EDITOR'S NOTE: The Sentinel-Record will follow up with a head football coach of a local high school after each regular season game this season for the Arkansas Razorbacks. This week's installment features Jared McBride, head coach of the Lakeside Rams.
Arkansas' struggles continued Saturday as the Razorbacks trailed, 14-0, less than seven minutes into the annual Southwest Classic against Texas A&M at the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but the Aggies were limited to 10 points in the final 53-plus minutes of game time.
The Aggies (3-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) held on for a 24-17 win with a touchdown in the fourth quarter that was answered with a late touchdown drive by the Hogs (1-4, 0-2).
"They are playing better," McBride said. "It is really hard to overcome an early special teams touchdown. That got them in a hole early, but I thought they fought back, played hard and played a pretty good game."
Special teams has been the weakest component during Arkansas' four-game losing streak. Only four teams in the SEC do not have a dedicated special teams coordinator on staff, including both Arkansas and A&M. McBride said it is difficult to pinpoint the team's struggles in special teams.
"It is hard to say without seeing what goes into it," McBride said. "I know they understand how important it is, as far as it being a part of the game, but I don't know if it's becoming unlucky or if they have some issues."
A&M scored on the first play of the game on a 100-yard kickoff return and doubled the lead on an eight-play, 79-yard drive on its first offensive possession. John Chavis' defense limited the Aggies to 302 yards through the rest of the game. They gained 393 against No. 1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0).
The defense was led by 16 tackles from Scoota Harris and 13 by Dre Greenlaw, who returned the previous week from injury.
"Those are the types of guys that we need a lot of," McBride said. "Those are SEC football players. Those are guys that can play anywhere. They are putting them in good situations, and they are making plays.
"We have to continue to develop more of those types of players, and they will help us a lot more often. You have to be proud of what they are able to do defensively. They have shown in the last couple of weeks that they are playing right up there with the best of them."
McBride threw for a then-state record 4,049 yards and 53 touchdowns as a senior quarterback at Nashville. He played for the Razorbacks from 1997-2001.
"I usually get to make one game a year just because we do youth football on Saturdays," McBride said. "So, it's not easy to make."
McBride said he plans to be in Fayetteville on Saturday when Arkansas will host Alabama at 11 a.m. at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN (Resort Channel 30).
Kickoff against Ole Miss (3-2, 0-2) at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on Oct. 13 was announced on Monday as 6:30 p.m. The game will be shown on the SEC Network (Resort Channel 79).
McBride said he regularly returns to Fayetteville in the spring for letterman reunions. He said he was able to visit with new head coach Chad Morris and his staff earlier this year.
"I got to sit with them for a couple of days in the spring and learn what the new schemes are," McBride said. "They are very open and welcome to high school coaches and to lettermen to be involved in the program and help build it back."
"It does not look like they have everything in that they want," McBride added. "The base is there, but you can just tell by watching the way they have played in the past with SMU. The way I understand the scheme to work is they have a lot left they would like to do. They just need a little more time and, probably, a little more personnel, too."
SMU made a bowl game in 2017, Morris' final year with the program, with a 7-5 regular season record. The Mustangs had more than 3,800 yards passing, almost 2,400 rushing yards with a 1,000-yard rusher and a pair of 1,000-yard receivers.
Courtland Sutton (64, 216 pounds) was taken in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos after catching 68 passes for 1,085 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. Trey Quinn (6-0, 200 pounds) was drafted in the seventh round by the Washington Redskins after making 114 receptions a year ago for 1,236 yards and 13 touchdowns.
"Of course, everybody wants that, but that combination sure makes you really good with an underneath route runner and a guy that can get over the top," Morris said. "We are kind of searching for both of those right now."
Arkansas received its 20th verbal commitment for the 2019 class on Monday in 6-4, 215-pound receiver Trey Knox out of Blackman High School in Murfreesboro, Tenn. His top four schools included Florida, Ohio State and Tennessee.
Knox is a consensus four-star prospect rated by recruiting services. Arkansas' 2019 class also includes Warren receiver Treylon Burks (6-3, 225), Shamar Nash (6-2, 194) from the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and T.Q. Jackson (6-2, 188) out of Jefferson, Texas. Burks and Nash are also consensus four-stars, while Jackson has a high three-star rating.
Junior quarterback Ty Storey finished 14 of 26 for 193 yards, a touchdown and an interception against A&M, but he connected with seven different receivers. Tight end Cheyenne O'Grady made three catches for 77 yards, while true freshman Michael Woods caught a 29-yard pass for the final score of the game with 3:16 left to play.
"They showed this week a little more creativity of trying get the ball spread around to different parts," McBride said. "O'Grady had a couple of nice plays on that one drive, and it was a little bit of creativity getting him the football.
"I think it is going to have to continue to be that way. You would like to be able to show that you can spread the ball all over the field, but we are going to have to have some guys step up and make those plays."
Arkansas has struggled to run the ball in three of five games this season, while quarterback play has been inconsistent. McBride said the offense has matchup problems "all across the board" against SEC opponents.
"And it is different every week," McBride said.
"For us, they will find a weak point, and they will try to exploit it," McBride added. "If that is on the offensive line, they will get pressure on the quarterback, and we have a little bit of trouble getting separation, it looks like, but I think the scheme is there. We just need to get a little more separation and be able to clean the pocket up just a little bit for the quarterback."
McBride echoed the sentiments of coach Morris, who praised his team for fighting back from the early deficit.
"You don't want to say that you have gotten used to losing, but you can say that you have gotten used to bad things happening," McBride said. "On the first snap, something bad happens, and it takes them a little while to recover. We talk all of the time about starting fast, and everybody wants to be able to do that, but there is a difference in starting fast and waiting to see how things go."
Sports on 10/02/2018