Connect with us

Arkansas

HawgBeat – What Texas A&M HC Jimbo Fisher said about Arkansas

Published

on

HawgBeat  –  What Texas A&M HC Jimbo Fisher said about Arkansas


NOT A SUBSCRIBER? SIGN UP TODAY FOR ACCESS TO ALL OF HAWGBEAT’S PREMIUM CONTENT AND FEATURES

Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher began his sixth season with the Aggies this year after finishing the 2022 season with a 5-7 overall record and tied for sixth in the SEC West.

After starting the 2023 season off with a 52-10 win over New Mexico and a 48-33 loss to Miami, Texas A&M followed that up with a 47-3 victory against UL-Monroe before beating Auburn 27-10 at Kyle Field over the weekend. Up next, the Aggies have a meeting with Arkansas on Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Advertisement

In a matchup against the Aggies last year, the Razorbacks got out to a quick 14-0 lead before costly turnovers and a late missed field goal by Cam Little resulted in a 23-21 defeat.

Texas A&M quarterback Max Johnson started for the Aggies and completed 11 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown. The backup to begin the 2023 season, Johnson may have another shot to start against the Hogs after Connor Weigman exited the Aggies game against Auburn with an injury.

Here is everything Fisher had to say in his Monday press conference about Arkansas ahead of Saturday’s game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, which is slated to kick off at 11:00 p.m. CT and will be available to watch on SEC Network:

On Arkansas’ offense:

Fisher: “We got to get ready for an Arkansas team that I think is a really excellent team. They’re 2-2, could be 4-0 as quick as they’re 2-2. Offensively, it starts with KJ Jefferson. I mean the guy is — I say he reminds me of Cam Newton. He’s a 6-foot-5, 250-255-pounder or whatever they say. I know he’s a giant. I don’t know what they weigh him at but he’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s throwing the ball excellent. He’s making great decisions, he’s hard to get on the ground. I mean, if you’re a d-lineman he breaks through it. Going to have to make sure you wrap him up when you get pressure.

“Receivers are big, long and athletic. Got really good ball skills. The young tight end is making a lot of plays. The backs are running the ball. I know (Raheim) Sanders isn’t in the game but they’re still moving really well when they’re scoring 36.5 points a game. So you got to be on offense to help your defense. We’re going to have to get off the field and make plays. It’s very challenging in what they’re doing.”

Advertisement

On Arkansas’ defense:

Fisher: “Defensively, the two linebackers — 27 (Chris Paul Jr.) and 28 (Jaheim Thomas) — can run. They make plays, athletic, long. (Trajan) Jeffcoat can run up front. 40, (Landon Jackson) the big defensive end I mean can play up front. (Eric) Gregory the inside guy is physical. (Dwight) McGlothern has been a Preseason All-SEC player. He’s physical, long, athletic at corner. Really makes plays. Safeties are athletic. They have a really good team.”

On former Hog head coach Bobby Petrino coaching against Arkansas as A&M’s offensive coordinator:

Fisher: “Listen, when you win them you feel good. When you lose them, they hurt. I know that sounds cliche, but you can’t get into that part of it man. You coach in this business long, when you get into our age you’re going to cross over somewhere.

“Bobby is doing a great job. Moving the ball around. Getting good balance, good plays. Getting points and we’re doing a good job. He’s doing a really good job.”

On preparing for Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson:

Fisher: “How do you rush him? Which way do you force him? How do you collapse the pocket? Every quarterback has things he does well and things he doesn’t do as well as the others. You’re always trying to force them to do the things they don’t do well whether it’s scrambling to their left or their right. Or sometimes containing the pocket. There’s different ways to affect him, we’re going to have to do all of them.

“There’s going to be times where he’s probably going to break through a few of them. I pray he doesn’t and our spies can get him on the ground.”

Advertisement

On Arkansas-Texas A&M games being close:

Fisher: “I mean you have two teams who are used to playing each other for many, many years. There’s great history, there’s great tradition back to the Southwest Conference days. When you play an opponent consistently over and over and over yearly, it’s like playing your brother in a weird way. You’re going to compete and play hard and it matters.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re supposed to be ranked high and they’re not, it always seems to come back to those — that’s what makes rivalry games and history games so great. The more you play somebody, the more comfortable you are. So, you know how to compete against them. I think that’s what all this is part of.”

**JOIN THE CONVERSATION WITH ARKANSAS FANS ON THE TROUGH, HAWGBEAT’S PREMIUM MESSAGE BOARD**



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Arkansas

DoorDash activates severe weather protocol, suspending service in parts of Arkansas

Published

on

DoorDash activates severe weather protocol, suspending service in parts of Arkansas


LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Due to the ongoing winter storm sweeping through the Natural State, DoorDash has activated its Severe Weather Protocol and temporarily suspended operations in Little Rock and various parts of the Natural State.

According to a release Friday night, the precautionary measure comes as the winter storms deliver hazardous conditions across the city, including heavy snowfall and strong winds.

Cities with suspended operations include Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, Pine Bluff, Jacksonville, Cabot, Searcy, Malvern, Lonoke, Heber Springs, Star City, Clinton, Rison and Sheridan.

“With heavy snowfall and low visibility, the snowstorm is a serious threat to our community, and we’ve taken decisive action by activating our Severe Weather Protocol,” DoorDash spokesperson Julian Crowley said. “We deeply appreciate the patience and understanding of Dashers, merchants and consumers, and will resume operations as soon as it’s safe to do so.”

Advertisement

Officials said they will continue to monitor conditions on the ground and will communicate additional changes to their operations as needed. 



Source link

Continue Reading

Arkansas

Knowing the Florida Gators Opponent: Arkansas Razorbacks

Published

on

Knowing the Florida Gators Opponent: Arkansas Razorbacks


Gainesville, Fla. – The Florida Gators men’s basketball team’s next destination is Fayetteville, Ark., as they’ll take on the Arkansas Razorbacks (11-4, 0-2) on Saturday for their third SEC matchup of the season. 

Florida is currently sitting at 14-1 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. They opened their SEC slate with a nail-biting loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, losing 106-100 in Lexington. 

However, the Gators were able to avenge this loss with one of the most dominant wins in men’s basketball history on Tuesday over No. 1 Tennessee. They trounced the Volunteers 73-43 in the O’Dome, marking the Gators’ first regular-season win over an AP No. 1-ranked team in program history and the biggest win over a No. 1-ranked team in the NCAA since 1968. 

But enough about what Florida has done this season, let’s shift the focus to their opponents, the Razorbacks, and see who they are. 

Advertisement

Arkansas’ season started out nice with a win over Lipscomb. However, it wouldn’t be the same for them in their second game of the season against then-ranked No. 8 Baylor, as they found themselves on the losing end of a tightly contested battle. 

Then, following a good stretch for the team in red, they were tasked with the current No. 13 in the AP Poll, Illinois, and things wouldn’t go so well for new Razorbacks head coach John Calipari. His team was outclassed in this game 90-77, which ended their winning streak at four. 

Arkansas did make amends with their fans a few games later, though. While participating in the Jimmy V Classic, they matched up with then-ranked No. 14 Michigan, who they narrowed past 89-87. 

This win over the Wolverines helped maintain a three-game win streak that would eventually turn into a six-game streak. However, since SEC play started for the Razorbacks, they are 0-2 with losses to Tennessee and Ole Miss, who are currently ranked in the Top 25 AP Poll. 

These pair of losses put Arkansas at just a 1-4 record against teams on their schedule to have been ranked or that are currently ranked.

Advertisement

While it was a complete roster overhaul for Calipari and the Razorbacks this offseason that was fueled by the transfer portal, their biggest grab has been from the high school ranks. 

They added highly ranked players like Johnell Davis, Adou Thiero and Jonas Aidoo all from the portal, but it’s former five-star guard Boogie Fland who’s been arguably the best player for the Razorbacks this season. 

Fland is averaging 15.5 points, 5.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game through 15 games this season. He is also connecting on 35.7 percent of his threes, which shows he’s more than just an inside scorer. Additionally, his 5.9 assists rank 24th among his competitors. 

But in these first two SEC games, Fland is just 10-for-35 from the field and 3-for-17 from deep. 

If the Gators can’t keep him in check like he’s been over these last two, then it might be a long afternoon for the visitors on Saturday. 

Advertisement

Despite bringing in tons of talent that should’ve resulted in a great offense, Arkansas has been anything but that. 

They currently rank inside the bottom five teams in the SEC in scoring offense, averaging 79.4 points per game. They do have two players scoring at least 15.0 points per game, but that’s pretty much it. Outside of Thiero (16.9) and Fland, they only have one other player in double figures (DJ Wagner, 10.5). 

Moreover, if this becomes a free-throw-dominated affair, the Gators shouldn’t be too worried about the Razorbacks’ performance at the line. They are shooting 71.1 percent from the charity stripe, which is good for 12th in the league. 

And, lastly, they have little to no presence on the glass. They are the worst team in the SEC in offensive rebounding, and they are 13th out of 16 teams in overall rebounding. These are two areas where the Gators dominate, and if things play out like they have been this season, then the visitors should outmuscle their counterparts. 

This game will be televised on Saturday at 4 pm on ESPN. 

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Arkansas

Viewer pictures: The Natural State transforms into a winter wonderland

Published

on

Viewer pictures: The Natural State transforms into a winter wonderland


LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A winter storm rolled into Arkansas Thursday and brought with it snow to the majority of western and central Arkansas.

Many from around the Natural State sent in pictures of their area covered in snow.

Though Arkansas is already full of natural beauty, there’s something about the state covered in snow that makes it even more of a winter wonderland.

Several kids from around the state got out and took advantage of the day off of school by throwing snowballs, digging up the snow, sledding and of course making snow angels.

Many who got out in the snow had enough accumulated to make snow men.

Share your snow day pictures at KARK.com/winter-pics.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending