TAT: Fate Kept Bear Bryant From Coaching at Arkansas

This article originally appeared on September 26, 2013 on The Arkansas Traveler website, uatrav.com.

When people think of Paul “Bear” Bryant, they think of his iconic houndstooth hat and six national championships at Alabama.

However, many tend to forget that Bryant coached at Texas A&M before the Crimson Tide and don’t realize that he was almost the head coach at Arkansas twice.

Bryant grew up in Fordyce, Ark., before playing college football at Alabama. Following his playing career, he went straight into coaching.

In 1941, he was an assistant coach at Vanderbilt, but after the season, he took the head coaching job at Arkansas. Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, Bryant never made it to Fayetteville.

As he was driving to Arkansas from Nashville on Dec. 7, 1941, he heard the news of Pearl Harbor on the radio. He immediately turned around and joined the Navy.

After serving in World War II, Bryant took the head coaching job at Maryland in 1945, and then became the head coach at Kentucky in 1946.

He led the Wildcats to their first and only Southeastern Conference championship in 1950 and was again offered the head coach position at Arkansas, but he turned it down and stayed at Kentucky through the 1953 season.

In 1954, he became the head coach of the Aggies.

His first season in College Station was rough, as the team went 1-9 after going through an infamous 10-day training camp in Junction, Texas. During the camp many players quit. The 37 “survivors” were nicknamed the “Junction Boys” and became the subject of a book by Jim Dent, The Junction Boys.

Dent mentions that Arkansas offered Bryant the head coaching job in the early 1950s when he quotes what Bryant said during contract negotiations with Texas A&M.

“I had lots of offers from schools all over the country,” Bryant said. “The Arkansas people flew me in and offered me an oil-and-gas deal about three years ago. I’d be a millionaire today if I’d took it.”

The Aggies improved greatly in Bryant’s next three seasons, going 24-5-2 and winning the Southwest Conference title in 1956. In 1957, John David Crow won the Heisman while playing for Bryant.

Following his short, but successful stint at Texas A&M, he was hired at Alabama and the rest is history.

After failing to sign Bryant in 1941, Arkansas went through seven head coaches in 16 seasons. They compiled a 72-86-5 record over that time span and only beat Bryant’s Aggies once.

The same year Bryant took over at Alabama, the Razorbacks hired Frank Broyles, who led them to one national title and a 144-58-5 record.

Texas A&M struggled without Bryant, as well. In the 14 seasons following his departure, they had three head coaches and an overall record of 45-92-6.

Bryant died in 1983 with 323 victories, which was more than any other head coach in college football at the time.

TAT: By the Numbers - The Rutgers Game and More

These stats were originally compiled for the September 25, 2013 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.

646 – Career digs by senior libero Emily Helm. Her 12 digs against Saint Louis moved her into 19th place on the UA career digs list.

2,126 – Career digs by Ashley Miller from 2004-2007. She is the Razorbacks’ all-time leader in digs.

7 – Games played by the Arkansas women’s soccer team that have been decided by one goal. They are 7-2 overall and 5-2 in games decided by one goal, including back-to-back 1-0 losses to TCU and Ole Miss.

3 – Perfect scores by the Arkansas women’s cross country team this season. They collected their third Saturday at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego. Razorback runners took the top eight spots, defeating runners from San Diego St. and USC, among others, as well as perennial NAIA powerhouse Biola.

1940 – The last time Arkansas played a football game in the Northeast, before Saturday’s game at Rutgers, was Nov. 21, 1940, when the Razorbacks lost to No. 15 Fordham 27-7. Fordham is now a member of the Patriot League in the FCS (formerly Division I-AA).

88 – Combined rushing yards by sophomore Jonathan Williams and freshman Alex Collins against Rutgers. They had been averaging a combined 270.3 yards per game.

371.5, 4 – Passing yards and touchdowns Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova has averaged against Arkansas the last two seasons.

175.7, 1.4 – Passing yards and touchdowns Nova has averaged in the 25 games he’s played against opponents other than the Razorbacks.

18.5 – Career sacks by senior defensive end Chris Smith, after he collected one against Rutgers. He is now sixth on the UA career sacks list. Wayne Martin is first, with 25.5 from 1985 to 1988.

3 – Different players that completed a pass for the Razorbacks against Rutgers. Junior quarterback AJ Derby completed 14-of-26 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore running back Jonathan Williams and junior punter Sam Irwin-Hill each completed one pass, for 21 and 24 yards, respectively. Williams’ pass was a touchdown.

11:49 – Time, in minutes and seconds, that Arkansas has trailed this year. They are third in the SEC in this statistic, behind LSU, who has never trailed, and Missouri, who has only trailed for 8:20.

28 - Times Arkansas has played Texas A&M the week following a loss. The Razorbacks are 16-11-1 in those games.

TAT: Hogs in the Pros (Sept. 25)

This stats were originally compiled for the September 25, 2013 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.

NFL

Week 3

Jake Bequette, New England Patriots

• W 23-3, vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• 1 quarterback hit

Knile Davis, Kansas City Chiefs

• W 26-16, @ Philadelphia Eagles
• 6 carries, 25 yards

Chris Houston, Detroit Lions

• W 27-20, @ Washington Redskins
• 5 solo tackles, 2 assisted tackles, 2 pass breakups, 1 interception, 4 yards

Felix Jones, Pittsburgh Steelers

• L 40-23, vs. Chicago Bears
• 7 carries, 39 yards, 1 fumble, 2 receptions, 13 yards, 2 kickoff returns, 48 yards

Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders

• L 37-21, @ Denver Broncos
• 12 carries, 9 yards, 1 touchdown, 1-for-1 passing, 16 yards, 1 touchdown

George Wilson, Tennessee Titans

• W 20-17, vs. San Diego Chargers
• 1 solo tackle, 1 pass breakup

Jarius Wright, Minnesota Vikings

• L 31-27, vs. Cleveland Browns
• 3 receptions, 35 yards

MLB

9/16-9/22

Cody Clark, Houston Astros

• 4 games, 2 starts
• 7 at bats, 2 hits, 1 double, 2 strikeouts

Logan Forsythe, San Diego Padres

• 3 games, 1 start
• 5 at bats, 1 hit, 1 RBI, 1 strikeout

Craig Gentry, Texas Rangers

• 5 games, 3 starts
• 14 at bats, 8 hits, 1 triple, 1 RBI, 1 run scored, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 4 stolen bases

Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros

• 1 game, 1 start
• 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies

• 1 game, 1 start
• W (14-6), 8 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 14 K

Blake Parker, Chicago Cubs

• 3 games, 0 starts
• 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Drew Smyly, Detroit Tigers

• 2 games, 0 starts
• 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

TAT: 'Dumb' Does Not Describe Hog Fans

This column originally appeared in the September 25, 2013 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.

Last week, Clay Travis of OutkickTheCoverage.com published an article calling Arkansas fans the fourth-dumbest fan base in America.

Understandably, many fans were offended and angered by this. They vented their displeasure on radio talk shows and social media. Most of them only strengthened Travis’ argument.

My plea to Razorback fans is to ignore people like this. When people trash your team, don’t fire back. Take the high road and just keep cheering for Arkansas. Besides, if you think about it, he didn’t have that great of evidence to back up his claim.

In Travis’ article, one of the reasons he said Arkansas fans are so dumb is because they “really believe they should be contending for national championships in football every year.”

This isn’t a sign of stupidity. It’s a sign of passion. All true fans believe their team should compete for national championships.

There is a difference between “should” and “will.” Most Razorback fans understand that unless your head coach is Nick Saban, it is impossible to win a title every year. They do believe, however, that the program should take steps toward a title every year.

He also said that Arkansas fans “legitimately thought Pete Carroll was going to leave the Seattle Seahawks to come coach the Razorbacks.”

First of all, I don’t remember too many people that really thought that would happen. Sure, there were rumors of Carroll and Jon Gruden being interested in the job, but that’s all they were: rumors.

Second, believing Arkansas would hire a high profile coach that no one thought would leave his current position isn’t “dumb.” They ended up hiring a coach that went to three straight Rose Bowls. Who saw that coming?

Travis mentioned a 1994 Sports Illustrated with Bill Clinton and the headline “Whoooo, Pig, Sooey” on the cover, as well. He said that Razorback fans shouldn’t be upset with the spelling because they’ve “never distinguished between your and you’re.”

Being upset with the spelling has nothing to do with intelligence level. Many people all over the country don’t know the difference between “your” and “you’re.”

Any fan base would have the right to be mad if a major publication spelled a tradition wrong like that. It wouldn’t take much research to find out that it’s spelled “Woo Pig Sooie.”

Finally, Razorback fans shouldn’t get too upset with the “Stereotypical Arkansas fan” section. It is mostly the same stereotypes of Arkansans that have been around for decades.

Plus, there are crazy and “dumb” fans for all teams. However, these are usually outliers. They aren’t the norm.

He hasn’t released his number one dumbest fan base yet, but I have a feeling it will be Alabama. Most likely, Harvey Updyke poisoning Auburn’s Toomer’s Corner trees will be featured prominently in the article.

While I think Updyke is dumb, I don’t think this is an accurate representation of all Crimson Tide fans. In fact, a fund called Tide for Toomer’s was started by Alabama fans in an effort to save the trees.

If Arkansas fans are guilty of anything, they are guilty of the same thing most southern football fans are guilty of: being excessively passionate. Travis mistakes this passion as stupidity, so who’s the dumb one?

TAT: Players Returning From Injury Have Impact on Hogs

This article originally appeared on September 24, 2013 on The Arkansas Traveler website, uatrav.com.

Despite playing a backup quarterback, several players returned from injuries in the Razorbacks’ 28-24 loss to Rutgers Saturday.

Junior quarterback AJ Derby made his first start for Arkansas after it was determined that sophomore Brandon Allen wasn’t healthy enough to play.

“If (Allen) had said Saturday that he was ready to go, and the doctors gave him permission, we would have went with him,” head coach Bret Bielema said in his press conference Monday. “It’s the same thing this week.”

Allen will participate in a limited practice Tuesday, but if he isn’t able to play against No. 10 Texas A&M, Derby will make his second start.

Against the Scarlet Knights, Derby was 14-for-26 with 137 yards and one touchdown.

“I don’t think AJ did anything that caused great alarm,” Bielema said. “He could have done some things here and there, but for the most part, I thought he did really well.”

Senior tight end Austin Tate and sophomore linebacker Otha Peters saw their first game action against Rutgers, after missing the first three games with injuries.

Bielema said Tate brings a “calmness” to a tight end group that includes true freshman Hunter Henry, and sophomores Alex Voelzke and Mitchell Loewen.

“Austin Tate was awesome,” Bielema said. “I think he really gives us some leadership at the tight end position.”

Although Peters played a lot Saturday, he probably won’t play as much against the Aggies this week. Texas A&M runs a completely different offense than Rutgers and he will still be wearing a cast, which “limits you on certain plays,” Bielema said.

Sophomore wide receiver Keon Hatcher and sophomore safety Rohan Gaines also returned against Rutgers.

Hatcher led the team with four receptions and 45 yards and tacked on 19 yards on two carries.

“I wish we got (Hatcher) involved more in the game plan, but he wasn’t full go until Thursday afternoon,” Bielema said.

Gaines saw limited action, playing only seven snaps and making two tackles.

Both Hatcher and Gaines should have a full week of practice and play more against the Aggies.

Another sophomore wide receiver, D’Arthur Cowan, is expected to return this week.

“He’s been pretty active this week,” Bielema said. “We’ll throw him into tomorrow’s practice and as long as he keeps moving forward, (he’ll play).”

After a “very quiet” ride home Saturday night and “somber” meeting Sunday afternoon, Bielema said that the team has put the Rutgers loss behind it and has shifted its focus to Texas A&M.

Many of Arkansas’ mistakes, including their six penalties, are “easily correctable,” Bielema said.

Those mistakes must be fixed because they will be magnified Saturday when the Razorbacks take on Texas A&M and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel.

“This summer, I dedicated a two day study to (Texas A&M),” Bielema said. “(Manziel) can get rid of the ball in the most unusual situations. You need to have someone constantly stay in his face.”

The game is scheduled to kickoff at 6 p.m. Saturday and will air nationally on ESPN2.