FAYETTEVILLE — Liberty Coach Hugh Freeze and University of Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom traded text messages Monday morning.
“I said, ‘Quit laughing at my team on film,’” Freeze said. “And he said, ‘Ha! I’m not laughing at all.’ Then he said, ‘I hope I get to see you for a few minutes before the game.’”
The Razorbacks (5-3), coming off back-to-back road wins for the first time in seven years, host No. 23 Liberty (7-1) at 3 p.m.n Saturday at 3 p.m. in the first meeting between the programs.
Freeze said he and Odom became good friends several years ago when he was at Ole Miss and Odom was defensive coordinator at Memphis and their teams played each other.
Matt Luke, the Rebels’ offensive line coach at the time and a friend of Odom’s, introduced the two.
“We played them … and I said, ‘Man, I like this guy. I like the way his kids play,’” Freeze said. “We just started developing a relationship, and then he went to Missouri.”
Odom was Missouri’s defensive coordinator and head coach before joining Sam Pittman at Arkansas.
“I like what he thinks about coaching,” Freeze said of Odom. “I like his philosophy, his core values. I think the world of him. He’s one of the best coordinators in the game.”
Roster report
Cornerback Malik Chavis, who did not travel to the Auburn game, was back at practice on Monday.
Coach Sam Pittman said Chavis would likely be competing with freshman Quincey McAdoo for playing time opposite Dwight McGlothern in a secondary which has undergone change on a game-by-game basis all season. McAdoo, who switched from receiver to cornerback after a rash of injuries in a loss at Mississippi State, was working with the first unit during an early period in practice on Monday.
“I think Chavis will battle with McAdoo to be perfectly honest with you,” Pittman said. “It’s time that we get him out there. He’s a good player and we’ve moved him over there for a reason.”
Injury report
Arkansas tailback Dominique Johnson’s season met a premature end as he suffered a second torn knee ligament in his right knee in practice last week, Coach Sam Pittman said.
Pittman said the injury occurred on a non-contact play when Johnson was making a cut in practice early last week. Johnson injured the same knee during the Razorbacks’ 24-10 Outback Bowl victory over Penn State on Jan. 1.
“It’s really unfortunate for the team, certainly for him,” Pittman said Monday. “He actually practiced the next day, and then he did not practice on Thursday and we found out Thursday. He went and got the MRI and we found that out.
“It’s certainly disheartening for him because he had worked so hard to try and get back. The silver lining, if there is one, and there is one, is you can use this as a redshirt year for him, and we’ve kind of approached it that way.”
Pittman said Johnson should be 100% by the time fall camp rolls around.
Top players
Arkansas tailback Raheim Sanders and punter Reid Bauer earned player of the week honors as selected by the SEC office on Monday.
Sanders shared the SEC Offensive Player of the Week award with Georgia’s Brock Bowers. The sophomore from Rockledge, Fla., racked up 171 yards on 16 carries against Auburn to tie Madre Hill for the quickest player to reach 1,000 yards in school history. Sanders leads the SEC and is sixth nationally with 1,041 rushing yards. He is the only FBS player with 1,000-plus rushing yards and 150-plus receiving yards.
Bauer was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week after notching a career-long 78-yard punt, thes second longest in the SEC this season, in the second quarter, pushing Auburn back to its 7-yard line. The senior from Magnolia, Texas, averaged 43 yards on three punts with no returns.
“Any time that you get national news on the good side it’s always good for your program,” Coach Sam Pittman said. “I think we went through a drought where nobody ever got anything, so it means a lot to us and it helps in recruiting.”
Tube talk
The Razorbacks’ home game against LSU on Nov. 12 has been selected for an 11 a.m. broadcast.
The networks instituted a six-day selection window so the game’s carrier has not been determined. The Hogs and Tigers will air on either CBS or ESPN.
Coach Sam Pittman would have preferred a later kickoff against the Tigers for recruiting purposes.
“I was certainly hoping for a night game,” Pittman said. “I will say this though: When we played South Carolina here at 11 a.m., our stadium was packed and loud. I’m not worried about the crowd.
“But it is concerning that, man, if we had all day and had the kids at a night game we could get further-away kids. Yes, I’m a little disappointed in that, but it is what it is.”
Harsin take
Two days after his team fell 41-27 at home to Arkansas, Auburn Coach Bryan Harsin was fired on Monday.
“Obviously you hate for anybody to get let go,” Coach Sam Pittman said. “I mean, it’s part of our business. I think the average is a little over three years of us guys, in this league.
“But I know he did it the way he wanted to do it and worked extremely hard. I just hate for anybody to get let go.”
Harsin was 9-12 at Auburn, but his overall record is 85-38, including 7-5 at Arkansas State in 2013 and 69-19 at Boise State, his alma mater, from 2014-20.
“I don’t know the situation, but I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Pittman said. “He’s a really fine coach and I’m sure if he elects to coach again that he’ll find a nice job.”