Analysis: 6 questions as Razorbacks open football camp

By: Tom Murphy
Published Friday, August 4, 2023
FAYETTEVILLE — Do the Arkansas Razorbacks have the pieces in place to exceed last season’s 7-6 record and a second consecutive bowl win?
Fourth-year Coach Sam Pittman and his staff will get feedback to help answer that question starting today when the University of Arkansas gets cracking in training camp just past the break of dawn.
The Razorbacks will hold the first of 25 practices of camp today at 6:40 a.m., not long after the sun peeks over the eastern horizon.
Pittman adjusted the practice schedule to keep the team out of the mid-day heat, which is expected to soar past the 100-degree heat index level for several days. And hopefully, if all goes well, the air conditioning in the Walker Pavilion will be online late next week and the Hogs can beat the heat that way as well.
The Razorbacks were picked to finish fifth in the SEC West by members of the media in attendance at SEC media days in Nashville, Tenn., two weeks ago. That’s the same slot the Hogs occupied a year ago with a 3-5 league record, ahead of Auburn (2-6) and Texas A&M (2-6).
Arkansas finished one game behind Ole Miss and Mississippi State, and it’s not hard to imagine a scenario in which the Razorbacks win two more SEC games — take a pick between the razor-thin losses to Texas A&M, LSU and Missouri — and finish just behind division co-champions LSU and Alabama.
That’s the story of life in the country’s most competitive division. Pittman and company are out to find ways to reverse their fortunes in down-to-the-wire games, and a big part of that is converting on short-yardage plays and in the red zone and getting off the field more often on third and fourth downs on defense.
Pittman said the structure of practice in this camp will reflect those areas of need.
“Certainly the emphasis that we’ve had from last year — whether it be third down, whether it be short-yardage, whether it be getting off the field on defense, our goal-line package, our third-play-fourth versus two-play-three — those things are in our practice schedule,” Pittman said in his pre-camp news conference Wednesday.
“We have also done a little bit different with our ball security, period. We’re doing more bubble stuff. We’re doing more half-line pass. We’re doing some things in that part of it, along with fastball starts, trying to get our team a little more physical and try to start that a little earlier in practice.”
The dog days of August will tell a lot about the expected fortunes of the Razorbacks, who face these key questions heading into camp:
1. Can safety play be better?
The losses in the season-opener of Jalen Catalon (for the season) and Myles Slusher, who was in and out of the lineup the rest of the year, were significant for the 2022 defense. Simeon Blair was a veteran starter, but he had his struggles in coverage. All three of those players are now gone through the transfer portal.
So co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson and defensive backs coach Deron Wilson are implementing new schemes in the secondary with a veteran group that includes Hudson Clark, Jayden Johnson, Malik Chavis and transfer Al Walcott, plus a passel of newcomers.
Improvement at this position is a huge key that will determine if the Razorbacks are better on this side of the ball.
2. Will the offensive tackles hold up?
Devon Manuel and Patrick Kutas, a redshirt sophomore and a true sophomore, held these starting positions from about midway through spring. The Hogs’ veteran defensive ends apparently wore out the tackles in the first scrimmage of spring, and there are plenty of other end combinations in the SEC who stack up to Arkansas’ collection.
Additionally, senior Ty’Kieast Crawford, who has yet to secure a starting role, and second-year in-state signees Andrew Chamblee and E’Marion Harris could be in the mix.
“What we’ve got to do, in all honesty, is we’ve got to make sure our tackles are right,” Pittman said. “And I believe in both tackles that we have. I believe in further deep. I believe in Chamblee. I believe in Harris. I believe in Crawford.
“We’ve got to find out who’s going to help us win at tackle. We believe that Kutas is ultra-talented, and Devon Manuel. We’ve got to find that.”
3. Who will catch passes?
The only returning players who caught more than nine passes last season are tailbacks Raheim Sanders (28 receptions, 271 yards, 2 TDs) and Rashod Dubinion (12-108, 1). Among the wideouts, holdovers Bryce Stephens, Isaiah Sategna, Jaedon Wilson and Sam Mbake need to impress early in camp, along with transfers Andrew Armstrong, Isaac TeSlaa and Tyrone Broden. The tight ends should also be big contributors in the pass game.
4. Will there be enough defensive tackle depth?
Arkansas has struggled to go four or five deep at this critical spot for many years. In the lead-up to the Hogs’ 55-53 Liberty Bowl win over Kansas in triple overtime, there were three healthy scholarship defensive tackles.
If Cam Ball, Taurean Carter and Eric Gregory can stay healthy, position coach Deke Adams will be working from a strong starting point. Adding 351-pound Anthony Booker after spring could be important. Senior Marcus Miller has a chance to impact the rotation as well, along with raw true freshman Ian Geffrard, a 394-pounder.
5. How will things play out behind QB1?
North Carolina transfer and Morrillton native Jacolby Criswell and senior Cade Fortin, who also has a starting stint in his background, will battle for the backup role in camp. True freshman Malachi Singleton has strong dual-threat chops.
Pittman said he thinks the position has been fortified if Jefferson needs to sit.
“Who is our backup quarterback?” Pittman responded when asked about the biggest questions in camp. “Will Criswell press KJ? Obviously he has the opportunity to do that. Everybody has the opportunity to press somebody.”
6. What will the tight end room look like?
Since tight ends have traditionally taken on big roles in the Dan Enos offenses, he and new position coach Morgan Turner felt they needed to restock the spot after going through camp with senior Nathan Bax, redshirt freshman Ty Washington, true freshman Luke Hasz, who is projecting as an immediate impact guy, and some non-scholarship players.
The Hogs brought in signee Shamar Easter and transfers Var’keyes Gumms (North Texas) and Francis Sherman (Louisville). So Turner will be working with a combination of solid block-first types and some pass catch specialists. There should be plenty of talent to complement the schemes here.