FAYETTEVILLE — As Arkansas makes final preparations for its game against Florida A&M on Thursday, a handful of players are monitoring an historic natural disaster back home.
The family of running back Devwah Whaley is among the tens of thousands displaced by the record floodwaters in southeast Texas, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said Wednesday. Whaley's family is staying with other family members, Bielema said.
Whaley's hometown of Beaumont, Texas, has received more than 47 inches of rain since Friday, including 26 inches on Tuesday alone, according to The Washington Post.
Whaley, a sophomore, is slated to make his first career start on Thursday. Bielema said he met with Whaley on Wednesday "to see where his mind is at."
"He's assured me everything is good and he's ready to rock and roll," Bielema said. "He'll do everything he can to honor his family by the way he plays, I'm sure.
"He's a very mature young man. The reason he had success a year ago obviously was because of physical skills, but also his demeanor, personality."
Whaley is one of five Arkansas players - defensive end Brandon DePrato of Cypress; defensive back Ryder Lucas and running back Connor McPherson of The Woodlands; and defensive end Jonathan Marshall of Shepherd are the others - from cities that have been affected by the flooding.
"Our kids, their concerns are always with their loved ones," Bielema said. "It's just a lot of things to navigate through. We're working with the university to see if there is anything we can - and as a head coach, anything I can do, we're going to do that."