TAT: Hogs Are Confident They Can Turn Season Around

This article originally appeared in the September 25, 2012 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.

     Arkansas lost to Rutgers 35-26 Saturday night, falling to 1-3 on the season. Although the season isn’t going how the Razorbacks expected, the players remain positive.

     “We made a big stride last week,” senior quarterback Tyler Wilson said at a press conference Monday. “The attitude and excitement was where it needed to be, but the execution was not.”

     The day after the loss, Arkansas players and coaches met and had their usual conditioning workout.

     “It’s wild,” Wilson said. “With a few losses and the expectations the way they were, you’d think there would be a lot of crazy things happening, but the way we came out (Sunday) night, it was another positive.”

     A major concern for Arkansas’ offense moving forward is the ability to get the run game going. Through four games, the running backs are averaging just 97.8 yards per game.

     “There are a couple things coach is working on right now,” Wilson said. “We were a little predictable, and we’re going to change that up. That will help us out in the run game.”

     Defensively, Arkansas is struggling against the pass. Against Rutgers, they gave up 397 yards through the air to a quarterback who had only been averaging 188.3 yards per game.

     “Sometimes we’ll be right there and they’ll make the play. Sometimes our names are called on the blitz and we don’t get there,” senior linebacker Alonzo Highsmith said. “There’s a number of things as a team that we’re not doing right.”

     The Razorbacks travel to College Station, Texas, Saturday to play Texas A&M in their first Southeastern Conference road game of the season.

     “Road games are tough, but they’re fun,” Wilson said. “It’s always a challenge, especially going down to Texas A&M. They always have a big fanbase.”

     The “12th Man,” the Texas A&M student section, will be “very loud and a very hostile environment,” junior center Travis Swanson said.

     Wilson expects the Aggies to key in on senior wide receiver Cobi Hamilton after his SEC and UA record-breaking performance against Rutgers last week. He had 303 receiving yards on 10 catches, three of which resulted in touchdowns – the only three touchdowns of the game.

     “They’re probably going to pay a little more attention to him, but we have some guys that can make plays,” Wilson said.

     Junior Brandon Mitchell and freshman Mekale McKay will have big games, Wilson said.

     Arkansas’ defense will be challenged by Texas A&M’s talented freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel. Manziel is averaging 301 total offensive yards per game.

     “He’s an athletic quarterback,” Highsmith said. “He likes to get out and run, but he’s not anything we haven’t seen before.”

     Despite three consecutive losses and dropping out of both the AP and Coaches’ Polls, the Hogs remain confident they can still win games.

     “We had high expectations coming into the season, so it’s still kind of a shock to all of us,” Swanson said. “Do I think the season is over? Not at all. We can still turn this season around and make it a great one.”