Tag: Joe Adams

Arkansas Football: The All-2010s Team

Arkansas football produced a lot of talent in the 2010s despite the program’s turmoil. Here’s the best players from that decade by position.

[autotag]Arkansas football[/autotag] entered the 2010s looking for more consistent success than they had enjoyed in the previous decade. Entering 2010, [autotag]Bobby Petrino[/autotag] would be in his third season as head coach and had built an extremely solid foundation.

That foundation would take Arkansas football to heights they had never experienced before, but it would only last two short years. After a fateful motorcycle accident in early April of 2012, Petrino’s tenure at Arkansas came to a highly publicized and controversial end.

After John L. Smith’s infamous season as interim head coach, [autotag]Bret Bielema[/autotag] was tabbed as the man to right the ship and get Arkansas football back to prominence in 2013. Under Bielema, Arkansas was able to get back into the postseason and win two bowl games, but were never able to take the next step into championship contention.

Bielema’s reign ended in 2017 and coincided with Jeff Long’s end as athletic director. That led to the controversial hire of first-time head coach Chad Morris in December of 2017. Morris would fail to win a single conference game in either of his first two seasons and was fired by Hunter Yurachek with two games left in the 2019 season.

We end the decade with Sam Pittman being hired in December 2019 to bring the program back to its’ winning ways.

Despite the turmoil and chaos that encapsulated this decade of Arkansas football, the program was able to produce a lot of talented players. Here’s a look at the best players from this decade across each position.

Joe Adams, Gary Blair highlight Arkansas Hall of Honor selections

Arkansas’ Hall of Honor Class of 2022 is loaded with Razorbacks legends.

Former Arkansas wide receiver and kick returner Joe Adams and former women’s basketball coach Gary Blair were among seven University of Arkansas athletics icons who were selected for the Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor Class of 2022 it was announced Thursday.

Adams, who was named an All-American in 2011, played wide receiver and punt returner for the Razorbacks from 2008-11. He ran back four punts for touchdowns in 2011 and his 16.9 yards-per-return average was second in the country.

Blair coached Arkansas to five NCAA Tournaments appearances in his 10 seasons from 1993-2003. The Razorbacks made the Final Four in 1998 under Blair’s guidance when they were a No. 9 seed, which remains the lowest-seeded team to make it that far.

“We look forward to celebrating the tremendous accomplishments of these outstanding Razorbacks as part of the UA Sports Hall of Honor,” athletic director Hunter Yurachek said. “This year’s class includes NCAA and conference champions, a hall of fame coach and an administrator who helped form the foundation for varsity women’s sports at the University of Arkansas. These men and women reflect the very best our program has to offer.”

Other inductees include former pitcher Bill Bakewell (baseball), Ruth Cohoon (first women’s athletics director), high-jumper Ray Doakes (track and field), gymnast Katherine Grable, swingman Ron Huery (basketball), catcher Andy Skeels (baseball) and defensive lineman Dale White (football).

The induction ceremony will be held Friday, September 16, the night before Arkansas football hosts Missouri State at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

WATCH: Nathan Parodi gives Arkansas first punt return touchdown in 10 years

Nathan Parodi returns punt for a touchdown for the first Arkansas PR score since 2011.

The streak is over.

Nathan Parodi took an Arkansas-Pine Bluff punt back 80 yards the other way to give Arkansas a 31-0 lead against their cross-state foe midway through the second quarter on Saturday.

Arkansas had not returned a punt for a touchdown since 2011 when Joe Adams had four such scores.

Parodi, a 5-foot-9 junior cornerback who rarely plays defensively, was largely considered Arkansas’ “safe” punt returner when the season began. He was reliable, could catch the punts, but few expected him, even amongst his coaches, to be a game-breaker in the return game. Entering Saturday, he had 10 returns for 41 yards.

Parodi is the third different Arkansas player to score a touchdown so far after Blake Kern’s touchdown reception started the game and Treylon Burks followed with a touchdown run then touchdown receptions.