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Red Wolves hope to keep improving | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

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Red Wolves hope to keep improving | Arkansas Democrat Gazette


There is a quiet confidence surrounding the Arkansas State University football program as it prepares to embark on the 2024 season.

Coach Butch Jones, quarterback Jaylen Raynor and linebacker Charles Willekes were in New Orleans on Wednesday representing Arkansas State at the 2024 Sun Belt media days and talked about the upcoming season.

“We probably have the most competitive roster we’ve had to date,” Jones said during his news conference on Wednesday. “We’re still not completely balanced at all nine position groups, but we continue to make great improvements in the nine position areas. Our leadership is much more distributed.”

Coming off a 6-6 record in the 2023 season that saw the Red Wolves make their first bowl game appearance (Camellia Bowl) since 2019, the team enters Year 4 of the Butch Jones era with eight returning starters earning preseason All-Sun Belt honors. Fifteen starters overall are expected to return to the lineup, including four of the five members of the offensive line.

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Offensive linemen Makilan Thomas and Jacob Bayer were both placed on the first-team, along with defensive lineman Nate Martey. Raynor, Willekes, running back Ja’Quez Cross and wide receivers Corey Rucker and Courtney Jackson were all named to the second-team.

Arkansas State was selected to finish fourth in the Sun Belt West Division in the preseason coaches poll, but the team is confident it can exceed those expectations with the wealth of talent returning, combined with a highly touted recruiting class.

Raynor had a breakout year in 2023 as a true freshman, throwing for 2,543 yards and 17 touchdowns compared to 7 interceptions. Raynor made his debut against Stony Brook in the fourth game last season and became the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Arkansas State since 2001 the next week against Southern Miss.

He went 11 of 21 passing with 3 touchdowns and an interception while rushing for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns on 17 attempts in his first start. The next week at UMass, Raynor tied the program record with six passing touchdowns.

“Looking back on last year, seeing all the things I can fix and how much better I can be, it gets me so excited,” Raynor said. “Just being able to put the ball in play, take what the defense gives me, not always trying to take the top off the defense … just get the playmakers the ball, take the stress off my O-line to give them confidence and really just score some touchdowns.”

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While optimism is high, the Red Wolves will be up against a difficult schedule as they try to follow up on and continue their improvement in the 2023 season. Outside of the challenge of Sun Belt Conference play, Arkansas State will travel to take on the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines on Sept. 14.

“You can’t put too much emphasis on any individual game,” said Willekes, who started his career at Michigan State and made his college debut on special teams against Michigan in 2019. “As Coach Jones said, I’m also from Michigan, so that’ll be a cool experience, but you can’t take anything other than just the individual game week-to-week.”

One week later, the team will take on another Power 4 opponent on the road in Iowa State.

“If you look at our entire schedule, it’s a great challenge,” Jones said. “You are a byproduct of your experiences. That’s what makes you who you are. We have to be able to take the three years of what we’ve experienced and (figure out) how can we apply it moving forward into this season and learn from it.”

One of those experiences was the 73-0 loss Arkansas State suffered at Oklahoma in the first contest of the 2023 season. Jones believes the humiliation of that loss was a learning experience and will be motivation for his players to perform better against the stiff competition his Red Wolves will be up against this upcoming season.

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“I knew going into the season last year that the University of Oklahoma was going to be an extremely talented football team,” Jones said. “We experienced after the first game that they were a really good football team, and to be honest with you, these (players) will tell you we got embarrassed. As the season progressed, you could see our culture get stronger and stronger.”

Practices begin for Arkansas State on July 31 with several intrasquad scrimmages expected to be included in the lead up to regular season. The Red Wolves open the season on Aug. 31 when they welcome in-state rival Central Arkansas, which is ranked 11th nationally in the Hero Sports FCS Preseason Top 25, to Jonesboro.

“Last year our players were finally able to experience and finally able to really understand and feel what winning football looks like,” Jones said. “We still have 42 newcomers under scholarship so you can’t assume anything.

“For our entire team the message has been this: Even with our youthfulness, we just can’t be a year older, we have to be a year better as we continue to build this program.”

    Jaylen Raynor
 
 
  photo  Charles Willekes
 
 



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Arkansas

Arkansas' official depth chart for Missouri game

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Arkansas' official depth chart for Missouri game


FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks (6-4, 3-4 SEC) have released the depth chart for Saturday’s regular season finale against the No. 24 Missouri Tigers (8-3, 4-3 SEC) at Razorback Stadium.

Arkansas recovered from a slow start to take down Louisiana Tech, 35-14, over the weekend in Fayetteville. Missouri bounced back from a loss to South Carolina on Sept. 16 with a 39-20 win at Mississippi State on Saturday.

A few changes were made to this week’s depth chart, most notably the absence of junior defensive end Nico Davillier at the defensive end position. The pass-rusher did not play against Louisiana Tech on Saturday due to a knee injury, and senior Anton Juncaj is the lone listed starter in Davillier’s place. Backing up Juncaj is freshman Charlie Collins.

At safety, sophomore TJ Metcalf and junior Miguel Mitchell no longer have an “or” listed between them. Metcalf is the starter with Mitchell backing him up. Finally, redshirt sophomore Brooks Edmonson is listed as the backup center behind Addison Nichols instead of redshirt sophomore Amaury Wiggins, who is no longer listed on the depth chart.

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Here is the full Arkansas depth chart ahead of Saturday’s game against Missouri, which is set to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network at Memorial Stadium.



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Higginbottom key in win vs. old team | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

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Higginbottom key in win vs. old team | Arkansas Democrat Gazette


FAYETTEVILLE — Izzy Higginbottom sent a text message to her teammates on the University of Arkansas women’s basketball team Saturday night.

The note contained a list of things she felt the team needed to work on from its 94-71 loss Thursday night to Oral Roberts. First on the list was better energy.

Her message resonated.

Higginbottom played with passion and excelled against her former team as Arkansas found its defense in the second half to defeat Arkansas State 76-60 on Sunday afternoon at Walton Arena.

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“I personally knew how much this game meant to her,” Arkansas forward Jenna Lawrence said of Higginbottom. “Obviously, you want to beat the team that you’ve recently been on, so I just think she was really amped up — the most amped I’ve seen her for a game.

“I’m just really proud of how she performed and how she was a leader on and off the court.”

Higginbottom, a 5-7 transfer guard who played two seasons with the Red Wolves, filled the stat sheet with 15 points, a career-high 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

“When the other team shoots threes, they become speed rebounds,” Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said. “I thought she dug a bunch of those out, and then that got us going on transition, too. She was out in front of the break leading it, getting to the foul line and created a couple of good catch and shoot looks for (teammates).”

The Razorbacks (4-3) snapped a two-game losing streak and won their second game against an in-state opponent this year. Arkansas won 71-60 in overtime at Arkansas-Little Rock on Nov. 11.

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“It stinks to lose any day,” Neighbors said, “but especially if you get on a little bit of a streak, it’s easy to get (down). So, I thought it was important for us to stay above .500. You feel different when you win. I don’t know if we played any better yet. I’ll have to go home and watch, but I think we did.”

After giving up 38 points before halftime, the Razorbacks held the Red Wolves to 22 points on 8-of-36 (22%) shooting in the second half.

Arkansas State (2-3) went seven-plus minutes without a field goal between the third and fourth quarters. That stretch proved decisive as a 38-35 halftime deficit for Arkansas turned into a double-digit lead for most of the final quarter.

“We started getting all the 50-50 balls,” Neighbors said. “Before that, it was about (half). I think it was like 90-10 in that third quarter. The effort was much better. I thought our focus was a lot better.”

Arkansas State entered on a two-game win streak, which included a 100-96 victory at Arizona State. The Red Wolves fell to 3-9 all-time against the Razorbacks, last winning in the 2005 Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

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A fast-paced, back-and-forth first quarter saw two lead changes and runs of 6-0 and 5-0 that helped Arkansas State take a 23-19 lead into the second quarter. The Razorbacks committed six turnovers in the period that resulted in 10 points for the Red Wolves.

Arkansas took a 33-27 with 3:32 remaining in the first half before Arkansas State closed with an 11-2 run. Kennedie Montue beat the shot clock with a three-pointer to give Arkansas State a 38-35 lead just before halftime.

Fatigue appeared to play a factor in the first half, in which Arkansas was outscored 26-2 in bench points. Arkansas State Coach Destinee Rogers made mass substitutions throughout the game and had 10 players log minutes.

Arkansas forward Vera Ojenuwa, who put up a double-double with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, scored 12 points before halftime.

The Razorbacks took a 39-38 lead early in the third quarter on a jumper by Kiki Smith, who finished with 15 points. The teams went back and forth for a while before Lawrence connected on her first three-pointer of the game to put Arkansas up for good at 46-43 with 4:01 remaining in the third. Lawrence finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.

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Arkansas State ran a full-court press for most of the game and Arkansas fared better against it as time went on. The Razorbacks found Ojenuwa alone under the basket on multiple press breaks.

“For two days straight, we worked on just breaking their press and making sure we see Vera wide open,” Lawrence said. “Because the way their press was, they put all of their players in front and left Vera wide open in the back.”

As the Razorbacks built their double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, Higginbottom drove past defenders for three fast-break layups.

Arkansas finished the game on a 12-4 run, including six unanswered, to close the door.

The Razorbacks shot 30 of 67 (45%), including 7 of 27 (26%) from three-point range, and 9 of 12 (75%) from the free-throw line.

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Arkansas State went 23 of 74 (31%), 9 of 35 (26%) and 5 of 7 (71%) in those categories, respectively.

Anna Griffin led the Red Wolves with 16 points and 8 rebounds, followed by Montue, who made 3 three-pointers and scored 13 points. Both Griffin and Montue played off the bench, while Wynter Rogers was Arkansas State’s highest-scoring starter with 8 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Arkansas State’s starters outside of Rogers — Crislyn Rose, Zyion Shannon, Kyanna Morgan and Shaunae Brown — combined to go 4 of 36 from the field and scored eight points. Bella Weary and Mimi McCollister provided 7 and 6 points, respectively, off the bench for the Red Wolves.

Arkansas won the rebound battle 48-42 and had a season-high 16 assists.

Six Razorbacks scored at least eight points: Ojenuwa (20), Higginbottom (15), Smith (15), Lawrence (8), Carly Keats (8) and Danika Galea (8). Karley Johnson and Lawrence led the Razorbacks with three steals apiece.

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Hogs Add Another Major Playmaker to Talented 2026 Class

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Hogs Add Another Major Playmaker to Talented 2026 Class


FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Razorbacks received good news on the recruiting front with the addition of four-star wide receiver Dequane Prevo, he announced Sunday night on Instagram.

The 5-foot-10, 160 pound speedster committed to Arkansas over offers from Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Oregon and many others. Prevo is the No. 292 ranked prospect in the class of 2026, No. 47 receiver and No. 40 player in the state of Texas.

He ran a 22-second 200-meter dash as a freshman at the football factory known as Liberty-Euylau in Texarkana, Texas. Prevo has shown to be a playmaker at wideout catching 62 passes for 1,355 yards and 20 touchdown receptions.

Arkansas’ current 2026 class is off to an exceptional start ranked in the top ten nationally with four 4-star prospects headlined by Durant, Oklahoma defensive end Colton Yarbrough. 4-star passer Jayvon Gilmore, 4-star safety Adam Auston and 4-star safety and two-time MaxPreps all-American Tay Lockett are also notable commitments for the cycle.

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With the addition of Prevo, Arkansas’ 2026 class keeps the Razorbacks firmly in the top 10 of 247sports composite recruiting rankings for next year’s cycle. The Hogs’ 2023 class soared as high as No. 3 early on during the 2023 class but after a few evaluation periods its class ended up a respectable No. 22 including a No. 11 ranked transfer portal haul.

• Razorbacks avoid third straight loss, beat Arkansas State

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• Calipari’s success best highlighted when compared to Arkansas

• Fans thought this coach was next in line for Arkansas job

• Special teams, turnovers kept Hogs’ game interesting

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