What's the chances Jeremy Patton picks up the offense in time to be a factor this fall? Is there a possibility he won't make onto campus at all? — SoArkHog
Where is Jeremy Patton? And what is going on? Grades or what? — Brent
Patton is on campus and going through the second session of summer school. Initially, he signed early and intended to enroll for the spring semester, but wound up having to remain at his junior college instead. It would have benefited him to be on campus for winter workouts and spring ball, but Arkansas still views him as someone with the talent to help replace what Jeremy Sprinkle brought to the table in the pass game. Patton was ranked the No. 1 JUCO TE for a reason. How quickly he picks up the playbook will determine the size of his role, but he has the talent to contribute this fall.
Is Dre Greenlaw overhyped? — Hugh
I don't think so, at all. If healthy, I think he has the talent and will put up the numbers to make a push for All-SEC recognition this year. He recorded 95 tackles and showed tremendous growth playing a new position as a true freshman and led the team in tackles before his injury last fall. His speed and instincts make him a playmaker and he will be even more comfortable playing linebacker this year. The only question mark is health, a legitimate concern since the foot is a recurring injury. His ability to stay on the field will be extremely important this year. Arkansas is counting on him to be its leading tackler and a leader.
With the widespread use of 3 and 4 receiver sets, empty backfields, H-backs & tight ends in motion, no-huddle offenses, and the defense typically either shading or slanting to the field side, approx. what percentage of plays do you believe will be effected by the defensive switch from the 4-3 to 3-4? — Hollywoodbeachhog
It's tough to put a percentage on how often playing the 3-4 makes a difference compared to the 4-3, but the staff didn't make change solely for the sake of change. The move was done for a number of reasons. It helps Arkansas' recruiting efforts because it's generally easier to find rangy outside linebacker/rush end-type players than it is to sign true defensive linemen. Everyone wants the 6-4, 300-pound athletic specimens and there isn't a surplus of those players, which makes recruiting them challenging.
On the field, the shift to the 3-4 theoretically allows the defense to get more speed on the field to combat spread offenses. It's a change many programs have made recently. A player like Randy Ramsey is better suited to play in space than a traditional defensive lineman. The scheme allows defenses to better disguise where pressure is coming from.
Arkansas will almost assuredly play in its nickel scheme a bunch again this year, which will raise the question of who comes off the field. In the 4-3, it was the strongside linebacker. In the 3-4, there are more options. Having the ability to be versatile in a potentially better schematic fit appears to be the key driving force behind the change.
True or False? Our second half collapses last year against Mizzou and VaTech were more the fault of the offense than the defense. — Hogmodo
Everyone was at fault. You can assign blame to both sides of the football. The defense still gave up big, home-run plays in the second half of both games, but how much of that was the product of them being on the field for an extended period of time because the offense couldn't get anything going? The meltdowns were a total team effort.
Do you think going to the prevent offense at halftime took away some of our aggressiveness on offense? Seems the defenses we faced made adjustments at half then we failed to adjust to their adjustments? Why do you think the entire team took the foot off the pedal at half, both sides of the ball? Was it depth? Was it not being in shape? Did we tire? Why the loss of focus by both players and coaches? — Razorwill
Arkansas was outscored 224-124 in the second half last season, including 56-0 the final two games, which means everything deserves to be called into question. Depth was an issue on defense most of last season, especially in the back 7, so it's fair to think fatigue played a role in the collapses. It was also apparent the coaching staff was unable to make any kind of meaningful adjustment the players could execute. Again, everyone deserves blame.
It's probably realistic to think the players took the foot off the pedal at halftime against Missouri, up 24-7 on the worst team in the SEC. Even the most diehard Missouri fans had to think the game was all but over, but the Tigers came to play in the second half and Arkansas didn't match that intensity. The Belk Bowl screamed of a "here we go again" attitude once Virginia Tech scored and showed resistance to start the third quarter. At that point, it's safe to say a lot of the issues were mental.
The staff and team leaders have spent all spring talking about how the final two games drove their offseason workouts, which they should. We'll have to wait and see how much of a different mindset there is this fall and if it yields different results.
How will Arkansas finish the 2018 football recruiting class? — Brandon
Spots are limited. Arkansas has 11 commits for what could be as few as 15 available scholarships, so the Razorbacks have the luxury of being picky and potentially holding out for prospects at the top of their recruiting board. Arkansas wants to sign highly touted Earle quarterback Gerry Bohanan. Our Dudley Dawson has indicated the staff would like to sign a pair of offensive linemen and either a receiver, defensive lineman or outside linebacker. Of course, recruiting is always fluid and odds are there will wind up being more than 15 available scholarships. There are always defections and this year won't be any different. The staff knows that.
Montaric Brown committed to Coffeyville Community College because they're not sure if he'll qualify. Why do the safety gods hate us? — William
Bielema addressed this at SEC Media Days. Brown obtained a qualifying ACT score in June and is finishing up an online class he needs to become eligible. He's close to being on campus and may be there in time for the start of fall camp. If not, there's a good chance he is in Fayetteville by the time school starts. Worst case, he arrives in January. Missing the summer wasn't ideal, but Brown would've likely had a hard time cracking the veteran safety rotation as a freshman anyway. It looks like there's almost no chance he winds up having to take a detour to a JUCO.
Do you think Arkansas has the momentum in recruiting to finish near the top 10? Can you see Bielema and staff making a big push come National Signing Day? — Josh
This won't be a top-10 class. It isn't ranked in the top 25 by ESPN and the limited spots mean the Razorbacks have already finished a majority of the class, whether they do wind up signing just 15 or a few spots come open and they are able to sign, say, 18. The Hogs do have a few highly rated commits, including four prospects rated 4-stars by ESPN and JUCO defensive tackle Emmit Gooden, who chose the Hogs over Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia and others. They'll try to land a few more, including Bohanon, but Arkansas doesn't historically sign top-10 recruiting classes. This year will be no different.