FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Razorbacks Coach Bret Bielema used the defensive touchdown against Florida A&M on Thursday as an example of the proper execution of leverage from the team's new 3-4 defense.
On Florida A&M's third snap of the second half, a third-and-20 situation after Dwayne Eugene's 10-yard sack, quarterback Vince Jefferies dropped a pass to Hans Supre in the left flat.
Offensive lineman Rashad Williams was approaching cornerback Henre' Toliver on a reach block 3 yards downfield near the Arkansas sideline, and Supre decided to plant and make a cut to the inside with end T.J. Smith bearing down on him and McTelvin "Sosa" Agim and Gabe Richardson in hot pursuit from the back side.
Supre's cutback proved costly.
Williams' block forced Toliver to turn and spin, Smith began to corral Supre, and Richardson crashed into the running back from behind, dislodging the ball and injuring Supre.
Toliver, who had pivoted in a 360-degree maneuver on the edge and was now clear of the block, had no Rattlers around him as he bent down to scoop the ball and easily sprint into the end zone for the score.
"That play was created by the leverage that Henre' Toliver got and forced it in, and Gabe got the strip and Henre' got the fumble recovery for the touchdown," Bielema said.
"There was another play that Jake Hall got a sack because he turned the quarterback into him, so there was a lot of really good moving parts on the defensive side of the ball that you funnel the football, so a guy can make a play."
Low flags
The Razorbacks were penalized twice for 20 yards during Thursday's 49-7 victory over Florida A&M.
One of the penalties was a sideline infraction for unsportsmanlike conduct during Henre' Toliver's 18-yard fumble return for a defensive touchdown. SEC referee Lee Hedrick, working his first game in that capacity, described the penalty as "contact" on the sideline, but television replays did not appear to show the infraction.
The Razorbacks were also flagged for illegal formation in the fourth quarter during the 75-yard touchdown drive engineered by reserve quarterback Cole Kelley.
Fullback fame
Fullbacks Kendrick Jackson and Hayden Johnson took turns being lead blockers on Arkansas' series of inside-run touchdowns against Florida A&M.
The Razorbacks, in an effort to blunt the Rattlers' speed on the edges, attacked the center-guard gap most of the game and profited from it.
Jackson blasted linebacker Derrick Mayweather in the hole on Arkansas' first touchdown, a 5-yard run by Devwah Whaley. Johnson took out Jakaris Wilson on David Williams' untouched 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Jackson blocked Wilson at the hole on Chase Hayden's 5-yard touchdown up the middle in the third quarter. Johnson had a kick-out block on the edge on Williams' 1-yard run
For Broyles
In addition to the "JFB" initials inside the Razorbacks' logo on their helmets, there were other nods to Frank Broyles, the legendary Arkansas football coach and Athletic Director who died on Aug. 14.
The Razorback Marching Band spelled out "Broyles" on the War Memorial Stadium turf during halftime, and the SEC Network ran a tribute video to Broyles early in the fourth quarter.
Harris sprint
Middle linebacker De'Jon Harris ran two-thirds of the way across the field to snuff out a reverse to Hakeem Smith in the first quarter. Harris went with the flow on a jet sweep to Hans Supre to the left edge of the Florida A&M offense, when Supre handed to Smith sprinting around right end and looking for an open receiver. Harris tracked down the line of scrimmage, keeping pace with the speedy receiver before grabbing Smith and falling out of bounds with him after a gain of 2 yards.
Harris, who made back-to-back stops on the series, tied linebacker Grant Morgan with a team-high five tackles.
Crowd size
The crowd count of 36,055 at War Memorial Stadium was the second-lowest since Arkansas joined the SEC in 1992, and only the second crowd of less than 40,000 for the Razorbacks. The lowest War Memorial attendance in that time was 22,329 for a bad-weather game against LSU in 1996.
Of the 10 smallest War Memorial crowds since 1992, four, including Thursday night, have occcurred since 2013, according to research by WholeHogSports.com: 45,198 against Mississippi State in 2013 ranks No. 5, 46,988 against Alcorn State last year is No. 9, and a crowd of 47,348 against Samford in 2013 is No. 10.
'Clary'fication
Coach Bret Bielema and offensive line coach Kurt Anderson touted freshman Ty Clary during camp, insisting the 6-4, 286-pounder merited playing time. Turns out Clary, from Fayetteville, won a starting job at right guard late in camp, though Bielema never announced the move, which slid Johnny Gibson over to right tackle in place of Brian Wallace.
"I think after the first week of camp you're kind of like, 'Woo, this Clary kid can do some things,'" Bielema said. "I was very impressed with his feet and his athleticism."
Strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert told Bielema that Clary's lower body strength tested out strong enough to rival a third- or fourth-year player.
"He's obviously a true freshman who in my opinion was totally underrecruited," Bielema said. "We made the decision about 10 days out ... he was going to be our starter. I didn't release it to you guys because I didn't want it to be the chatter. I wanted to protect him a little bit and let him prepare in a way that he needed to play. And he'll be a lot better in his preparation to start TCU."
Wideout work
Senior Jared Cornelius got just enough action on Thursday to work up a sweat. Cornelius, who was questionable with tightness in his back, caught one pass for 6 yards while playing a moderate number of snaps.
Sophomore T.J. Hammonds was in the rotation a little longer and did not have a catch, though he was wide open on an intermediate route on a bootleg pass on which Austin Allen threw a shallower route to tight end Cheyenne O'Grady. Hammonds had three carries for 22 yards, including a 12-yard gain.
Hayden's company
Freshman tailback Chase Hayden joined select company as the third Arkansas running back to rush for 100-plus yards in his college debut.
Felix Jones was the first to do it, based on readily available records, when he ran for 137 yards on eight carries in a 49-17 victory over Missouri State on Sept. 3, 2006. Alex Collins ran for 131 yards in his debut against Louisiana-Lafayette on Aug. 31, 2013.
Hayden's 120 yards on 14 carries, an average of 8.6 yards per carry, represented 1 more yard than his father Aaron Hayden had in his college debut against Louisville in 1991.
Hey now!
SEC Network sideline reporter Cole Cubelic ran into a little problem in the second quarter as he did a quick segment on Arkansas guard Hjalte Froholdt and the difference in stances between defensive linemen and offensive lineman. Cubelic had just finished demonstrating a three-point stance, saying "it's more about the hips than it is the feet" when he bumped into side judge Michael William, who was backing up down the sideline.
Cubelic, a former Auburn offensive lineman, kept going with his report, saying "don't worry about the official" as Williams gave him a brief, intense staredown, all captured by the SEC Network cameras. The incident was widely shared on social media, with former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy, now an SEC Network analyst, seeming to have the most fun with it.
"I thought I proved my balance earlier in the broadcast when I took a forearm shiver from the referee on the sideline and stayed on my feet there," Cubelic told broadcast partners Tom Hart and Jordan Rodgers when they teased him about it later.
Extra points
• The Arkansas defense has posted a touchdown in five of its last 13 games, with Henre' Toliver's 18-yard fumble return joining interception return touchdowns by Brooks Ellis, Ryan Pulley, Toliver and Santos Ramirez last season.
• Florida A&M went 3 of 4 on fourth-down conversions, including punter Chris Faddoul's 26-yard run for the Rattlers' longest gain after a muffed snap.
• Austin Allen threw a touchdown pass for a sixth consecutive game and the 13th time in his 14 starts. Allen's only start without a touchdown pass came in a 56-3 loss at Auburn last year.
• The Razorbacks had three different players -- Devwah Whaley, David Williams and Chase Hayden -- score rushing touchdowns in a game for the first time since Oct. 1, 2016, when Whaley, T.J. Hammonds and Cody Hollister scored on the ground vs. Alcorn State.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offense
RB Chase Hayden
• Hayden, a 5-10, 191-pound true freshman from Memphis, rushed 14 times for 120 yards and 1 touchdown. Hayden averaged 8.6 yards per carry. He scored his first college touchdown in the third quarter on a 5-yard run on which he reached the ball over the goal plane from the 1 after he was stacked up.
Defense
CB Henre' Toliver, LB De'Jon Harris
• Toliver, a senior from Marrero, La., posted two tackles and he returned a fumble for an 18-yard touchdown, the second of his career, both coming in Little Rock. Harris, a sophomore from Harvey, La., tied the team high with 5 tackles and had one for a 1-yard loss in his first start. All of Harris' tackles were unassisted.
• Coach Bret Bielema is now 41-4 in regular season games against nonconference opponents during his career.
Sports on 09/03/2017