Film Room: New Mexico State

Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver Deon Stewart (13) runs the ball for a touchdown during the first half of the game between Arkansas Razorbacks and New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday, September 30, 2017 at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

— Five observations, with video, from Arkansas' 42-24 win over New Mexico State.

Allen, young WRs connect

Austin Allen threw an ugly first-quarter interception on a ball he probably held a touch too long, but the senior quarterback was sharper than he’s been all season the rest of the game.

Allen completed 19 of 26 passes for 264 yards and 3 touchdowns while looking more like a preseason All-SEC quarterback selection than he had in the first three games.

A big reason for that was the play of his receivers. Jonathan Nance emerged as Allen’s go-to target last week against Texas A&M and Saturday only cemented that. He caught 6 passes for 58 yards and 2 more touchdowns, giving him 4 in as many games this season.


But more than at any other point in the young season, Arkansas’ young receivers stepped up.

Deon Stewart had just 3 catches for 31 yards on 7 targets in the first three games, but had a breakout of sorts Saturday, reeling in 4 passes for 71 yards on 4 targets, including this short catch he turned into a 38-yard touchdown in the first quarter.


Stewart looked markedly quicker than he had the first few games of the year. He also pulled in a key fourth-down pass from Allen in the latter stages of the third quarter. It was easily the best performance of his young career after struggling to make an impact the first few games of the season when Bret Bielema said he was dealing with a nagging ankle issue.

Jordan Jones was quiet the first few games but got his feet wet and picked up 50 yards on two end arounds against Texas A&M last week. Saturday, he was as involved in the pass game as he’s been.

The speedy redshirt freshman caught 4 passes for 84 yards after entering the day with 2 for 7 this season. He had a few big gainers.


Nance is the hands-down top option at this point, but Stewart and Jones, the pair consistently mentioned by receivers coach Michael Smith as definite parts of the rotation the last few weeks, each turned in their best performances of the year. New Mexico State’s secondary isn’t elite by any means, but Saturday was an encouraging sign.

Backfield timeshare still in effect

Arkansas is still operating with a timeshare approach at running back, New England Patriots style.

Sophomore Devwah Whaley ran for a season-high 119 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries to lead the way in the three-headed attack at running back also featuring senior David Williams and freshman Chase Hayden.

The stat line is a touch deceiving. Whaley ran for 70 of his yards on 10 carries the final 2 drives with Arkansas up big and putting the game on ice. Prior to that, Hayden (48 yards, 2 touchdowns, 12 carries) and Williams (47 yards on 15 carries) had each had bigger workloads.

Still, Whaley did outperform the duo from a production standpoint, finishing with the best yards per carry for a second straight week. He ran hard and looked decisive while producing some chunk runs.


Whaley was the third running back option against Texas A&M days after getting a black eye as a result of a locker-room scuffle with receiver Brandon Martin. Despite being behind senior David Williams and freshman Chase Hayden in the pecking order, Whaley actually averaged slightly more yards per carry (6.3) against the Aggies than his counterparts (6.2 for Williams, 5.8 for Hayden).

Perhaps the scuffles, off the field with Martin and on the field for playing time with Williams and Hayden, served as motivation for Whaley, who has looked hungry the last 2 weeks.

When Rawleigh Williams retired, most assumed Whaley would dominate touches at the position, but that hasn’t been the case. Instead, it’s been a timeshare with each player bringing something different to the table.

Earlier in the week, running backs coach Reggie Mitchell said the current ideal workload was 15 carries each for Whaley and Williams with 10 for Hayden.

Expect a similarly even workload moving forward.

Shuffled line, mixed results

Bret Bielema indicated Monday that Arkansas would likely play six or seven offensive linemen against a New Mexico State defense which entered the week ranked 17th in the nation in sacks, averaging 3 per game.

That’s exactly what happened. The Razorbacks started the same offensive line — LT Colton Jackson, LG Hjalte Froholdt, C Frank Ragnow, RG Ty Clary and RT Johnny Gibson.

On the game’s third drive, senior Paul Ramirez came in at right tackle, with Gibson shifting to guard and replacing Clary.

The combination of Gibson and Ramirez on the right side played twice as many snaps as the starting line. As a result, Gibson-Ramirez group was the primary line on four of the six touchdown drives, but produced less yards per play (9.0) than the Clary-Gibson group (5.0).

The Hogs ran the ball significantly better with Clary in the game at right guard, but he was pulled a play after failing to pick up this stunt quickly enough, allowing a hit on Allen.


That wasn’t the only big lick Allen took as a result of the freshman being bested.


Pass protection had been an issue the first three games for the Razorbacks, which ranked 106th nationally in sacks allowed after Texas A&M sacked Austin Allen six times and hit him several others. They didn’t allow a sack for the first time this year Saturday, a positive development even if Allen took some big shots.

Of his 5 hits, 3 came with the starting line in and 2 with the Gibson-Ramirez pairing on the right side. There were still break downs at times, not necessarily a surprise given the tendency New Mexico State has to bring pressure, but not allowing a sack is a step in the right direction.

There was talk of rotating Colton Jackson some throughout the game, but he was an every down player against the Aggies. Arkansas has gotten consistently good play from left guard Hjalte Froholdt and center Frank Ragnow this season, with Johnny Gibson also establishing himself as a constant, whether at guard or tackle. But there is still a great deal of uncertainty.

At this point, the Razorbacks essentially have two offensive lines, which could be construed as having no solid options.

(Not) under pressure

Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said dual-threat quarterbacks were the primary reason Arkansas hadn’t dialed up the pressure early in the season. The Razorbacks entered Saturday ranked 96th in the nation in sacks.

Arkansas blitzed selectively against New Mexico State, but senior quarterback Tyler Rogers often had all day to throw. He finished 23 of 38 for 344 yards, 2 touchdown and an interception, at times picking the Razorbacks apart, uninhibited by the pass rush or lack thereof.

Nine of those passes were for 20 or more yards, most of which came on routes that required time (and therefore protection) for Rogers.


Rushing three and dropping eight gave Rogers plenty of time and his feel for the game allowed him to string the play out longer when the protection did start to break down. He held the ball 9 seconds before releasing it. Receivers are going to start breaking open, especially one as good as Jaleel Scott, who finished with 9 catches for 174 yards.


Here, the Hogs bring 4 on third-and-long and Rogers has a clean pocket to find Larry Rose and move the chains.

Rushing three again.


A play both safeties no doubt wish they could have back.

It’s difficult to consistently create pressure when you’re mostly relying on three or four pass rushers. Arkansas recorded 2 sacks along with 4 quarterback hurries and had some success affecting Rogers when Rhoads did dial up blitzes.

But Arkansas chose to sit back more often, which gave a veteran quarterback time to make plays. Good news: Rogers is probably better than most of the quarterbacks Arkansas will face in the SEC.

Rhoads’ decision not to frequently pressure a mobile quarterback makes sense, but the inherent tradeoff is the secondary and linebackers can wind up having to cover for longer periods of time, which can be difficult against a good quarterback, as Rogers proved Saturday.

Morgan plays well in bigger role

Grant Morgan was on the field quite a bit Saturday, giving Dre Greenlaw breathers at various points in the game.

The redshirt freshman linebacker acquitted himself well, finishing with 3 solo tackles, a quarterback hurry and a big pass breakup.


The tip and Kevin Richardson’s subsequent interception in the end zone prevented New Mexico State from tying the game early on, a big moment in the first quarter.

Here’s a nice pop on a blitz:


At 5-foot-11 and 220 pounds, he’s undersized for an SEC linebacker, but the coaching staff has regularly praised Morgan’s football instincts. Saturday was a good opportunity to get him some more playing time and he didn’t disappoint.