Arkansas football spring game to be aired on ESPN+

Only Alabama and Texas received traditional TV broadcasting of their games this spring.

Spring football games have lost a bit of luster over the course of the last decade, going from must-see spectacles, to moderately-attended vanilla scrimmages.

Still, it being football in America, many teams’ spring games can be seen on television and/or streaming. That’s the case with Arkansas’, too, as the Razorbacks will play April 13 at noon on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.

Arkansas will be going up against Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee all in the same time slot on the same day. An hour after those teams begin, LSU will get underway and two hours after that, Alabama and Ole Miss.

Alabama and Texas are the only teams that will see their spring games aired on traditional television. The Crimson Tide’s game will air on ESPN and Texas will go on Longhorn Network on April 20 at 1 p.m. Auburn and Vanderbilt will have spring all-access shows instead of spring game telecasts.

Missouri is the odd SEC team out this year. The Tigers’ spring game is scheduled for March 16.

Arkansas spring football projected depth chart: Wide Recievers

Our spring positional preview for the Arkansas football team continues today with a look at the Razorbacks wide receivers. Everyone – literally – who made a grab for the Hogs last year is back. That should be a good thing, even if Arkansas’ passing …

Our spring positional preview for the Arkansas football team continues today with a look at the Razorbacks wide receivers.

Everyone – literally – who made a grab for the Hogs last year is back. That should be a good thing, even if Arkansas’ passing game struggled. Consistency will go a long way in making the unit better.

It wasn’t as though they were terrible as a group last year. When quarterback KJ Jefferson had time to throw, they made plays, generally. Of course, part of the reason Jefferson took as many sacks as he did was his receivers’ inability to get open often enough, too.

But now that Andrew Armstrong and Isaac TeSlaa have a taste of FBS football and Isaiah Sategna and Tyrone Broden are a year into their Arkansas careers, too, there’s no reason to think of the wide receiving corps as a weakness.

New offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino has no qualms about heaving the football, so regardless of who wins Arkansas’ quarterback job, expect the wideouts’ numbers to go increase.

Here’s a look at how we have the wide receivers stacked heading into the spring.

  • View quarterback preview here
  • View running back preview here

Report: Arkansas to hire Petrino disciple Kolby Smith as new RB coach

Arkansas’ coaching staff appears to be shaping up very Petrino-like.

According to a report from 247Sports’ Brandon Marcello, Arkansas has already found its new running backs coach.

Kolby Smith, 39, who has spent the last four years with the Miami Dolphins and who played for Petrino at running back at Louisville, is reportedly set to take over for Jimmy Smith. Jimmy Smith resigned earlier in the week, reportedly to take the same job at Texas Christian where former Arkansas offensive coordinator Kendal Briles runs the Horned Frogs offense.

Kolby Smith isn’t unfamiliar with Fayetteville. He worked as a grauate assistant at Arkansas in 2012 before leaving to work with Petrino at Western Kentucky until 2018. From there, he spent one season as the running backs coach at Rutgers before making his way to the NFL.

Arkansas’ running back room has a lot of bodies, but not a lot of recent production. Rashod Dubinion and Dominique Johnson both return from last year’s roster, but they combined to rush for just 427 yards. The Hogs brought in Utah transfer Ja’Quinden Jackson from Utah and he is expected to be the primary back.

Kolby Smith played three seasons in the NFL, mostly on practice squads, after being taken in the fifth round of the 2007 draft.

With spring football just starting, Arkansas looks to replace RB coach

After four years at Arkansas, running backs coach Jimmy Smith has decided to take TCU job.

Just two days into spring football practice and there is already more turnover on the Arkansas coaching staff.

Jimmy Smith, who has coached the Razorbacks’ running backs since Head Coach Sam Pittman hired him in 2020, has announced that he is leaving for the same position at TCU.

With the obvious connected between Smith and former Arkansas offensive coordinator Kendall Briles, who departed Fayetteville to fill the Horned Frogs’ OC position before last season, the move is understandable.

The loss of Smith is a setback for a Razorbacks program that went just 4-8 last season. But, expectation for an improved offense are rising heading into the 2024 season, as former head coach Bobby Petrino returned to Fayetteville as the offensive coordinator, and hand-picked 6-foot-6 Boise State transfer quarterback Taylen Green out of the portal.

But the value of Smith will be tough to replace, especially with his close ties to Georgia, where the Razorbacks have found success in recruiting the past four years. He is credited with bringing in the Hogs’ likely starting tailback, Rashod Dubinion, a 4-Star recruit out of Ellenwood (Ga.) Cedar Grove High School.

Smith also helped land two more 4-Star tailbacks, in redshirt-freshman Florida-native Isaiah Augustave, as well as the recently departed A.J. Green, out of Oklahoma. He was also key in helping develop former Razorback Raheem “Rocket” Sanders into one of the SEC’s top ball-carriers.

Pittman gave Smith his first Power 5 job, after he served one season as the running backs coach at Georgia State. He had previously been the head coach at Cedar Grove High School.

Arkansas will begin an immediate search for Smith’s replacement.

Is good or bad that Arkansas has more questions than answers this spring?

Quarterback. Running back. Offensive line. Linebacker. Kicker. But we think, considering last year’s 4-8, questions are a good thing this spring.

With spring practices now underway as of Thursday for the Arkansas football team, the buzz surrounding the Razorbacks is tamer than most years.

Part of the reason is because Arkansas is coming off its worst season since the Chad Morris era. Part of it is because Arkansas has had only one high-quality season in the last decade-ish. And part of it is that it’s just early March and sports fans are prone to taking off this time of year if their basketball team isn’t NCAA Tournament bound.

The reality is Arkansas is loaded with questions, not answers, heading into Sam Pittman’s fifth year at the helm. From our perspective, though, that’s a good thing. Any team that went four games below .500 the previous year and feels like they have things figured out in March is probably going to go four games under .500 again in the fall.

Only a handful of the questions will be answered in the spring, too. Coach Sam Pittman said he wants to know his starting quarterback before summer break. Taylen Green, a transfer from Boise State, is the leading candidate, but Natural State natives wouldn’t mind seeing Jacolby Criswell in the role, either. Redshirt freshman Malachi Singleton ran the second-team offense in the team’s first practice Thursday, though.

Running back has issues, too. Rashod Dubinion is back, though, his freshman season two years ago showed more potential than the struggle last year. How much of that struggle was because of the offensive line, a line, by the way, injecting three new starters? R-Dub, as Pittman calls him, will have to hold off four-star freshman Braylen Russell and Utah transfer Ja’Quinden Jackson, whose numbers with the Utes last year were superior. After going without a true No. 1 back last year because of Rocket Sanders’ injuries and ineffectiveness, Pittman said he would prefer a primary ball-carrier in 2024.

None of this is counting a linebacker corps that is completely rebuilt after losing the top four players from last year or that offensive line that struggled so mightly in 2023.

But the fact that so many questions abound is probably a good things for a team had the season it did last year. Whether things change this year is a matter of whether those questions get answered.

Such answers started Thursday.

Taylen Green begins as Arkansas starting quarterback at first spring practice

Green is the front-runner for the gig, though Jacolby Criswell has a legit shot, as well.

KJ Jefferson had been a staple on the Arkansas football team for the last five years. His transfer left the Razorbacks with the biggest hole they have, arguably, ever had the position.

On Thursday, at Arkansas’ first spring practice without Jefferson since the Chad Morris era, Taylen Green took first-team reps. The Boise State transfer is one of four players vying for the starting gig this spring and the one with the most experience.

Green threw for more than 1,752 yards mostly as a starter for the Broncos last year, though he played off the bench during a stretch in the middle of the season. His 11 passing touchdowns led the team, but he also threw nine interceptions.

His biggest competition for the job at Arkansas is Jacolby Criswell, a Morrilton High grad. Criswell transferred from North Carolina the season before last and spent the 2023 campaign as Jefferson’s back-up.

Freshman KJ Jackson and redshirt freshman Malachi Jackson are also in the mix, though Jackson is largely expected to redshirt.

Whoever wins the job will have a bevy of options to whom he can throw. All of Arkansas’ top six receivers from last year returned. Jefferson, who left as Arkansas’ all-time leading passer, threw for more than 2,100 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions last year. He transferred to Central Florida over the winter.

The Razorbacks will continue spring practices during the first week on Friday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Despite injuries, former Razorback Ragnow squashes retirement talk

Former Arkansas lineman Frank Ragnow helped lead Detroit to its best season in nearly half a century.

When it comes to toughness, there is no better example on a football field than former Arkansas offensive lineman Frank Ragnow.

Since being a first-round pick of Detroit in the 2018 NFL Draft – going 20th overall – the 6-foot-5, 311-pound All-Pro, has not only become the cornerstone of the Lions’ offensive line, but arguably the best center in professional football.

Unfortunately, Ragnow is also no stranger to the injury report. A still lingering turf toe injury sustained in 2021, limited him to just four games that year. Just this past season, alone, he made a number of appearances on the injured list with knee, ankle, back, and toe ailments. That also included painful knee and ankle sprains he endured during a 31-23 playoff victory over Tampa Bay on Jan. 21.

Despite suffering from an array of injuries the following week, Ragnow was a full-participant at practice and played all 72 offensive snaps in a season-ending loss to San Francisco in the NFC Championship game. But following the game, the banged-up Ragnow seemed to contemplate retiring from the game, saying he was going to “take a look at my body and my MRIs and figure everything out.”

Although he didn’t specifically say that he was pondering retirement, he did reference the physical and mental toll the game has taken on him. There was also growing speculation around the Lions that Ragnow could call it quits.

“It takes a toll on you,” he told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “It really takes a toll on you, so I need to find a way to get back to Frank, and I don’t regret any of this at all. But it weighs on you and I’m just going to take some time and really figure everything out to make sure that I’m feeling good. Not only for me, the football player, but for me to be the best husband and best father and everything with that as well.”

But the Lions were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief at the NFL Honors event on Feb. 8, when Ragnow was all smiles as he announced that he had figured it out, and would return for the 2024 season.

“I’m not retiring,” he said. “I just need a few weeks to get healthy.”

Ragnow has long earned the respect of his teammates and bosses, as they recognize the toll the injuries have taken on him and the physical pain he has been put through.

“I have so much respect for him and for everything that he goes through and fights through, that I’m just respectful of his time and his thoughts,” Detroit General Manager Brad Holmes said after the season. “We’re not going to pressure him to do anything or make any moves.”

Even in an injury-plagued 2023, Ragnow was still good enough to earn second-team All-Pro honors and be selected to the Pro Bowl.

The 27-year-old Ragnow is still under contract for the next three years. so his future appears to remain bright with the Lions, who just completed their best season since 1957’s NFL Championship campaign.

The Minnesota native arrived in Fayetteville as a 4-Star prospects in 2014 and quickly made his presence felt, being named to the SEC’s All-Freshman Team. As a junior he was named First-Team All-American by Pro Football Focus, who also rated him the nation’s top-graded center, as both a junior and senior.

Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow (77) on the sidelines during action against the Atlanta Falcons at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023.

Razorback football sets dates for spring practice, Homecoming

Razorbacks football program announces key dates for the spring and fall.

The Arkansas football team will kick off spring practices on March 7, and are slated to hold the annual Red-White spring game on April 13, the program announced Wednesday.

The Razorbacks will hold the NCAA-allowed 12 practices leading up to the spring finale inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. That weekend will also serve as a memorial for legendary Arkansas athletic trainer Dean Weber, who passed away on Feb. 13.

The A Club will hold its annual spring reunion the day of the Red-White game, which is held to welcome back all former Razorback student-athletes. Following the game, Weber’s celebration of life will take place inside Bud Walton Arena at 4 p.m. For more information on the A Club or the reunion, contact the Razorback Foundation at (479) 443-9000.

With Head Coach Sam Pittman entering his fifth year at the helm, the Razorbacks will open up the regular season against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Little Rock on Aug. 31. The Fayetteville home-opener will be held on Sept. 14, as Alabama-Birmingham comes to town. The UAB game will also serve as part of the University’s Family Weekend, when this year’s U of A Hall of Honor inductees will also be recognized.

More details about Family Weekend will be updated at family.uark.edu as they are made available.

The Hogs will host LSU for Homecoming on Oct. 19, which will be the earliest the two schools have ever played inside the state of Arkansas. The Arkansas Alumni Association will host a number of Homecoming activities throughout the week, leading up to Saturday’s game. Additional details will be available at homecoming.uark.edu.

Arkansas will honor the United States Armed Services during the home finale on Nov. 23, against Louisiana Tech. It will also be Senior Day to honor the senior class of Hogs.

Former Arkansas QB Allen could be 49ers’ primary backup next season

With eight years of NFL experience, former Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen could ascend to QB2 in San Francisco next season.

After going to his second Super Bowl in three year, there is a chance former Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen could be San Francisco’s primary back-up quarterback next season, according to ProFootballRumors.com.

The 31-year-old Allen was the 49ers’ third-string emergency quarterback for the recent Super Bowl LVIII, sitting behind starter Brock Purdy and backup Sam Darnold. He is just two years removed from being Joe Burrow‘s primary backup for Cincinnati in Super Bowl LVI. Unfortunately, his teams came up short in both games.

But, the way things may likely shake down in the offseason, Allen could spend his ninth season in the NFL as San Francisco’s QB2.

With the rash of injuries to quarterbacks this past season, it could play into Allen’s favor. Seven of the league’s starting quarterbacks − nearly a quarter of them − were sidelined with season-ending injuries.

It is expected that teams will now put more of an emphasis on backup duties in free agency. With Darnold, the No. 3 overall pick in 2018, being one of the league’s top backups, his price tag may be too much for the 49ers to bear moving forward.

The Athletic’s Matt Barrows said the team views Allen as a “strong candidate” to be Purdy’s primary backup next season. The 49ers made it a priority to acquire Allen after the 2023 draft, even before trading away former first-round pick Trey Lance. With his experience level, Allen is currently signed to the veteran-minimum, $1.23M per season.

Darnold signed a $4.5M deal with the Niners last March, but will likely command more than that in 2024. Now with a year of experience in Head Coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense, Allen should have a chance to ascend.

After being drafted by Jacksonville in the sixth round – 201st overall – in the 2016 NFL Draft, Allen spend his first three seasons with the Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams, but did not see the field. After signing with the Broncos in 2019, he got his first three starts. He then spent three season’s as Joe Burrow’s back-up in Cincinnati, where he got six more starts while Burrow was injured.

The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Allen has a 2-7 career record as a starter, while throwing for 1,611 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the final regular-season game of 2020, he passed for 371 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-31 victory over Houston.

Coming out of Fayetteville High School in 2011, Rivals rated Allen as the No. 5 pro-style quarterback in the nation. Following a slow start as a freshman at Arkansas, he became a major component in turning around the dismal Razorback program, becoming the first quarterback to lead the Hogs to back-to-back bowl wins in consecutive seasons.

With eight professional seasons now under his belt, Allen is the second-longest tenured Razorback signal-caller to play in the NFL. Only Joe Ferguson’s 17-year career, which spanned four franchises from 1973-90, tops Allen’s.

In 38 collegiate starts, Allen ended his career with 7,463 yards passing, which now ranks fourth in program history, while also finishing second in career pass completions (583), second in attempts (1,016) and third in completion percentage (57.4).

Sam Pittman lands a commitment from in-state linebacker

Arkansas’ depth at linebacker grew with the commitment of Preston Davis on Saturday.

One of the thinnest groups on the Arkansas football roster heading into the 2024 season is linebacker. With Saturday’s addition, another body has been added to the room.

Little Rock Christian linebacker Preston Davis committed to the Razorbacks as a preferred walk-on over the weekend. He chose Arkansas as a walk-on over scholarship offers at places like Central Arkansas, Harding, Pittsburg State and others.

Davis said he picked the Razorbacks after developing relationships with defensive coaches Travis Williams and Marcus Woodson, especially, he told WholeHogSports.

“Coach (Williams) is a very enthusiastic and energetic guy, which is what you need for football, and he’s very unashamed about his faith in Jesus and the importance … to him, which is very important to me as well.”

A 5-foot-11, 210-pound linebacker, Davis had 132 tackles, including six for-loss with two sacks and a forced fumble last year. For his career, he will leave Little Rock Christian with more than 400 tackles

Arkansas lost its four primary linebacker – Chris Paul Jr., Antonio Grier, Jordan Crook and Jaheim Thomas – from last season either to exhausted eligibility or the transfer portal.