FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas linebackers coach Michael Scherer is confident Bumper Pool and Alabama transfer Drew Sanders can handle the bulk of the snaps for his position group this fall.
Pool is a proven commodity, a preseason All-SEC selection who totaled 125 tackles last season when he started only one game. Sanders was among the top stories of spring drills, showcasing sideline-to-sideline speed, ability to rush the passer and be an ideal complement to Pool.
But similarly to a position like running back, it is difficult at linebacker to complete an SEC schedule and find great success when only utilizing two bodies, even if they are standouts. The Razorbacks are counting on depth at the second level to shine amid a run through a rugged slate.
“It can change based on who’s in the game and what’s going on, but we’ll see. We’ll see,” Scherer said when asked about a potential three-player rotation. “I think we’ve got a good amount of guys that can go and play in a game right now. I can’t tell you if it’s going to be three guys right now.
“I think we’ve got more than that, to be honest with you. I do think it’ll be a little bit different.”
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A prime candidate to take on reps behind Arkansas’ vets is Chris “Pooh” Paul, a redshirt freshman from Cordele, Ga., who stands 6-1 and 232 pounds. He appeared in four games last season, including the Outback Bowl victory over Penn State and home finale against Missouri.
Paul enters 2022 with one career tackle to his credit, but all indications are that he can be an essential helping hand.
"Chris Paul's ceiling is extremely high — extremely high,” Scherer said. “He's a very, very, very good football player. Chris Paul, it's all about maturity with him. It's all about maturity, being disciplined and doing things right when you're supposed to do them.
"He's gradually getting there. With him, it's not a mental thing at all. It's a mental toughness thing, the play-after-play, ‘Can I refocus and not worry about what happened the last play? Maybe I did something wrong. Who cares? It doesn't matter anymore.'
"It's the maturity that when Chris Paul develops that on a consistent basis, he's getting better.”
Scherer said Paul was a sponge in meeting rooms and on the practice field when around Grant Morgan, Hayden Henry and Pool. Paul concurred, adding he learned valuable lessons, tips and tricks by simply being attentive behind the scenes.
The strides he made last season led to improved confidence in the spring. And that in turn has placed him in a position to have an opportunity to produce.
“Chris being able to sit in the back of that room and watch those three guys, he might come up here and say I had something to do with it,” Scherer said. “I had nothing to do with it. He sat there and watched what those guys do and tried to emulate it.
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“Now the challenge is, yeah, Bumper and Drew are here, but Hayden and Grant aren't here, so can you keep up the pressure you had on you last year to continue to get better?"
Paul said in April that one of the main reasons he committed to Arkansas was because of a scheme that caters to linebackers and their ability to make plays. On Day 1 of preseason practice he ran alongside Pool on the first team during the Razorbacks’ Fastball Start period.
The next day, Paul, who had a concussion during the spring, was present but not going through drills for an undisclosed reason. He has been firmly in the mix since.
“Bump taught me that if you take advantage of your opportunities, great will be the outcome,” Paul said. “(I was impressed) just watching him last year with the stats that he had even though he didn’t start and he still had over 100-plus tackles.
“That just proved to me if you take advantage of the opportunities in front of you, the outcome will be great.”