FAYETTEVILLE — The unknown is always big for the first game of the college football season. Louisiana Tech has the biggest question mark: a complete mystery on how many quarterbacks might play and if any are good enough to carry a multiple offense.
It’s at this point of the preseason camp that I predict the season record. I feel a little better about my number after talking with new offensive line coach Kurt Anderson. There were some reassurances about how his guys will play that pushed me over the top on a game or two.
My concerns on this team have been with the offensive line all along. I am extremely excited about Austin Allen’s ability to play similar at quarterback with the way brother Brandon dominated at that position late last season. Can the line provide some protection? It will be the first thing I watch for after the 3 p.m. Kickoff Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
I’m also excited about the running backs. Losing both Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins – both with eligibility to play one more season – was a blow. There were concerns there because Rawleigh Williams was coming off neck surgery.
Seeing Williams in two scrimmages did it for me. He was willing to take a hit and deliver one, too. The latter is the sure sign that someone is healthy.
I will never forget seeing Rawleigh the night the Hogs put on full pads for the first time this camp. He came into the interview room grinning from ear to ear. He’s got a million dollar smile and it dominated the room.
Still in pads, Williams thanked reporters for their time – as is always his exit theme – then headed for the shower. He said he’d do one thing before taking off his gear.
“I’ve got a phone call to make,” Williams said. “I’m calling my mother. I can’t wait to tell her that God has healed me. It’s going to be a fun call.”
There had been speculation all summer from coaches that Williams was healed. They’d seen all of the right things in workouts, both weight lifting and agility stuff. But what would the mental capacity be for full contact? No one really knew. All of that is settled now. He’s better than new.
Better? Yup, I’ve seen a different running back this fall. He was close to 230 pounds at times last season. There’s always the desire to put on pounds when you move from high school to the SEC. Bigger is better. It isn’t always that way.
He’s listed at 226 now, but he’s lighter than that. I’m guessing in the 218 range. The result is improved quickness, sharper cuts and better acceleration. He looks like an elite SEC back.
It’s interesting that he’s added a tattoo on his left bicep. The date of the injury against Auburn appears along with a Bible verse, Proverbs 3:5 and 6. The reason for the date is clear. The scripture makes perfect sense, too. It’s about faith and trust.
It’s that trust that everyone at Arkansas has in Williams that makes perfect sense for my strong prediction, but it still comes down to those big uglies in front of Williams to carve out some creases. Anderson thinks they’ll do more than enough.
“We will be ready,” Anderson said Wednesday when asked about his rebuilt line with three new starters and all five at new positions from last season.
“I’m confident. They are confident. Every game is big, but this is a fun one. It’s my first one here. Our guys are ready to play, tired of hitting each other.”
My big question was about the two who have played the least, right tackle Colton Jackson and left guard Hjalte Froholdt. What does Anderson see in their eyes?
“I’m not worried about those guys,” Anderson said. “I’ve told them to just go out and rely on their technique that I’ve taught them. They just have to be calm, collected and play with poise and I think they are going to do that.
“Colton knows the technique. He knows our offense. He is ready to play.”
Anderson likes to reference his own family when talking about his offensive line. He’s got five positions to develop. He points to his home where there are five Anderson children.
“I never worried about these guys, would they be able to play,” he said. “It’s like at home, when you have young ones. They start to walk and they fall down and crawl. You don’t give up and say, ‘This one is not a walker.’ You keep working with them and know they are going to walk.
“These guys are like that. We had some problems at first. They had to learn it, but I never once thought they couldn’t do it. We’ve just kept getting better and we are ready to play a game now. I’ve got five kids at home so I understand patience and it’s been good as I’ve watched this (offensive line) come together.”
What about Froholdt? He’s had around 40 practices at left guard after playing defense his entire football career, most of it in Denmark.
“That’s about right, 40 something,” Anderson said. “I do know this, I hope teams don’t think he’s the one to pick on. He’s not.
“You walk into a (night) club and think you are going to pick on someone, it better not be him. He’ll be like the bouncer and throw you right out of the club. He’s going to play physical and tough. You mess with him, he’ll toss you out.”
OK, that’s enough for me to stick my neck out. I love this team. I’ve liked the way the secondary has come together under new assistant Paul Rhoads. I see better depth at linebacker. I see more speed.
The SEC West is tough, there are good nonconference tests in Louisiana Tech and TCU, but I think Bret Bielema’s fourth team is one or two notches better than last season. I’m going with nine wins in the regular season.
It’s been a fun offseason with an intimate introduction to Bielema through the TV show running on ESPNU. BEING Bret Bielema has the state ready to explode. I can only imagine what will happen when there is a start to a season that matches the last two finishes. Bo Mattingly and JM Associates may do a whole summer of Triple B.
That leads to the purpose of this weekly commentary, the first Keys to Victory for the 2016 season. I’ve touched on some of them already, but here they are in order of importance.
1. Offensive Line
I’ll be watching right tackle at the outset. Colton Jackson went through the spring at left tackle and never looked solid. He gave it another try to open fall camp before Dan Skipper flipped over from right tackle. That fix took. Both Skipper and center Frank Ragnow look like All-SEC types. Froholdt might be that good before he’s done, maybe better. It comes down to Texas transfer Jake Raulerson at right guard and Jackson. They will be tested by a blitzing Louisiana Tech defense, with plenty of speed. The way to attack is to mash them straight ahead. I think that’s a big key, can the Arkansas running game be effective enough to make the play-action fakes and tight end bootleg passes work like last season?
2. Press Coverage
The strength of this team is the defensive line, but there needs to be a few seconds of coverage for Deatrich Wise and company to get to the quarterback. If the slants and quick passes are open, quarterbacks are going to unload so fast that there can be no pass rush. New secondary coach Paul Rhoads has fixed some technique issues in press coverage. This is a more confident secondary with good depth. Tech will play lots of wide receivers. The favorite play is a run-pass option with the quarterback. The key is tight coverage on the inside receivers. Can Henre’ Toliver and Kevin Richardson play tight enough to cause the quarterback to hold the ball while Wise and linebackers Dre Greenlaw and Brooks Ellis close? I think they can. This has been a big emphasis in the offseason, playing tempo spread teams. This is the first test. The UA secondary passes the test.
3. Special Teams
It’s always a huge issue for openers. That’s the root of most upsets early in the season. Bielema has said special teams have been given more attention both in the spring and in fall camp. Protection on kicking units have been given new techniques, especially in the offensive line with Anderson installing interlocking steps to eliminate the inside rush gaps that got kicks blocked last year. Punter Toby Baker is outstanding. Can Cole Hedlund match him on field goals? What about Adam McFain on kickoffs? I bet most will be watching closely on McFain’s first kickoff. Can he reach the end zone? No one could last year when McFain was injured most of the season.
4. Austin Allen
It’s hard to imagine the first start for an Arkansas quarterback not sitting at the top spot on this list. QB play trumps everything. But that’s how confident I am with Austin Allen and the job Dan Enos, the quarterbacks coach and play-caller, has done with the fourth-year junior. I’ve heard Enos say over and over that he expects Allen to play well “because he was in our hip pocket” last year with the game adjustments as Enos made them with older brother Brandon. That’s the key to playing well at QB, how he handles surprises. There will be some in an opener. How will Tech line up? Will they have eight in the box? Where will they play their safeties and how quickly will Allen solve where the gifts are in the Tech defense? I think he’ll do fine, but it’s still a first game and a first start. Everyone on the team expects Allen to play like his brother. I do, too.
5. Defensive Depth
It’s not going to be especially hot, only around 85 degrees at game time. Humidity is supposed to be manageable. Still, depth is critical and this Arkansas defense has more weapons than any that I’ve seen of late. There may be 20 to 25 players capable of playing in the opener. That gives coordinator Robb Smith lots of options. There may be seven play at defensive end. Along with Wise, Smith should get to use Karl Roesler, Tevin Beanum, McTelvin “Sosa” Agim, JaMichael Winston, Brandon Lewis and Randy Ramsey. At linebacker, expect to see Ellis and Greenlaw get some rest from true freshman De’Jon Harris, Khalia Hackett, Dwayne Eugene and Josh Williams. Jeremiah Ledbetter will get some rest at the 3 technique (defensive tackle) from Agim, the listed backup. But T.J. Smith and Bijhon Jackson could play some, too. Nose tackle Taiwan Johnson has solid backup help from Austin Capps and Jackson. There are five corners ready to play, four safeties.
6. Safety
It’s how the Arkansas safeties respond to the run-pass options with Tech’s quarterbacks that could be the key to getting off the field on third down. Josh Liddell, Santos Ramirez and De’Andre Coley will be asked to make decisions in the open field. That wasn’t the strength of this defense last season, but it might be this time around after what Paul Rhoads has done in the offseason. All three are much better tacklers. Conversely, Tech has solid safety play with senior Xavier Woods, an all-conference player, and junior Secdrick Cooper. Cooper has played some, but might be the one the Hogs go after early in the game. Can the Tech safeties give the linebackers enough support in the run game? Can they understand the nuances of the play-action pass for the tight ends that Enos loves?
7. Penalties
Arkansas was tormented by key penalties early last season. It might be the single biggest reason for the slow start. Clearly, injuries played a role, too, but there were too many holding penalties early in the season. Enos said there has been a heavy emphasis on playing clean in camp, with officials at almost every workout trying to keep the Hogs sharp for the opener. It’s one of the big edges in the Bielema plan, to play clean.
8. Wide Receivers
This may be close to even. Both teams have strong groups at wide receiver. Arkansas features a cast of talented seniors in Drew Morgan, Keon Hatcher, Jared Cornelius, Cody Hollister and Dominique Reed. Tech may not be quite as deep and experienced, but Trent Taylor and Carlos Henderson combined for 81 catches last season. Taylor (5-10, 178) is terrific as a slot receiver, a Wes Welker type. Both teams have rebuilt offensive lines. It may come down to who can protect the best to provide enough time to utilize these fine wide receivers.
9. Tight Ends
Can Arkansas still use tight ends in a dominant way after losing the nation’s best in Hunter Henry? I think it can. I love Jeremy Sprinkle. Austin Cantrell is a beast of a blocker. Jack Kraus and Anthony Antwine are in the game plan, too. Antwine was awarded a scholarship last week after consistent play. He’s a great motion man and understands the offense. This is the area where Arkansas has a big advantage. Tech will have a hard time playing run and matching up with the Hogs’ fine tight ends.
10. Physicality and Pad Level
This makes my keys to victory often. There is little doubt in my mind that Tech coach Skip Holtz understands this key. He’s a solid coach and knows the fundamentals, as taught by his father, Lou Holtz. There will be emphasis here on both sides. But I think this is a bigger stronger SEC team against a less physical group of Bulldogs. It took a bit for Arkansas to develop into a physical beast up front last year after a new offensive coordinator spent a lot of time in the spring and fall putting in his passing game. There doesn’t seem to be that gap in preparation this time around. Everyone in the Arkansas camp points to a physical August. Will it kick in for game one? I think it will and make the play action passing game a beast to stop. Anderson’s offensive line understands pad level. Expect that group to be nasty. I guess that goes back to my first key. It’s the last one, too.