The Arkansas Razorbacks will take the field for the 2023 college football season in 21 days when Western Carolina visits War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on Saturday, September 2 for a 3 p.m. CT kickoff.
Here at HawgBeat, we will count down the days until head coach Sam Pittman and his team run through the “A” for the first time.
With 21 days remaining, we will take a look at a current player, former player, some interesting scores, highlights and other miscellaneous things in Razorback history tied to the number 21.
Highlights:
Current Player: #21 Jaylen Lewis
Lewis redshirted his freshman season on campus after playing in three games and making one tackle. The former three-star prospect from Tennessee recorded 31 tackles and an interception as a senior at Haywood High School in Brownsville. The 6-foot defensive back received high praise from secondary coach Deron Wilson Monday morning.
"The Hog position, yes," Wilson said. "Jaylen, Jay-Lew, has been having a really good fall camp."
Former Player: #21 Michael Smith
During his four-year career with the Razorbacks, Smith totaled 2,018 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. He added 53 catches for 529 receiving yards and three touchdowns through the air.
His best season came in 2008 when he ran the ball 207 times for his lone 1,000-yard season (1,072 yards) with eight touchdowns. That year, Smith had five games of 100+ yards including a 192-yard performance against Kentucky.
1973: Arkansas 21 - Iowa State 19
Coming into this matchup, Arkansas was 0-2 on the season after playing No.1 USC and No. 17 Oklahoma State. The Razorbacks had been outscored 55-6 across the two games and needed to get back on track quickly.
Iowa State, on the other hand, was feeling good going into this bout after winning its first game of the season 48-0.
In the two programs' first and only ever matchup, the Razorbacks took home a nail-biting 21-19 victory inside Razorback Stadium. The Frank Broyles-led Hogs finished the season 5-5-1 overall.
Tyler Wilson's 21 passing touchdowns in 2012
The 2012 Arkansas football team was a strange one. Following the firing of head coach Bobby Petrino, the program hired interim head coach John L. Smith. Despite the coaching change, the team was still looked at as one that could do damage — in large part because of the arm of quarterback Tyler Wilson.
The 5-foot-11 signal-caller threw for a career-best 3,387 yards along with 21 touchdowns during his final season on campus. His highest touchdown mark of the season came versus Kentucky when he tossed five total.
