Arkansas Preview 2018: Can Chad Morris resurrect the Hogs?
So much for the #winning. Bret Bielema is now out after never finishing higher than 3rd in the SEC West, and finishing 7th in three out of seven years in his reign. Oh, and he went 11-29, which probably didn’t help him.
Anyway, Chad Morris has been ‘prized’ away from SMU, and he’s an exciting prospect for an offensethat depended on a heavy line but really went nowhere (94th in the country) and a defense that went nowhere too (102nd last year).
So what do we think will happen in 2018?
OFFENSE
Giant QB Cole Kelley (he’s 6-7) is loved by just about everybody, and we really like him, too. He threw for 1,038 yards and 8 TDs, and if Morris uses him better than Bielema did, he could be one of those Nick Fitzgerald types that could rock defenses in close yardage situations.
What’s exciting for the Razorbacks is that they bring back a lot of receiving talent with WRs Jonathan Nance (539 yards, 5 TDs), Deon Stewart (404 yards, 3 TDs), Jordan Jones (401 yards, 3 TDs) and TEs Cheyenne O’Grady (132 yards, 2 TDs) and Jeremy Patton (189 yards). There is also talent in reserve too, which means that things should be really damned interesting.
Rushing-wise, David Williams, who formed a 1,000-yard partnership with Javwah Whaley went to the NFL. Whaley is still around, and he will be the lead RB after a 559 yard, 7 TD season. Backing him up will be Chase Hayden, and both will be running behind a line which has two great players (Frank Ragnow and Hjalte Froholdt) but otherwise wasn’t that great. That’ll be the key to whether the ‘Backs can improve in a stacked West.
DEFENSE
Top tacklers D’John Harris and Dre Greenlaw are back, bringing with them 218 tackles combined from last year and 4.5 sacks, but this is a team that ranked 104th in the country in sacks and 115th out of 130 in points per game with 36.2. It wasn’t pretty.
New DC John Chavis, who’s been doing the rounds more than a drunk, morally ambiguous frat boy, is in another SEC job, and Razorbacks fans hoping that this time he’ll stick (then again, so does he!). McTelvin Agim and Randy Ramsey should be fun to watch, too.
In the secondary, Ryan Pulley will be the leader alongside safety Santos Ramirez, but will it improve from a team who seemed to let anyone through all the time?
Personally-speaking, we think Arkansas fans will think they are in a Pac-12 game with the amount of shoot-outs on the horizon.
PREDICTION
Sept. 1 Eastern Illinois
Sept. 8 at Colorado State
Sept. 15 North Texas
Sept. 22 at Auburn
Sept. 29 vs. Texas A&M (in Arlington)
Oct. 6 Alabama
Oct. 13 Ole Miss
Oct. 20 Tulsa
Oct. 27 Vanderbilt
Nov. 3 OPEN DATE
Nov. 10 LSU
Nov. 17 at Mississippi State
Nov. 24 at Missouri
The Hogs will go 3-0 in their first 3 games before losing at Auburn and the annual shoot-out against Texas A&M. Things won’t go well against Alabama, but Chad Morris’ team will win a high-scoring affair against Ole Miss, which could be the first to 70. They’ll beat Tulsa and Vanderbilt (both at home) before losing tight ones to LSU, Mississippi State and Missouri, although Missouri is more 50/50 than the other two in game-winning potential.
2018 PREDICTION
6-6. The Hogs will be back in a bowl, and the fanbase will be a little excited. The defense will need some work, though.