AFTER EARLY-SEASON STUMBLES, ARKANSAS DEFENSE HAS COME TOGETHER TO FINISH STRONG.
ceptions and 21 touchdowns allowed.
The front started making its strides once senior defensive tackle Marcus Harrison got comfortable following a spring knee surgery. Harrison ranks fourth on the team with 72 tackles, including 5. 5 for loss. He rang up 1. 5 sacks and had seven quarterback hurries while breaking up an impressive nine passes. Fellow defensive tackle Ernest Mitchell had a strong junior season with 65 tackles, including 10. 5 behind the line of scrimmage, and 3. 5 sacks. Fred Bledsoe, Marcus Shavers and Patrick Jones are the top reserves in the tackle rotation. Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker didn't have Jamaal Anderson at his disposal, so he rotated ends all year, leading to solid production from several players. Adrian Davis was the tackle leader among the group with 61 stops, and the sophomore also had eight hurries, nine tackles for loss, three sacks and an interception. Antwain Robinson scored two defensive touchdowns, on a fumble return and an interception, to bring his career total to three. The pass-rush specialist had 33 tackles and two sacks.
Malcolm Sheppard was the team leader with 16 hurries, and he also tied for the top spot with 10. 5 tackles for loss. Senior Chris Wade ( 35 tackles) and true freshman Damario Ambrose proved to be effective off the bench.
Senior Weston Dacus followed in the Sam Olajubutu mode as a somewhat un-
By TOM MURPHY
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Arkansas’ early-season shuffling on defense played a role in losses to Alabama and Kentucky to open the Hogs' conference play. However, once Michael Grant settled in at cornerback and the defensive line rotation was solidified, the Razorbacks' improvement curve was steep on a defense coordinated by Reggie Herring.
The Razorbacks finished the regular season ranked 45th nationally in total defense, allowing 357.8 yards per game. Arkansas was 54th in run defense ( 146. 6 yards per game) and 36th against the pass (211.2 yards per game). Where the Razorbacks excelled was in pass defense efficiency, ranking 5th in the country by allowing a meager 45. 7 percent completions, with 19 inter-
dersized striker in the middle for the Hogs. Dacus started all 12 games and compiled 98 tackles, three sacks and eight hurries. He forced a critical fumble inside the Arkansas 10-yard line against Auburn.
Strongside linebacker Freddie Fairchild needed about one-third of the season to fully recover from his knee surgery, and he played as well as any Razorback defender the second half of the season. Fairchild is the team leader with 4. 5 sacks, and he also has 86 tackles, six hurries and two breakups.
Elston Forte made six starts at weakside linebacker and logged 51 tackles, while redshirt freshman Ryan Powers had two starts and made 19 tackles. Reserve linebackers Wendel Davis and Freddy Burton combined for 61 stops.
Matterral Richardson had his hands on the final play of Arkansas' regular season, an interception of LSU's two-point conversion attempt that sealed the wild 50-48 win in triple overtime. Grant got more post-season attention, but Richardson had the more solid year as a cover corner, and also had 57 tackles and 3 interceptions and 10 breakups. Grant had a good senior season with 71 tackles, three interceptions and 19 pass breakups.
Senior safety Matt Hewitt will pull down the team tackling honors this season, as he brings 118 stops into the AT&T Cotton Bowl. Hewitt loaded up the stat sheet like no other Razorback this season, logging four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, nine hurries, five breakups, two interceptions and one sack. Fellow senior Kevin Woods manned the other safety spot and racked up 71 tackles, two interceptions, four breakups and three hurries.
The Hogs run a large number of reserve defensive backs into the action, including Jerell Norton, who had a 100-yard interception return for a score. Rashaad Johnson is a former walk-on done well, and safety Walner Leandre had a strong second half of the season.
13
References:
Archives