win-lose pattern over the past 10 games, want to send Wise, already a winner, out with a victory. Make it 41-38 Arkansas.

Sports on 12/29/2016