Position-by Position Matchups
Posted on Saturday, September 1, 2007
OFFENSE Running backs How much playing time will Heisman Trophy hopeful Darren McFadden get in the opener for Arkansas ? A handful of snaps in the WildHog formation and 20 to 25 carries sounds about right. The going is not guaranteed to be smooth, as Troy has a bevy of veteran players, including fast linebackers and big-time ends. Last year, McFadden accounted for 1, 647 rushing yards, the fifth-best single-season total in SEC history, 14 rushing scores and the greatest electricity around one player in Arkansas history. Felix Jones followed McFadden's exploits with 1, 168 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, a solid total for most No. 1 tailbacks. McFadden and Jones were first-team All-SEC picks. Jones commands touches, as does fullback Peyton Hillis and third-team tailback Michael Smith, so ball distribution will be interesting to watch. Troy's top two runners are both seniors. Kenny Cattouse ran for 810 yards last season, and started the final seven games. Sean Dawkins rushed for 285 yards in 2005, but missed last season after suffering a knee injury during spring practice. ADVANTAGE Arkansas
Quarterback Junior Casey Dick finally has his health and a grip on the No. 1 job for the first season-opening start of his career. Arkansas coaches want him to stay within the game plan, to take only what is available and not try to improvise. Dick must improve on last year's completion percentage (49 percent ) and a 9-to-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio for the Razorbacks to be a factor in the SEC and the national chase. Behind him, his brother Nathan Dick had a strong fall camp which vaulted him to No. 2 on the depth chart before a hip flexor or groin injury slowed the true freshman and allowed sophomore Nathan Emert to reclaim the backup job. Troy is led by a senior with plenty of experience in Omar Haugabook, who ran for 313 yards and a team-high 5 touchdowns and passed for 2, 401 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also completed 61. 3 percent of his passes last season. Haugabook is dangerous with his legs, but his decision-making is suspect, as he threw interceptions in all but two games last season and had 12 on the year. ADVANTAGE Troy
Line The Razorbacks have a strong interior with center Jonathan Luigs, the preseason first-team All-SEC choice, and right guard Robert Felton as returning starters. The play of tackles Jose Valdez and Nate Garner, both veterans in the system, will be of utmost importance against a host of top-flight defensive ends. Mitch Petrus gets the starting assignment at left guard to round out the Hogs' starters. If team history is any indication, the three new starters will adjust well and the Razorbacks ground game will continue to find success. Pass protection, with brand-new schemes, will be highly scrutinized. Troy brings back only one starter from last season, and that's Chris Jamison, who switches from left guard to left tackle. Right tackle Dion Small projects as the Trojans' best lineman, but he's an untested transfer. Troy is massive across the front, averaging 6-4, 315 pounds. ADVANTAGE Arkansas
Receivers With Marcus Monk out for at least the opener and probably longer, this game will serve as essentially an open audition for the team's goto wideout. Sophomore London Crawford finished camp on a hot streak and will likely get first crack at being the top pass catcher. He's scheduled to start opposite
Reggie Fish, who has great speed and good separation skills, but dropped too many balls in camp. Keep a close eye out for true freshman Crosby Tuck, who made a splash with two strong scrimmage showings and grabbed practically every pass that came his way throughout preseason drills. Look for the receivers to get lots of chances against man defense as Troy cheats up to stop the run. As for tight ends, Andrew Davie will do a lot of blocking, and could account for a catch or two per game. The Trojans run a four-wide set as a base offense, so a lot of guys will play, led by Gary Banks, a 25-year-old junior who played minor league baseball before coming back to football. Banks caught 68 passes for 603 yards and 8 touchdowns last season. Both Mykeal Terry (27 catches, 477 yards, 5 TDs ) and Andrew Davis (18-130-2 ) are mighty-mite types, while redshirt freshman Austin Silvoy is the tallest starter at 6-2. ADVANTAGE Troy DEFENSE
Line The Razorbacks shuffled and shifted throughout fall workouts until a starting lineup of tackles Ernest Mitchell and Malcolm Sheppard and ends Chris Wade and Adrian Davis emerged. Mitchell was the only one projected to start at his position when camp opened. Depth on the front will be a huge issue for line coach Tracy Rocker, as the backups include a couple of tackles (Fred Bledsoe and Marcus Shavers ) who failed to seize an opportunity to start, a former starter in Antwain Robinson who is trying to play his way out of the doghouse and a true freshman end (Damario Ambrose ). There does not appear to be a Jamaal Anderson-like sack master in the bunch. Troy is not huge on its front, but is extremely athletic, with former Georgia signee Brandon Lang leading the way at one end spot. He and sophomore end Cameron Sheffield beat out returning starters, providing an idea of Troy's depth at this position. Chris Bradwell, a Florida State signee who played junior college ball before being suspended all of last season at Troy, mans a tackle spot along with senior Marcus Pitttman. This group has the ability to disrupt Arkansas' heavily hyped running game. ADVANTAGE Troy
Linebackers Arkansas starters Weston Dacus, Freddie Fairchild and Ryan Powers went under the radar during fall camp, possibly because of their steady, but unspectacular play. Dacus is the veteran of the bunch, a somewhat-undersized 235-pounder in the middle. Fairchild is seen as the next great Arkansas linebacker, but he's coming off major knee surgery and is still learning at the strongside position. Powers, a 210-pounder, is even more raw as a redshirt freshman in the weakside role, but he fits the speed mold in the Reggie Herring system. Troy's linebackers are a definite strength, with highlytouted sophomore Boris Lee in the middle, flanked by senior Marcus Richardson - the former starter in the middle - on the weak side and fellow senior Josh Maxwell on the strong side. Trojans coaches feel good about their two-deep at linebacker, as they do about every position on defense. ADVANTAGE Arkansas
Defensive backs The Razorbacks will start three seniors in the secondary, led by three-year lettermen Matterral Richardson and Michael Grant. That should help the Razorbacks find out if they can cover well enough to devote more personnel to stop the run and run a wide array of blitz packages. Matt Hewitt helped the cause last season by switching to linebacker, performing admirably, and is now at his more natural strong safety spot. Sophomore Jerell Norton strides into the spotlight as a starting cornerback. Jamar Love and Dallas Washington emerged in camp as the top nickel and dime backs. Most of the reserves are upperclassmen, such as senior safety Kevin Woods, so the depth appears to be decent. Troy has six players in its secondary who have logged significant minutes on this level. The group is led by a potential star in corner Leodis McKelvin, who has shutdown capabilities, as does fellow corner Elbert Mack. Both are returning starters, as is free safety Tavares Williams. Terence Moore is viewed as a capable strong safety. Among the backups is Trevor Ford, another Florida State refugee, who will back up the corner positions along with redshirt freshman Chris Bowens. ADVANTAGE Even
SPECIAL TEAMS It's a new ballgame for Arkansas, at least on the kicking side of things. Springdale product Alex Tejada begins his college career with a big leg and a scholarship, so the expectations will be high that he'll be good for three points when the Razorbacks reach the 30. Jeremy Davis, who won the punting job despite missing part of camp, should be a capable backup place-kicker. Brian Vavra is the kickoff man, with Tejada available if necessary. There's slight anxiety in the kicking department with a new deep snapper, Rhett Richardson, and new holder, Clark Irwin. The Hogs' kick returns could rank with the best in the nation, as Felix Jones and Darren McFadden are set to return kickoffs and Michael Smith and Reggie Fish have been tapped for punt returns. Troy's Leodis McKelvin can be an electrifying return man. Greg Whibbs is back as the kickoff guy and kicker after hitting 11 of 19 field-goal attempts last year. The Trojans also have new personnel in key special teams roles: punter Adrian Vera, snapper Derrick Thomas and holder Austin Silvoy. ADVANTAGE Arkansas
INTANGIBLES There's a lot to play for in this nontelevised opener. The Razorbacks would like to put the winter discord behind them and push off the 2007 season without making the sports show highlights for the wrong reasons. Troy, which is more than a three-touchdown underdog, knows it can shock the college football universe with an upset of the No. 21 Razorbacks. Also, if the Trojans can hold down Darren McFadden they could put a serious dent in his Heisman Trophy campaign before it can really get rolling. That's a strong set of incentives for the visitors, who get short shrift from a publicity standpoint in their home state. Troy Coach Larry Blakeney is very likely sitting on the most talented team he's ever assembled in his 17 years at the helm. The good thing for Razorbacks fans is Coach Houston Nutt, who opens the season on the hot seat, and his Arkansas staff are well-aware of the upset potential here, and they've hammered that point home with their players. ADVANTAGE Arkansas
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