FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas linebackers coach Michael Scherer says Bumper Pool stayed “mad” at him all last season.
Turns out Pool, who started only in the opener and backed up Grant Morgan and Hayden Henry the rest of the season, played very well in reserve. Kind of like a mad bull.
The senior made 125 tackles, third in the SEC and tied for 10th in the FBS, and enjoyed playing for Scherer enough that he came back for his bonus season as one of the elder statesmen for a Razorback team that posted its first winning record since 2016.
Scherer described at length Pool’s willingness to do anything it took to improve his craft while simmering.
“Yeah, he was mad,” Scherer said. “I mean, you start for three years. They finally understood that it’s more of a mental thing than it’s a real thing. Most of the time in the games, when they flash up the starters, Bumper Pool was up there.
“It’s a mental thing and they realize that after a while. But you want to be the starter. … So yeah he was mad at me, but he never once complained and he never once showed up a day not ready to work like, ‘I’m here, I’m this, I’m that, I’ve been doing this for how many years.’ Never, ever, ever.
“I have tremendous amount of respect for that kid for that and I think the drive he had last year every single day has carried over into this year. And I think it’s made him a really, really good football player.”
Pool now leads what is likely one of the Razorbacks’ most talented array of linebackers. However, the group is young.
Drew Sanders, a junior transfer from Alabama, and redshirt freshman Chris “Pooh” Paul have taken the most reps with the Pool and the starters in spring and camp.
Pushing for playing time are former walk-on Jackson Woodard and freshmen Jordan Crook, Kaden Henley and Mani Powell, who all enrolled early, though Powell was still rehabbing from knee surgery.
“In my opinion, we have a lot of talented players, but they’re young,” Scherer said. “Our biggest challenge behind who we have as starters right now, Bumper and Drew, is maturity. Being able to understand how important some of this stuff is, being able to focus every single play.”
Sanders played almost exclusively on the edge for the Crimson Tide, where he racked up 24 tackles and a sack last season, but he’s lining up more as a traditional linebacker for the Hogs.
“I would say it’s a pretty big adjustment because on the edge, you’re worried about half the field,” Sanders said. “When you’re inside, you’re worried about the whole field. You’ve got a lot more keys to read.
“But right now I feel pretty comfortable. Coach Scherer and Pooh and Bump have done a great job of helping me learn my keys and get more comfortable.”
Paul said watching the veteran trio of Morgan, Henry and Pool take almost all the critical snaps last season was invaluable.
“I’ve made some great strides,” he said. “With the help of Grant, Hayden and Bump last year, I learned a lot just by sitting and watching them maneuver, watching them talk, make checks. I feel like I made great strides from last year and this spring and going into this fall camp.”
Scherer said he can’t be certain how deep the linebacking corps will run this year, but he likes the talent he’s got on hand.
“It can change based on who’s in the game and what’s going on, but we’ll see,” Scherer said. “I think we’ve got a good amount of guys that can go and play in a game right now. I think Bumper and Drew can take a large load, but to last 12 games, this is the SEC, they’re going to need to go in and out.
“So 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. So I do think it’ll be a little bit different.”
Pool, Morgan (101 tackles) and Henry (100) all had 100-plus stops last season, a nice recruiting inducement for the Arkansas coaches.
“Just how productive this room was, especially in the SEC, being the top leaders was something that was pretty attractive and something you want to be a part of,” said Sanders, who also considered Oklahoma and Texas as transfer destinations.
Paul said he watched Pool take advantage of his playing time, which amounted to about 50 fewer snaps than Henry and about 100 fewer than Morgan.
“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,” Paul said.
Crook, a 6-0, 232-pounder from Duncanville, Texas, has made an impression on everyone in the linebacker room thus far.
“I knew Jordan was a special player in high school,” Scherer said. “He’s gotten here and has done what I expected and then some. He has extremely bright football IQ.
“He takes the game extremely serious. His maturity is beyond his years, for sure. He’s going to play a lot of football for us this year. We’re going to need Jordan Crook in a lot of different situations, and he’s ready for it.”
Linebackers At a Glance
RETURNING STARTERS None
LOSSES Grant Morgan (13 starts in 2021), Hayden Henry (12), Deon Edwards, Jake Yurachek, Kelin Burrle
WHO'S BACK Bumper Pool (1), Christopher Paul, Marco Avant, Jackson Woodard
WHO'S NEW Drew Sanders, Jordan Crook, Kaden Henley, Mani Powell
WALK ONS Brooks Both, Jordan Hanna, Ethan Joseph, Mason Shueck
ANALYSIS Pool and Sanders look to be in position to absorb the greatest number of reps, but five players have taken first-team reps during camp, with sophomore Jackson Woodard and freshmen Jordan Crook and Mani Powell joining that group. The Razorbacks haven’t doled out a ton of playing time behind their top three linebackers going back several years, but the talent on hand could lend to more of that this season. Sanders’ versatility as an edge-rush option could set up coordinator Barry Odom for a variety of pass-rush schemes.