FAYETTEVILLE — The main storylines entering Arkansas' meeting with Texas A&M this weekend are sure to be quarterback Nick Starkel and running back Rakeem Boyd facing their former team.
Arkansas defensive coordinator John Chavis is, too. He spent 2015-17 as the Aggies' defensive general and linebackers coach. But another Razorbacks player, senior tailback Devwah Whaley, is returning to his home state, and he would like nothing more than to perform well and put the Razorbacks' recent misery in the Southwest Classic to rest.
Arkansas has lost the last seven games in the series, and a win would mean the world to Whaley, a former four-star recruit from Beaumont, Texas, located roughly five hours southeast of AT&T Stadium in Arlington. He will have plenty of family in attendance for the 11 a.m. kickoff, he said Tuesday evening.
Whaley added that the narrow losses to the Aggies - decided by seven points twice in his career - have been frustrating and difficult to swallow.
"It’s been a close game pretty much every time," said Whaley, who is rushing for only 34 yards per game this season. "It just comes down to who wants it more and who executes the best. That’s all we have to do. We've just got to go out there, execute the gameplan, and it’s a great one, so I’m looking forward to it."
Whaley has not had a great deal of success against Texas A&M with the Razorbacks. He did not play in the game last season due to a concussion sustained the week before at Auburn. As a sophomore he gained 38 yards on six touches, and as a freshman he finished with 29 yards on nine carries.
He wants to not only take a step forward in terms of personal production, but help guide Arkansas to its first SEC win under Chad Morris. Whaley added that players have done a solid job moving past the loss to San Jose State.
There isn't time to dwell on the past with Texas A&M, Kentucky, Auburn and Alabama looming over the next month.
"It’s a big game, so just playing in the Cowboys' stadium, that’s a big thing as well," he said. "It’s a big game, and we look forward to it every year. We also look forward to it because it’s the next game, and that is the most important game."
The Razorbacks failed to truly establish the run against the Spartans, totaling just 131 yards on 32 attempts. That figures to be a key against a physical Aggies front, which is allowing 111 rushing yards per game through four weeks. It gave up 193 yards on the ground in the loss to top-10 Auburn on Saturday.
Regardless, Whaley says there isn't just one Texas A&M defender who stands out above the rest. Linebacker Buddy Johnson leads the group with 20 tackles and three tackles for loss, and defensive lineman Justin Madubuike has a team-high four tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
"They’re all pretty good, everybody from the front seven to the secondary," he said. "We can’t go in there and take any of them lightly. ... They do some good things on defense. They’re pretty good. We've just got to go out there and execute the gameplan."
Coming off the best game of his season against Colorado State in which he rushed nine times for 81 yards and a touchdown, Whaley wasn't satisfied with his 32-yard performance on Saturday. In fact, he finished with more receiving yards (40) than rushing yards in the loss.
The team's focus was questioned by Morris prior to kickoff last weekend and, obviously, following the game. Whaley is taking a one-day-at-a-time approach moving forward to ensure he is locked in and at his best.
"It was good to back on the field today, get back to work and get ready for this weekend," Whaley said. "We responded well. Today was a good day of practice. We got after it, and the biggest thing that we have to learn is just to continue to respond.
"It’s a big game with me being from Texas. I’m looking forward to it."