The Houston Nutt Years
Posted on Saturday, October 25, 2008
1997 Arkansas fires Danny Ford after consecutive 4-7 seasons. Ford finishes 26-30-1 in five seasons. DEC. 3 Boise State Coach Houston Nutt, 40, interviews for the Arkansas job. DEC. 10 Houston Nutt is named Arkansas’ 29 th head coach. NUTT REACTION “Dreams do come true, and this has been my dream to stand up here in front of you with a Razorback helmet.... I feel like I’ve been trained for 16 years for this day.”
1998 FEB. 4 Houston Nutt signs first class of recruits. Players include Fort Smith Southside offensive lineman Gary Hobbs, Texas quarterback Robby Hampton, California defensive lineman Jermaine Brooks, Alma fullback Adam Daily and Batesville offensive lineman Josh Melton. SEPT. 5 Arkansas defeats Louisiana-Lafayette 38-17 in Houston Nutt’s debut. SEPT. 26 Arkansas defeats Alabama 42-6 in Houston Nutt’s SEC debut. SEPT. 27 Arkansas is ranked No. 22 in The Associated Press poll, the team’s first ranking since 1995. DANNY FORD COMMENT
“If they start 5-0 next year, make ’em all president.” NOV. 7 Arkansas defeats Ole Miss 34-0, setting up a showdown against undefeated Tennessee. NOV. 14 Quarterback Clint Stoerner stumbles and fumbles on a bootleg with 1: 27 left in the game. No. 1 Tennessee recovers and scores to beat No. 10 Arkansas 28-24. NOV. 21 Playing without kicker Todd Latourette, Arkansas loses 22-21 to Mississippi State in Starkville. GIVE HIM AN EMMY The Houston Nutt Show averaged a 13 rating and a 33 share in the November 1998 ratings period, despite airing at 10: 30 p. m. on Sundays. That means 13 percent of the televisions in central Arkansas — and 33 percent of the TVs actually in use at the time — were tuned in to watch Nutt’s game reviews and pep talks. “I just wish he was available to anchor,” KATV news director Bob Steel said. DEC. 31 Running backs coach Danny Nutt, Houston Nutt’s younger brother, undergoes brain surgery.
1999 JAN. 1 Arkansas loses 45-31 to Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. FEB. 3 Little Rock Fair running back Cedric Cobbs and Clarksville quarterback Gary Brashears sign with Razorbacks. Both are Parade All-Americans. APRIL 28 Former Arkansas All-American Brandon Burlsworth is killed in a car accident while driving home to Harrison. Burlsworth had been a third-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts a few weeks earlier. SEPT. 4 Arkansas opens Houston Nutt’s second season with a 26-0 victory against SMU. NOV. 13 Arkansas defeats Tennessee 28-24, the reverse score of the previous year’s heartbreaker. NOV. 26 Arkansas loses 35-10 at LSU to finish the regular season 7-4.
2000 JAN. 1 Arkansas beats Texas 27-6 in the Cotton Bowl. Freshman Cedric Cobbs is named the game’s MVP. SEPT. 17 Arkansas 38, Boise State 31 NOV. 24 Arkansas beats LSU to end the regular season 6-5. DEC. 21 Arkansas turns in lethargic performance in 31-14 loss to UNLV in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Hogs prepared for the game without a curfew.
2001 AUG. 30 Arkansas uses four different quarterbacks, rallies to beat UNLV 14-10 in the season opener. SEPT. 29 Arkansas loses 31-10 to Georgia to start 0-3 in SEC play. NOV. 3 Arkansas beats Ole Miss 58-56 in seven overtimes and discovers a star in freshman quarterback Matt Jones. NOV. 23 Arkansas loses 41-38 at LSU to end the regular season 7-4. 2002 JAN. 1 Arkansas loses 10-3 to Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. OCT. 5 Arkansas loses 41-38 to Tennessee in six overtimes. OCT. 22 Arkansas senior defensive tackle and team captain Jermaine Brooks is arrested on suspicion of dealing marijuana from his apartment near the University of Arkansas campus. Officers with the 4 th Judicial District Drug Task Force say they bought a pound of marijuana from Brooks in an undercover operation. In a search of his apartment, police say they seized 7 1 / 2 pounds of marijuana, $ 16, 841 in cash and six guns, including an Intratec 9 mm assault pistol and an SKS assault rifle with a bayonet. Houston Nutt immediately kicks Brooks off the team. NOV. 29 Arkansas beats LSU 21-20 in the Miracle on Markham to earn a share of the SEC West title. DEC. 7 Arkansas loses 30-3 to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. DEC. 30 Arkansas falls to Minnesota 29-14 in Music City Bowl.
2003 SEPT. 13 Arkansas defeats Texas 38-28 in Austin, Texas. A zealous celebration, including Houston Nutt’s use of a downward Hook ‘em Horns sign, takes place. SEPT. 20 Arkansas rallies from 21 down to beat Alabama in double overtime and move No. 9 in the AP poll. OCT. 4 Arkansas loses at home to Auburn after a bye week. OCT. 11 Arkansas loses at home to Florida OCT. 25 Arkansas loses 19-7 at Ole Miss, the Razorbacks’ third consecutive SEC loss. NOV. 1 Arkansas defeats Kentucky 71-63 in seven overtimes. NOV. 28 Arkansas loses 55-24 at LSU to finish the regular season 8-4. DEC. 31 Arkansas beats Missouri 27-14 in Independence Bowl.
2004 JAN. 2 Nebraska, looking to replace Frank Solich, sends a university plane to Fayetteville and negotiates with Houston Nutt. The Cornhuskers reportedly offer $ 2 million a year. JAN. 3 Houston Nutt announces he is staying at Arkansas, which gives the coach a raise and contract extension. JAN. 14 ESPN college football analyst Trev Alberts, a former Nebraska linebacker, calls Houston Nutt “disingenuous,” saying Nutt was never offered the Nebraska job and used the interest to get a raise from Arkansas. JAN. 15 Houston Nutt calls Trev Alberts a “goofball.” SEPT. 11 Arkansas loses 22-20 to Texas. NOV. 6 Arkansas loses 35-32 to South Carolina, the Razorbacks’ fourth consecutive SEC loss. NOV. 26 Arkansas loses 43-14 to LSU in Little Rock to finish the regular season 5-6, Houston Nutt’s first defeat in Little Rock. The Razorbacks miss out on a bowl for the first time in Nutt’s tenure.
2005 SEPT. 17 Arkansas loses 70-17 at Southern California. NOV. 5 Arkansas loses 14-10 to South Carolina, the Razorbacks’ fifth consecutive SEC loss. NOV. 12 A giddy Houston Nutt celebrates Arkansas’ 28-17 victory by taking the credit for a touchdown pass thrown by Casey Dick in the fourth quarter. Nutt’s “I called that play” outburst stunned prized quarterback recruit Mitch Mustain, whose reaction later appeared in The Year of the Dog, Kurt Voigt’s inside look at Springdale’s 2005 season: “Oh my God, did you hear that ? Old ‘H’ has lost it. He has absolutely lost it. How can they let him get away with that ? They ought to fire him on the spot. Of course, they’d have a better chance of getting me if they did.” NOV. 25 Arkansas loses 19-17 at LSU to end the regular season 4-7, missing a bowl for the second consecutive year. DEC. 9 Houston Nutt hires Springdale High School Coach Gus Malzhan as offensive coordinator after Malzhan leads the Bulldogs to a state championship.
2006 FEB. 1 Arkansas’ signing class includes Springdale’s Mitch Mustain, Damian Williams, Ben Cleveland and Andrew Norman. Mustain is Parade Magazine’s national player of the year. SEPT. 2 Arkansas loses 50-14 to Southern California in the season opener. SEPT. 23 Arkansas beats Alabama 24-23 in double overtime. Houston Nutt celebrates by going into the stands and taking over as band director. NOV. 11 Arkansas defeats Tennessee 31-14, using tailback Darren McFadden in a Single-Wing-style formation called the Wildcat. NOV. 18 Arkansas beats Mississippi State 28-14 for the Razorbacks’ 10 th consecutive victory. Arkansas celebrates by putting on SEC West Championship T-shirts. NOV. 24 Arkansas loses 31-26 to LSU but still wins the SEC West. The Hogs show no hint of a two-minute offense with a chance to win the game in the final minute. DEC. 2 Arkansas loses 38-28 to Florida in the SEC Championship Game after leading late in the third quarter. DEC. 7 An article is printed in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about Kurt Voigt’s soon-to-be published book that includes the quotes attributed to Mitch Mustain that disparage Houston Nutt. Booster Teresa Prewett of Little Rock, who has ties to the Nutt family, sends a virulent e-mail to Mustain’s university email account. The e-mail began “Hello Mr. Interception King,” and contained a page of derogatory comments. DEC. 9 Darren McFadden is runner-up to Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith for the Heisman Trophy.
2007 JAN. 1 Arkansas loses 17-14 to Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl. JAN. 12 Houston Nutt writes a letter of reprimand to Teresa Prewett on Razorbacks stationery, outlining sanctions against Prewett, who four days earlier had written an apology letter to Mitch Mustain. JAN. 15 Gus Malzahn leaves Arkansas to become co-offensive coordinator at Tulsa. JAN. 16 Mitch Mustain announces his intention to transfer. He chooses Southern California, where Damian Williams has already enrolled. APRIL 17 Houston Nutt releases a two-page open letter to address what he calls “unfounded gossip and allegations regarding my private life” that he says have surfaced on Internet message boards and have been reported by some media outlets. Nutt says he feels compelled to explain the nature of his relationship with Fort Smith TV news anchor Donna Bragg because of revelations that they had exchanged 1, 063 text messages between Nov. 30 and Jan. 11. “The speculation and rumors that I have had an inappropriate relationship with Donna Bragg are unfounded and false,” Nutt says. “Let me be unequivocally clear that the relationship between Ms. Bragg and me is that of a friend and a colleague in the community.” SEPT. 1 No. 21 Arkansas opens the season at home with a 46-26 victory against Troy. SEPT. 22 Kentucky tops Arkansas 42-29 in Fayetteville, dropping the Razorbacks to 0-2 in SEC play after a 41-38 loss at Alabama the previous week. OCT. 13 Arkansas falls to 0-3 in SEC play with a 9-7 loss to Auburn in Fayetteville. NOV. 3 Darren McFadden runs for an SEC-recordtying 321 yards in a 48-36 victory against South Carolina to jump back into the race for the Heisman Trophy. NOV. 16 UA officials deny news reports that Houston Nutt has tendered his resignation or will be leaving the team at the end of the season. Nutt calls rumors that he plans to resign “silly.” NOV. 23 No. 1 LSU sees its title hopes go down the drain as Darren McFadden runs for three touchdowns and passes for another in Arkansas’ 50-48,
tripleovertime victory in Baton Rouge. Houston Nutt and McFadden embrace during a postgame TV interview, with Nutt calling on ESPN analysts Lou Holtz and Mark May to drum up Heisman support for McFadden.
NOV. 25 In his last regularly
scheduled weekly news conference, Houston Nutt says he has his “dream job” at Arkansas. NOV. 27 Ole Miss names Houston Nutt as its head coach. NOV. 12, 2005 NUTT PROMOTING NUTT “That was a called play, and I called it, Chuck.... Hey Chuck, and I made some good calls today, too, brother.” Nutt, with cackling laugher, after being asked by Chuck Barrett if a fourth-quarter touchdown play was called from the sideline or an audible by quarterback Casey Dick.
Arkansas beat Mississippi 28-17.
NOV. 23, 2007 NUTT PROMOTING MCFADDEN “It’s offense, defense and special teams, and guys like Darren McFadden.... You all better put him in the Heisman. You better put him up there. I’m tired of him being No. 3 or No. 4. Somebody better look at this guy. He’s the best football player in the country. His name’s not being mentioned. Lou Holtz. Mark May. No. 5, you better look at him a little closer. He’s a football player.” Nutt, moments after Arkansas beat LSU 50-48 in three overtimes, his last game as head coach, and his last chance to promote Darren McFadden’s Heisman Trophy candidacy DEC. 10, 1997 THE DAY NUTT WAS HIRED “I hope he’s the last coach for 25 years.... If we can support him the way we have in the past, then he’ll have a chance to stay here until he retires.” Athletic Director Frank Broyles “It is the people of this state that make this job special. They are the reason I’ve always wanted to coach here. There are not better fans in the world.” Nutt, after calling the Hogs at his introductory news conference “He isn’t coming here to win the SEC or win the West or go to a bowl game. He’s coming here to win it all. I think that says a lot for
him.” Quarterback Clint Stoerner’s first impressions OCTOBER, 1998 AFTER 5-0 START “All I know is every time I’ve been associated with a team that’s good, there’s always enough credit to go around to everybody. You spend all your time worrying about, ‘Do I get enough credit ?’... you’re not doing anything.”
Nutt NOV. 14, 1998 TENNESSEE 28, ARKANSAS 24 “The first thing we told Clint and Benji was we love them, we love them both.” Nutt, referring to costly mistakes made by quarterback Clint Stoerner and deep snapper Benji
Mahan NOV. 13, 1999
ARKANSAS 28,
TENNESSEE 24 “This is real, real special. Everybody on the team — kicker, punter, coverage guys, all 80 of them who dressed out. Boy, what an unbelievable team victory. The fans on our last offensive drive really came to life and pushed us over the edge and then on the last defensive stops...” Nutt, after Arkansas avenged its painful 1998 loss to Tennessee SEPTEMBER, 2000 ARKANSAS-BOISE STATE WEEK “I do respect the guy, but he is a used car salesman.” Boise State defensive tackle Brad Phillips, who played for Nutt during Nutt’s one season at Boise DECEMBER, 2002 AFTER FIVE YEARS ON JOB “When I first got here, I wanted to coach 25 years. I’m down to 20.” Nutt, reflecting after a 9-5 season that included an SEC West title and SEC Championship Game
pummeling JANUARY, 2004 THE TREV ALBERTS TEMPEST “My understanding is that Houston Nutt was disingenuous at best in his dealings, pursued Nebraska the day Frank Solich was fired, begged them for an interview so he could use them to get a pay raise.” ESPN analyst Trev Alberts, after Nutt announced he was staying at Arkansas “I can’t believe Trev Alberts would make a statement without talking to me.... I think it’s regrettable that he would make outrageous statements like that. I didn’t have to use that to get to Frank Broyles. That’s an outright
lie.” Nutt’s response to Albert’s statements DEC. 9, 2005 THE GUS ‘MALAZAHN’ HIRING “You all give me some critiques about calling plays. Now Gus will get to have the same thing. Go ahead and clap on that one.” Nutt, on relinquishing play-calling duties to former Springdale High School coach Gus Malzahn, whose name he mispronounced “We’ll implement the hurry-up. I can’t tell you what percent, but we will spread the field. We’re going to run the offense, and we’re going to have fun doing
it.” Gus Malzahn NOV. 25, 2007 SUNDAY AFTER LSU VICTORY “Right now, I’m excited. Chancellor [John ] White and Coach Broyles, they want me here. They want me to stay, and that’s a good feeling.”
Nutt
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