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Arkansas football offensive line play looks different in spring | Whole Hog Sports

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Arkansas football offensive line play looks different in spring | Whole Hog Sports


FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks’ struggles on their offensive line last season were a clear component to an underperforming unit which took a major drop off from the offenses coordinated by Kendal Briles that preceded it.

Despite having much the same skill personnel — with quarterback KJ Jefferson and tailbacks Raheim Sanders, AJ Green, Rashod Dubinion and Dominique Johnson — the Hogs flopped under the direction of Dan Enos, who was fired after a lackluster 200-yard performance in a 7-3 home loss to Mississippi State late in the season.

Coach Sam Pittman said upgrading on the offensive line was priority No. 1 for the Razorbacks over the winter, and he hired protege Eric Mateos to coach the position after the departure of Cody Kennedy for the same role at Mississippi State.

The Razorbacks hit the transfer portal in December and, with a little shuffling of existing personnel, appear to have succeeded in bolstering the building block spot on the offense.

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“I like the cohesiveness of the group,” Pittman said after Saturday’s Red-White game. “I think they played well.”

Only right guard Josh Braun, a 6-6, 349-pound redshirt senior, is back at the same position at which he started last year. Junior Patrick Kutas, a nine-game starter at right tackle and center in 2023, is now playing left guard.

Three transfers — right tackle Keyshawn Blackstock, left tackle Fernando “Junior” Carmona and center Addison Nichols — joined Braun and Kutas on the front five for most of spring drills.

“On paper it is a completely different unit,” Braun said. “We’ve got a different man leading us. We’re actually a unit. We’re a brotherhood.”

New offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino talked up the group the week before the spring game.

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“When you look at the makeup of the team, it always is going to start with the offensive line, and I feel like the three guys we got out of the portal and them working with the ones, and the ability they have helps that right away,” Petrino said. “The other two guys are doing a great job, too, with the starting five.

“We’ve got to develop some depth there. I think right now we feel like we maybe have eight guys that we feel good about.”

Kutas said last week he thought there was improved energy on the line.

“We’re making big plays,” Kutas said. “It’s just a higher standard now. We get new transfer guys that came in. New O-line coach.

“He just sets a standard for us and it’s got to be that standard every single day, so we’re just excited to get out there and practice.”

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The Razorbacks seemed to play in an offensive funk much of 2023, averaging 3.53 yards per carry (12th in the SEC), 139 rushing yards per game and scoring a league-low 9 rushing touchdowns.

The pass blocking also suffered as the Razorbacks gave up 47 sacks, the second-highest total in the SEC behind Alabama’s 49.

Finding the bond that appeared to be missing from last year’s team was critical for this front.

“We’re the tightest O-line unit I’ve been a part of, and that’s a breath of fresh air,” Braun said. “Coach Mateos said…we just got it rolling. At the beginning of the semester, we started this journey, and now we’re finally getting it on the track. We’ve got to keep that momentum going through the summer and we’re just excited to get back to work on Monday.”

Quarterback Taylen Green extolled last Saturday the assets he has seen from the revamped line.

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“They have a lot on their plate with the installs and the different run checks,” Green said. “The run game and the pass game and the pass [protection], it’s new to them, too.

“The detail that they come with every single day, they’re prepared, even when we get the script, probably late night, really late night or early morning, but they know their keys and they know their checks and all that.”

Green said he’s “definitely impressed” with the work of the guys in the trenches and said “definitely love this guy right here” as he motioned to Braun at the podium.

“Like he said, the camaraderie. It’s definitely not what I call ‘me ball.’ It’s us. It’s a team sport. I couldn’t make the plays out there without them.”

Pittman called himself Mateos’ graduate assistant on a few occasions in spring and was hands on working with the group for many individual periods throughout the 15 practices. Braun, who committed to Pittman at Georgia out of high school before switching to Florida, is happy to be working with the legendary offensive line guru.

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“Coach Pittman’s one of the best O-line coaches of his generation,” Braun said. “To have him and then have Coach Mateos, who is going to be one of the best offensive line coaches of the next generation, you couldn’t ask for anything better.”



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Arkansas

Hoop Hogs analytics update – 11/26

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Hoop Hogs analytics update – 11/26


The No. 19 Arkansas Razorbacks are currently 5-1 on the young season after a 109-35 win over Marland-Eastern Shore on Monday night.

According to KenPom, Arkansas jumped from 40th to 38th following the victory over the Hawks. The Razorbacks efficient defensive night pushed them to sixth in defensive efficiency, up four spots from 10th.

“Defensively, we’re one of the best teams in the country and we want to continue to hand our hats on how we are defensively,” Arkansas associate head coach Chin Coleman said postgame. “And a lot of stuff that we do defensively, it doesn’t matter who we play, because it’s our scheme. It’s our schematics and it works. As long as we’re in the right spots and we’re doing what we teach, it’ll work against anyone.”

The Razorbacks eclipsed the 100-point mark, shot 55.6% from the field and hit three-pointers at a 44.1% clip. As a result, Arkansas’ offensive metrics received a major boost.

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Freshman guard Boogie Fland was awarded team MVP from KenPom after the game. He had an offensive rating of 194.0 and scored 16 points on 3-of-5 shooting which included two makes from deep.



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Johnell Davis, Karter Knox find their grooves in Arkansas basketball’s rout over UMES

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Johnell Davis, Karter Knox find their grooves in Arkansas basketball’s rout over UMES


FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas basketball has been waiting throughout the first few weeks of the regular season for breakout performances from Johnell Davis and Karter Knox

Both players came to life for the Razorbacks (5-1) on Monday night, unleashing an offensive onslaught in a 109-35 romp over Maryland Eastern Shore. The 74-point win tied for the third-largest margin of victory in school history.

The usual suspects — Boogie Fland, Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivišić — all shined, but it was the emergence of Davis and Knox that powered the best offensive performance of the season. Knox led all scorers with a career-high 21 points, while Davis chipped in 16 to post his highest scoring output since joining the Hogs this offseason.

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“If everybody is good, no one has to be great,” Arkansas assistant coach Chin Coleman said after the win.

“So we have a team that we feel like if everybody is good, we don’t have to have someone go in the phone booth, put on the cape and be Superman. We’ve got a good collective of guys that if everybody is good, no one player has to be great, so we need (Davis and Knox) to be good.”

Knox was a five-star recruit in the 2024 class, viewed as an elite scorer who could get to the basket in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, his jumper has been cold to start his collegiate career, and he entered Monday night 1 of 15 on 3-pointers.

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But against UMES, Knox went 3 of 8 from long range. He made a pair of corner 3s and found time to paint the basket for easy points. After one 3-pointer, he exchanged words with the Arkansas bench, a sign of relief after failing to score more than six points through the first five games.

“It felt good to get going. I’ve been putting the work in the gym,” Knox said. “Teammates kept believing in me. They knew it was going to fall, tonight was the night.”

Davis’ early-season struggles have been puzzling. He averaged 18.2 points on 48% shooting last year at Florida Atlantic, but he hadn’t scored more than eight points since the Hogs’ season-opener. Coleman admitted during a recent press conference that Davis is adjusting to being surrounded by other top options, instead of being a clear-cut leader of the offense.

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With Arkansas, Davis has been more of a stretch-the-floor shooter through the first three weeks. It makes sense, given that Davis shot 41.4% from 3 last season with the Owls, and he finally got hot Monday night by going 4 of 7 against the Hawks.

“We saw him the other day make 40 in-a-row. It was just a matter of time,” Coleman said. “The only thing in between him and making shots is air and opportunity. So he had an opportunity tonight, and he made them.”

The next question is how repeatable were these performances. Maryland Eastern Shore represents arguably the worst opponent on Arkansas’ schedule. Things are about to get much tougher, beginning with a Thanksgiving showdown against Illinois.

In their last matchup against a Power Four school, Davis and Knox combined for eight points on 2 of 12 shooting against Baylor. They could hold the keys to a first signature victory in the John Calipari era this Thursday.



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New statewide group promotes, aids prescribed burns | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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New statewide group promotes, aids prescribed burns | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette


The newly formed Arkansas Prescribed Burn Association held its first meeting in mid-October.

The association works as an umbrella organization, recruiting and maintaining new groups of landowners to conduct prescribed burns throughout the state.

“Properly planned prescribed burns reduce the fuel load, which can lessen or even eliminate wildfires,” said Thomas Baldridge, one of the association’s three directors. “But that’s only part of the benefit of prescribed fire. It’s the best tool available to land managers to increase wildlife habitat for turkeys, quail, deer and all sorts of other species.”

North American bird populations have declined by more than 2.9 billion birds in the last 50 years and the loss of grassland habitat is one of the largest contributors to that loss, according to a recent study conducted by Kenneth Rosenberg and highlighted by the National Audubon Society. Fire helps open up dense underbrush to promote seed-producing grasses and plants that are beneficial to grassland species on a year-round basis.

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Instead of manipulating land through dirt work or planting food plots, many landowners can turn the tide on the loss of wildlife habitat with the proper use of prescribed fire.

Baldridge said the formation of the prescribed burn association was a natural evolution to what the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and other partnering organizations had been studying the last few years.

“Game and Fish started building prescribed burn associations a few years ago. Most of our members have been fortunate to have worked with many of the staff from Game and Fish, Quail Forever and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on burns and other private land habitat projects. The prescribed burn association just sort of seemed to be a missing piece to the puzzle that was already being put together,” Baldridge said.

Hunter Johnson of Des Arc and Catrina Mendoza of Searcy share director duties with Baldridge, who also lives in Searcy.

Baldridge said the association used states like Oklahoma and Florida as templates to follow in their formation.

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“Oklahoma really sets the standard for a statewide prescribed burn association. They’ve grown to a massive organization with a budget over $1 million and eight full-time staff members to support all of their chapters.”

Game and Fish, Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Quail Forever all pitched in financially to help the new association build a firm foundation. Game and Fish granted the organization $25,000. Fish and Wildlife gave it $50,000 and Quail Forever provided $17,000 derived from its specialty license plate sales.

Baldridge says trailers, safety gear and other prescribed burn necessities also were donated to the association, increasing its startup assistance to more than $200,000 in funding and equipment. Since the organization is entirely volunteer-based, all of this funding is put directly into putting prescribed fire on the landscape.

Visit www.arfire.org for more information and to learn how to set up a new prescribed burn association in any area of Arkansas.



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