An Extreme Makeover: 2008 Arkansas Football

An Extreme Makeover: 2008 Arkansas Football

With the potential exception of Operation Johnson at Georgia Tech, there may not be another team in college football whose 2008 offensive model will bear as little resemblance as will Arkansas’ to their 2007 team.

The list of changes is long.  Where to start?  In one fell swoop, the Hogs lost three of the best running backs in all of college football – tailbacks Darren McFadden and Felix Jones as well as fullback Peyton Hillis.  All three will doubtless by on NFL rosters next year. 

Gone, too, are their head coach (Houston Nutt – who landed quickly on his feet at division-partner, Ole Miss) and two of their most experienced receivers, Marcus Monk and Robert Johnson.  The right-side of the line is also gone with the graduations of RG Robert Felton and RT Nate Garner.  Fortunately, All-SEC Center Jonathan Luigs, is back to anchor next year’s attack.

So, now, a team that relied almost exclusively on its dominant running game the last three years loses all of the personnel that made the ground-game tick and will now turn its sights to the air under the guidance of new Head Coach, Bobby Petrino.  A classic quarterback is called-for in the new scheme and it is not a given that quarterback Casey Dick, who started the last two seasons at Arkansas, will lead the charges in 2008. 

Whether Dick starts next year will depend largely on what happens with Ryan Mallett,  who transferred from Michigan this winter after Rich Rodriguez took over Big Blue.  Mallett, who started four games last year for the Wolverines, and the Arkansas athletic department petitioned the NCAA permit him to play immediately for the Hogs in 2008 rather than first sitting out a full season.  Mallett’s 6-6 frame and strong arm could be a fantastic fit for Petrino’s aggressive passing scheme which makes it unlikely that he would not start next year if the NCAA grants his petition.

Of course, every scheme needs a running game, and super-recruit De’Anthony Curtis (5-11, 211) from Camden, Arkansas could have the material to help the Hogs create a productive ground attack.  His 4.4-40 speed and good size led Rivals.com to rank him as the nation’s #6 tailback.  Fellow-freshman, Jerico Nelson (5-11, 207) from Louisiana, could push Curtis for early playing time.

On defense, a senior has been lost from every position in the Hogs’ defensive backfield.  Strong safety Matt Hewitt and RCB Matterral Richardson each started nearly every game last year while LCB Michael Grant started nearly every game at that position but began the season at free safety.  Kevin Woods ended up starting seven games at that position and he is gone, too.  Notwithstanding those losses, key experience returns next year in the form of CB Jerell Norton and FS Rashaad Johnson (who started the last three games of the season).

The front-seven returns largely intact but suffered significant losses in DT Marcus Harrison and MLB Weston Dacus.  Tackle Ernest Mitchell and DE Malcolm Sheppard combined for 21 TFL’s last year and will certainly help to control the line of scrimmage on most snaps when next season rolls around.  SLB Freddie Fairchild is back after tallying 86 tackles in 2007 and putting plenty of pressure on opposing quarterbacks (4.5 sacks; 6 QBH’s).

Without McFadden, Jones and Hillis and with Bobby Petrino at the controls, Arkansas’ offense will be unrecognizable next season.  And since the NCAA has yet to rule whether Mallett will even be eligible to play next year, it is folly to predict the future effect of the remodeled offense.  At least, the Hogs will have an experienced front-seven to keep opponents under control defensively early in the season while the offense finds its legs.  Of course, a relatively inexperienced backfield could leave them vulnerable to big plays during the course of those same growing pains.

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