All-Arkansas NFL Draft Team - Defense

On Tuesday, HawgBeat unveiled the All-Arkansas NFL Draft offensive team. Now it is time for the other side of the ball.

As a reminder, we compiled this team by taking the highest drafted Razorbacks at each position during the common draft era (since 1967). Players were assigned to the position at which they were drafted, which isn’t necessarily the one they played at Arkansas.

Here is the All-Arkansas NFL Draft defensive team…

DE – Jamaal Anderson (2007, No. 8, Falcons) / Loyd Phillips (1967, No. 10, Bears)

Much like at running back, defensive end is a deep position in Arkansas’ history. At the top of the list in terms of the NFL Draft is Anderson, a two-star wide receiver coming out of Little Rock Parkview who became a key piece of the Razorbacks’ SEC West division championship team in 2006.

That season, Anderson racked up 20.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks. Those marks still rank third on the UA single-season lists. He didn’t quite live up to expectations in the pros, finishing his six-year career with only 7.5 sacks and 132 tackles.

Phillips is one of the best defensive linemen in school history. He burst onto the scene as a sophomore on the 1964 national championship team and then became a two-time consensus first-team All-American the following two years. He was a first-team All-SWC selection all three years, racking up 304 total tackles, and won the Outland Trophy as a senior in 1966.

Although he played defensive tackle at Arkansas, Phillips was drafted as a defensive end because of his size. In three seasons with the Bears, he started 15 of the 32 games in which he appeared, recovering one fumble and intercepting two passes.

Second team: Ron Faurot (1984, No. 15, Jets) / Wayne Martin (1989, No. 19, Saints)

DT – Dan Hampton (1979, No. 4, Bears) / Henry Ford (1994, No. 26, Oilers)

Tied with McFadden for the highest selection from Arkansas during the common draft era, Hampton was a first-team All-SWC performer as a senior, when he made 98 tackles – including 18 for loss. That also helped him earn SWC Defensive Player of the Year and AFCA first-team All-America honors. Hampton finished his career with 237 tackles, including 32 for loss, and six fumble recoveries.

During his Hall of Fame professional career, Hampton was a four-time Pro Bowler, earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1982 from PFW and was named the NFC Defensive Lineman of the Year by the NFLPA in 1984. He was also part of the vaunted 1985 Bears’ defense, which helped Chicago win Super Bowl XX. In 157 career games, he had 57 sacks and 10 fumble recoveries.

Ford’s numbers at Arkansas were even more impressive. During a career that was split evenly between the SWC and SEC, he racked up 25 sacks and 43 tackles for loss, which rank second and third in UA history, respectively. His best season came in 1993 as a senior, when he set school records for sacks (14) and tackles for loss (23) and became the first Arkansas player to earn first-team All-SEC honors from the AP and coaches. Those marks have since been tied, but still rank first on the single-season lists.

During his 10-year NFL career, Ford started 76 of the 133 games in which he appeared and made 275 tackles, including 24 sacks. He also forced two fumbles and recovered six, including one he returned 30 yards for a touchdown.

Second team: Marcus Harrison (2008, No. 90, Bears) / Junior Soli (1996, No. 155, Chargers)

LB – Billy Ray Smith, Jr. (1983, No. 5, Chargers) / Quinton Caver (2001, No. 55, Eagles) / Steve Conley (1996, No. 72, Steelers)

One of the greatest defensive players in Arkansas history, Smith is the Razorbacks’ only two-time unanimous first-team All-American. He finished his career with 299 tackles, including 63 for loss – which is still the UA record. Although he played defensive end at Arkansas, Smith was drafted as a linebacker and was named a second-team All-Pro in 1989. In 10 seasons with the Chargers, he had 26.5 sacks, 15 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries.

The only other Arkansas linebacker taken in the top two rounds during the common draft era is Caver, who racked up 239 tackles – including 30 for loss – in his career with the Razorbacks. His best game was a 22-tackle effort against Alabama in 2000. That is tied for the most tackles by an Arkansas player in the last 48 years and is a school record for an SEC game. In five NFL seasons, he made 64 tackles and had two pass deflections.

Part of an athletic family that features an Olympian and an NBA point guard, Conley earned first-team All-SEC honors from the coaches in 1995 when he tied Ford’s single-season UA records with 23 tackles for loss and 14 sacks. He is ranked fifth in sacks (21) and ninth in tackles for loss (35) on Arkansas’ career lists. Conley’s three-year NFL career featured eight tackles – including four sacks – and one interception.

Second team: Caleb Miller (2004, No. 80, Bengals) / Kerry Owens (1989, No. 89, Bengals) / Ravin Caldwell (1986, No. 113, Redskins)

Bonus: Two players from the pre-common draft era are worth mentioning here, beginning with Bob Griffin. A first-team All-SWC selection as a center at Arkansas, he was taken with the 25th overall pick in 1952 and enjoyed a six-year NFL career in which he played linebacker and center. The other is Danny Brabham, who also had a six-year NFL career. In addition to being the 30th overall pick in the 1963 NFL Draft, he was also the sixth overall pick in the 1963 AFL Draft. That makes him Arkansas’ highest drafted player ever in the 10 AFL drafts.

CB – Ahmad Carroll (2004, No. 25, Packers) / Chris Houston (2007, No. 41, Falcons)

Known by the nickname “Batman,” Carroll was a five-star recruit from Atlanta who was also an AAU national champion as a sprinter in track. In three seasons with the Razorbacks, he had 150 tackles, 25 pass breakups and five interceptions, earning All-SEC honors from the coaches as a sophomore (second team) and junior (first team).

Largely considered a bust, Carroll played five seasons with three different teams in the NFL. He made 28 starts in 57 career appearances, racking up 127 tackles, three sacks, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovered for a touchdown.

Houston’s time at Arkansas immediately followed Carroll’s departure. His biggest season came in 2006, when he was a key part of the SEC West division championship team. That year, Houston made 45 tackles, had 13 pass breakups, intercepted three passes and forced two fumbles, helping him earn first-team All-SEC honors from the AP. Two of those interceptions came against Mississippi State, when he set the UA single-game record for return yards with 129.

Turning pro after that year, Houston was drafted by the same team as Anderson. During a seven-year career with the Falcons and Lions, he started 91 of 99 career games and made 13 interceptions to go along with 376 tackles. In 2011, Houston led the NFL with 225 return yards on his five picks.

Second team: Vaughn Lusby (1979, No. 91, Bengals) / Danny Walters (1983, No. 95, Chargers)

S – Steve Atwater (1989, No. 20, Broncos) / Ken Hamlin (2003, No. 42, Seahawks)

Nearly three decades have passed since he played for the Razorbacks, but Atwater still holds the school record for career interceptions with 14. He was also a two-time first-team All-SWC selection and notched two more interceptions in the East-West Shrine Game.

The Broncos took Atwater with their first pick of the 1989 NFL Draft and he went on to become an eight-time Pro Bowler. He also helped Denver win back-to-back Super Bowls near the end of his career, in which he made 1,180 tackles and 24 interceptions while starting 166 of 167 career games. Those stats have drawn Hall of Fame consideration for him, as he’s been a semifinalist and finalist for induction into Canton.

Despite playing only three seasons at Arkansas, Hamlin left as the UA’s all-time leading tackler with 381, breaking Cliff Powell’s 33-year-old record. His mark has since been passed twice, but his 159 tackles as a junior still rank second only to Wayne Harris’ total in 1960. Hamlin also had 19 pass breakups, nine interceptions, eight forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries for the Razorbacks.

In the NFL, Hamlin played eight seasons – primarily with the Seahawks and Cowboys – and enjoyed some success. He was named to the PFW All-Rookie team in 2003 and made the Pro Bowl in 2007. In addition to his 489 career tackles, Hamlin also had 15 interceptions and five forced fumbles.

Second team: Kenoy Kennedy (2000, No. 45, Broncos) / Greg Lasker (1986, No. 53, Giants)

P – Steve Cox (1981, No. 134, Browns)

After beginning his career at Tulsa, Cox – a Charleston, Ark., native – transferred to Arkansas, where he played two seasons. He earned first-team All-SWC honors both years and led the nation in punting average as a senior at 46.5 yards. Cox still holds the career record with a 45.2-yard average and his 86-yard punt against Texas in 1980 is still the longest in school history.

In the NFL, Cox’s eight-year career was split evenly between the Browns and Redskins, the latter of which he helped win a Super Bowl. Although he was primarily a punter – with a 42.0-yard average – Cox also kicked some. His 60-yard field goal for the Brown in 1984 was the second longest in NFL history at the time and remains one of only 17 field goals of at least 60 yards in NFL history.

Second team: Greg Horne (1987, No. 139, Bengals)