Tag: Hayden Henry

Arkansas’ linebacker depth has lacked for a long time, but Pooh changes things

Arkansas linebacker Christopher “Pooh” Paul is unlike anyone that Hogs have had at the spot in 10 years.

Christopher Paul. Chris Paul. Pooh Paul.

The Arkansas redshirt freshman linebacker may finally be the player the Razorbacks have sought for the last 10 years. He’s so new to the lineup, it’s unclear what he’ll be known as going forward.

And, yes, it’s been that long since Arkansas has had three linebackers who were all in the top five on the team in tackles outside of last year’s magical season of Grant Morgan, Bumper Pool and Hayden Henry. And that only happened because of the extra year of COVID-19 eligibility.

Arkansas has had excellent duos practically every year since. Montrell Speight. Brooks Ellis. Dre Greenlaw. De’Jon Harris. Morgan. Henry. Pool. One always played with the other.

Now, even, it’s Pool and Alabama transfer Drew Sanders. Pool’s eligibility is exhausted after this season. But Sanders has more time and Paul is in only three games into his four year-career on the field. So far, so good, especially last week.

“He got more reps this week than he did the previous week,” coach Sam Pittman. “He’s a good player. Physical guy. He’s playing mistake-free football.”

That’s all Arkansas needs right now. Anything above and beyond mistake-free football, allows the Hogs to give opponents different looks. Arkansas has played several years now almost exclusively with five defensive backs and often with six. Part of that is the nature of the game. But more of it was because of a lack of depth. Paul’s growth – he has 10 tackles in two games, tied for fourth on the team.

“When he gets a lot of his reps is when we’re in the three-linebacker look when Drew’s on the field as a rush, jack, buck, whatever you want to call it. We’re getting more comfortable in that set because of the play of Pooh.”

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Bumper Pool listed on Butkus Award Watchlist

Pool is listed among the nation’s top linebackers heading into the 2022 season.

One of Arkansas’ most impactful returning starters on defense is listed as one of the top linebackers in the country.

Monday, it was announced that senior linebacker [autotag]Bumper Pool[/autotag], along with 49 other linebackers across the country, had been named to the Butkus Award preseason watchlist, an award given annually to the nation’s best linebacker.

Pool led the team in tackles last season with 125, with 7.5 of those being for loss. In four seasons at Arkansas, Pool has made 349 stops with 23 tackles for loss in 44 total games. He is set to play his fifth season of college football in 2022, using his extra season of eligibility granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Pool will also be the only returning starting linebacker from last season following the departure of [autotag]Grant Morgan[/autotag] and [autotag]Hayden Henry[/autotag]. Arkansas added help from the transfer portal in [autotag]Drew Sanders[/autotag], who should compliment Pool on Arkansas’ defense.

Pool and the Arkansas Razorbacks are set to open the season on Sept. 3 against Cincinnati at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

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How is Arkansas Football replacing their biggest losses from last season?

Arkansas football has high expectations for 2022, but what area will they need to address the most heading into the season?

Arkansas Football is one of the teams that everyone is looking forward to watching in 2022. There is plenty of excitement surrounding the return of KJ Jefferson at the quarterback position, as well as the stable of running backs and the potential of the transfer wide receivers such as [autotag]Jadon Haselwood[/autotag].

But, that seems to be where the focus is, on offense. How does Arkansas look defensively heading into the new season? That seems to be a burning question.

Tom VanHaaren of ESPN wrote a piece called “How college football’s way-too-early top 25 teams are replacing their biggest losses“, with Arkansas’ defense being the biggest question.

Arkansas, which ranks No. 20 in the way-too-early top 25 from ESPN, will be looking to replace eight key defenders including [autotag]Grant Morgan[/autotag], [autotag]Hayden Henry[/autotag], and [autotag]Tre Williams,[/autotag] as well as Joe Foucha and Greg Brooks Jr. who left Arkansas for LSU via the transfer portal.

Despite the losses, Arkansas reloaded by bringing in talent from the transfer portal, and that is where they can begin filling holes says VanHaaren.

On the defensive line, the Arkansas coaches signed LSU defensive end transfer [autotag]Landon Jackson[/autotag], who was the No. 78 prospect in the 2021 class. Georgia Tech transfer [autotag]Jordan Domineck[/autotag] will also help Jackson in the pass rush. In the secondary, the staff landed LSU corner transfer [autotag]Dwight McGlothern[/autotag] and Georgia safety [autotag]Latavious Brini[/autotag].

The Razorbacks also have to replace three members of the backfield, but have players to step up, such as Simeon Blair, Jalen Catalon, and Keuan Parker, who all have playing experience.

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Predicting Arkansas’ All-SEC players: Nine Hogs should make cut

Arkansas should land nine players on the All-SEC teams this year. And KJ Jefferson better be one of them.

Arkansas’ best regular season in a decade has come to a close. And while the rest of the SEC finishes Saturday and then Alabama and Georgia conclude the fall in the SEC Championship, we figured it was time to start preparing to fill our All-SEC lists.

The Razorbacks should have no shortage of players represented on the all-conference teams. A couple of guys are locks. Another would be – Jalen Catalon – if not for a season-ending injury.

But we know, too, that the big dogs of the league tend to land a majority of the players. Alabama alone had eight first-team selections by the league’s media during SEC Media Days. Arkansas had a total of five players across the four teams voted on during that week.

Both things should change after the season. Here are our projections of Arkansas’ All-SEC players this year.

No surprise: Treylon Burks unanimous choice as Player of the Game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas wide receiver Treylon Burks had another special day as the Hogs rolled over UAPB.

In a day filled with highlights for just about everyone on the Arkansas roster, the Razorbacks’ best player was again the Razorbacks’ best player.

Arkansas wide receiver Treylon Burks is our unanimous Offensive Player of the Game after scoring three touchdowns in the Hogs’ 45-3 win over UAPB.

Defensively, Arkansas may have had a lapse or two, but the Razorbacks still managed to allow its reserves to get a majority of playing time. We still went with a pair of regulars.

Safety Myles Slusher made his case to get more run in the absence of Jalen Catalon and linebacker Hayden Henry continued his moderately surprising season as Arkansas’ best defender at that position, too.

Here are the Players of the Game for Arkansas against the Golden Lions.

Treylon Burks shows out, named Player of the Game against Auburn

Treylon Burks, Hayden Henry, Bumper Pool and Montaric Brown are Arkansas’ Players of the Game against Auburn.

After the crowd cleared Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium and the coaches and players finished their press conferences, the media returned to the press box and collectively asked the same thing.

What the heck happened today?

Arkansas was the better team Saturday against Auburn, despite the 38-23 final score. The Razorbacks had more yards, a better third-down conversion percentage, more established drives. Just about everything went the Hogs’ way. Save big plays.

And officials. But that’s neither here nor there.

Arkansas’ statistics are accordingly stellar offensively and, frankly, they aren’t terrible defensively, especially considering the Razorbacks lacked three starters on that side of the ball.

So while we chew on what exactly did go wrong, here are Arkansas’ Players of the Game.