Razorback Report: Preparing for noisy Aggies

Texas A&M Yell Leader Mason Graham leads members of the Corps of Cadets in a Yell before the start of an NCAA college football game against Florida, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020. in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Craft)

FAYETTEVILLE — Texas A&M drew a lot of attention for its big crowd, listed at less than 25,000 but looking about twice that size, and the noise it created during the Aggies’ 41-38 win over No. 4 Florida three weeks ago.

Arkansas quarterback Feleipe Franks said the Razorbacks’ goal is to block out the crowd.

“We’re going there to win a game,” he said. “Yeah, crowd noise is a factor, but at the end of the day it’s not that big of a factor.

“They’ve got a great stadium and a great fan base and all that, but I’m just saying in a sense our mindset is that it’s a nonfactor. We practice that throughout the week with the crowd noise here. We try to use it to our advantage and make it a nonfactor in the game.”

Back to Arlington

The University of Arkansas confirmed Tuesday that the plan for its series with Texas A&M is to return to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in 2021 after the Aggies host the game Saturday.

“As a result of the ongoing pandemic & SEC only schedule, all parties agreed to move the SW Classic game with A&M to campus in 2020,” Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek wrote on his Twitter account Tuesday. “The current plan is for 2021 SWC game to remain in Arlington per contract. We will actively assess future circumstances that may alter these plans.”

Texas A&M Athletic Director Ross Bjork broke the news about next year’s game at an Aggies Town Hall earlier Tuesday.

The Aggies have made no secret they would like the annual Southwest Classic trophy game with Arkansas to move back to the two campuses. Arkansas has a stronger connection to Arlington because former Razorback and influential Arkansas booster Jerry Jones owns the Dallas Cowboys, who play at AT&T Stadium. Sources indicated to the Democrat-Gazette that had the 2021 game been moved to Fayetteville, officials with the Cowboys might have sought to extend the agreement — scheduled to lapse after 2024 — for another two years.

Yurachek was asked on a video conference in July about what might happen to the 2021 game if the Aggies were to host the 2020 game on campus.

“Obviously, we have a relationship with the Jones family here,” Yurachek said. “They’re very supportive of that game. They own that venue. So his feelings on that may be slightly different than mine, but we’ll see how the schedule plays out.

“If that game is moved to College Station, I think it would be fair that we get that return game here in Fayetteville next year and then potentially resume in Dallas for the final two years of that contract. I wouldn’t want to see Texas A&M get a home game this year and for us not to get that return game next year.”

Texas A&M will host the Razorbacks at Kyle Field on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. for the first time since 2012, the year the Aggies joined the SEC. Arkansas hosted at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in 2013.

Aggie attention

A week after Razorback defenders Grant Morgan and Hudson Clark won SEC player of the week recognition along with multiple other awards, the pair was hard at it in practice as they and their teammates continue preparations for Saturday’s game at Texas A&M.

“It’s been good,” Morgan said. “A lot of guys have brought a great attitude, and they’ve really just shown that they weren’t about those awards. They were about trying to win those football games, and people are trying to take the right steps with knowing that Texas A&M is the next opponent, and that is the only thing on our mind. Everyone has probably dived into video film more than ever just because the past two weeks.”

Morgan, who has been playing with a brace on his left elbow, said he’s feeling better after the open week.

“I feel good,” he said. “This is the best I’ve felt.”

Double jump

Arkansas players touted the benefits of the open date last week in getting a head start on Texas A&M preparation.

“We got a lot done,” senior receiver De’Vion Warren said. “We got a lot of recovery and being able to scout them and see what they’re going to do and how they are going to play us.”

Defensive tackle Isaiah Nichols said the bye week was a big plus.

“We got our bodies back feeling good,” he said. “We know they had a bye week, too, so they probably got a jump on things.

“But I feel like we had a good chance to get a head start and get a good jump on things last week. We’ve been stringing some good practices together, but we just focus on the next practice we’re going to go to.”

Everyday Barry

Safety Jalen Catalon, speaking last week, talked about what he sees in first-year defensive coordinator Barry Odom.

“Every day he’s coming to work,” Catalon said. “I like him so much because what you see is what you get. You’re not getting anything different, but a guy that’s ready to come in and make this team better every single day.

“He comes in with a game plan every single day. That’s something I love and we build off the energy that he brings every day.”

Catalon ranks 13th in the country with 11.25 tackles per game, while Grant Morgan is tied for sixth (13.0) and Bumper Pool is tied for ninth (12.0).

What’s ahead

Senior linebacker Hayden Henry touted the game planning done by the defensive staff during a Zoom call last week.

Asked about his recent play, Henry said, “I’ve got to give credit to the coaches for instilling quite a bit of confidence in me when it comes to the game plan and understanding the opponents’ scheme and what they’re going to run. I’ve got to give it to them for that. Because I feel like I know what play’s coming before the ball is even snapped so it’s really nice.”

Hat toss

Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman’s last game at Kyle Field came on Nov. 7, 1998. Pittman was the offensive line coach at Oklahoma when the Aggies handed the Sooners a 29-0 loss that day in College Station, Texas.

Pittman remembers it for a postgame incident involving Rex Ryan, who was in the midst of his one season as defensive coordinator at Oklahoma.

“Coach Ryan and I were walking off the field and Rex took his hat off and said, ‘Well, I guess I’m not going to be needing this anymore,’ and he threw it into the stands,” Pittman recalled last week. “And then in the paper it said, ‘Rex Ryan throwing his hat in the ring for the next head coaching job at Oklahoma.’ ”

Indeed, John Blake was fired with a 12-22 record that year and replaced by Bob Stoops, who would win the 2000 BCS national championship with the Sooners. Ryan went on to a defensive coordinator’s role at Kansas State in 1999 before joining the Baltimore Ravens the next year.

“All the man did was take his hat off and throw it, and the media really jumped on top of that. We’ve been down there. It’s a neat deal, especially pre-game when they march everybody in there. Hopefully they don’t get to kiss each other as much as they normally do, not because of covid but because they’re not scoring.”

16 out

UA athletics held a reception Tuesday for 16 members of the department who in most cases were long-term employees. Among them were former football assistant coach Bobby Allen, who served as defensive coordinator and defensive assistant between 1998-2012 before becoming director of high school and NFL relations in 2013. He is the father of former Arkansas quarterbacks Brandon Allen and Austin Allen, who between them started nearly every game for the Razorbacks between 2013-17.

Among the other retirees are senior athletic director Chris Pohl, athletic trainer Dave England, longtime men’s tennis coach Robert Cox, student-athlete development coordinator Rodger Hunter, longtime turf guru Pat Berger and Clarinda Carr, the administrative assistant for football coaches dating back into the 1990s.