State of the Hogs: QBs will run until Arkansas shows it can stop them

TCU quarterback Kenny Hill (7) runs the ball as Arkansas linebacker Dre Greenlaw (23) attempts the stop after a short run in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

— Arkansas defensive coaches and players knew that stopping the quarterback run was a big part of the game plan in advance of the Texas A&M game. It's not going to go away soon.

Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight had 157 yards on 10 carries in a 45-24 victory over the Razorbacks. There were touchdown runs of 48 and 42 yards in the first half, then a 62-yard scamper in the closing seconds.

It wasn't the first time a quarterback has had success on the ground this season. TCU's Kenny Hill gained 93 yards on 15 carries and rushed for two touchdowns.

The Hogs know that will lead to more called runs for the quarterback in the future. Alcorn State has running quarterbacks and No. 1 Alabama has one, too, for its game in Fayetteville the following week. Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly rushed for more than 100 yards against the Razorbacks last year and Auburn always has a running threat at the position.

“When you don't stop something, you are going to see it again and again,” said Paul Rhoads, the Arkansas secondary coach. “It's the same as in any area of the game. You have trouble in field goal protection, the things that are happening will keep happening. Every opponent sees it, and you see it again and again.

“Alcorn has running plays with the quarterback. It's going to be there until we stop it. And the things that people see on tape, they will put it in the week they see us.”

Alcorn State has played two quarterbacks and both have big plays in the running game. Noah Johnson has run for four touchdowns and has 128 yards on 29 carries. Lenorris Footman has also played quarterback, with nine carries for 39 yards. The Braves have given up only one sack because of that mobility.

“We are preparing for both,” Rhoads said. “They do a lot of things with formation to make it tough. I'm sure we will see some of the things we had trouble with last week. We have worked on that this week. We are trying to correct our problems.”

Free safety Josh Liddell said it's a matter of eliminating mistakes.

“We worked on correcting those mistakes so far this week,” Liddell said. “We saw it on tape. We have worked on them. Give the other team credit, but we have made mistakes. We have missed assignments. We have not covered all the gaps.”

Rhoads said the running quarterback in the read option creates an extra gap.

“You have to account for one more gap,” he said. “You have the two gaps created on either side of the running back and then you add another. So you have to account for one more, bring one more to help the linebackers.”

That sounds like the Hogs know they have to bring a linebacker down to help, although no one is saying how they will account for that gap.

“You have to do it that way,” Rhoads said, “or you have to disrupt things with your front. It's one of those two things.”

The front has not disrupted enough. The Razorbacks had just one sack against the Aggies.

“We have to do more,” said Deatrich Wise, the bell cow of the defense at end. “We made mistakes last week. We worked on correcting those mistakes this week. That's our focus.”

There were questions about lifting play in Little Rock where the Hogs have lost five of their last six games, including last year to Toledo.

“We want to change that,” Wise said. “We made too many mistakes in our last games there. We want to change that this year and change that this Saturday.”

Mistakes seem to be the constant in the interviews Tuesday with the Arkansas defense.

“We were not doing our job in the last game,” Wise said. “We had certain situations where we made mistakes.

“We can't slack off. We are going to try to come out strong, dominate this week and not slack off. We have to eliminate mistakes.”

Linebackers coach Vernon Hargraves said, “We just have to get ready to see the same stuff we saw last week, the week before that and the week before that. The quarterback runs are coming until we stop them. We had trouble, so it had to be fixed. It's coming until we get it fixed.”

It sounds like playing against a running quarterback is more the issue than playing in Little Rock.

“I don't think it's Little Rock,” Wise said. “Fans are great, the stadium is great. We just have to fix our mistakes.”

Liddell said he's excited about the trip to Little Rock, early start or not. The game begins at 11 a.m. to accommodate the SEC Network alternate channel broadcast.

“We had a late night start last week,” he said. “I didn't think that really bothered us. You wait around, but it's OK. This one, we are up early. We get our pregame early and then we get to play. I kinda like that. I'll be ready.”

And the Hogs know to be ready for a few quarterback draws, some read options and some bootlegs. It's been a problem so far this year and it's going to keep coming until someone stops it.