HawgBeat's 2024 Christmas Wish List for Arkansas Fans
As is tradition on HawgBeat, we have put together our annual Christmas wish list for Arkansas Razorback fans.
The calendar year of 2023 has left a lot to be desired for Hog fans, so the HawgBeat staff lists out four different wishes that most are hoping come true for Arkansas in 2024:
Splashy Football Transfer Portal Additions
Arkansas is off to a solid start in the transfer portal with eight commitments and a No. 19 overall ranking according to Rivals, but there’s still work to be done if the Razorbacks want to field a better team next season.
Offensively, landing a big-time wide-out that can take over as the primary receiver will help alleviate a lot of concerns. Transfers like Texas A&M's Evan Stewart or Florida Atlantic's LaJohntay Wester are ideal candidates.
Defensively, the Hogs need to secure an elite pass-rusher to come off the edge opposite Landon Jackson. That would create a dynamic defensive line that SEC offensive line's would struggle with. Transfers like Marshall's Elijah Alston or Albany's Anton Juncaj make sense here.
- Riley McFerran, Managing Editor
Some Big Boys Up Front
There’s a good argument to be made that if Arkansas’ offensive line was just average last season, the Hogs could’ve potentially went bowling this season. But the line wasn’t great, and it contributed to a 4-8 season capped off by a blowout loss to Missouri in the season finale.
Hog fans grew used to dominant offensive lines during head coach Sam Pittman’s first three seasons, and that’s what should be expected in 2024 with new offensive line coach Eric Mateos now on staff.
Arkansas already has three transfer offensive linemen out of the transfer portal ready to go in the spring in San Jose State tackle Francisco Carmona Jr., Tennessee guard Addison Nichols and Michigan State tackle Keyshawn Blackstock.
Pittman said Wednesday he plans to find more in the transfer portal, too, but he likes the guys he currently has, too.
"We are going to add some more," Pittman said. "We need them. Listen, you know what I'm getting ready to say. This has nothing to do with what we have. We were young. You look at Chamblee, Harris, Kutas, those guys are going to be really good players for us ... but we went in first trying to find tackles. I mean, that was our biggest thing.
"The next guy we want to go after is a guard who has the capabilities of snapping the football. So, we're going to go there. We may go two more, but we're definitely going to go one more."
Defensive Turnaround for Hoop Hogs
After a brutal football season, Razorback fans turned to basketball to cure their woes and enjoy the success the program has brought over the last few seasons. Only, that hasn’t happened.
Arkansas sits at 8-4 on the season so far, with poor metrics and performances that have left a lot to be desired. The most notable deficiency has been on the defensive side of the ball — where Arkansas has excelled every season under head coach Eric Musselman.
So far on the year, the Razorbacks are allowing teams to score 75.3 points per game, shoot 33.1% from the three point line and attempt 22.7 free throws per contest. The points allowed are currently the worst in Musselman's tenure, while the free throws and three point percentage are each the second-worst under Musselman.
The Razorback basketball team has thrived with good defense in the recent past, and a well-deserved present for Arkansas fans would be to turn the season around with strong defense moving forward. At the very least, it would get the Arkansas team back to its identity over the previous four years.
Healthy Ace for Diamond Hogs
Head coach Dave Van Horn has built a powerhouse of a program during his 21 full seasons with Arkansas baseball, but the past two years have been big "what if" season for the Diamond Hogs.
Back in the 2022 campaign, the Razorbacks made it all the way to the College World Series and they were the third team left standing before losing to Ole Miss — the eventual national champion.
The big “what if” for that year was: What if Peyton Pallette was healthy? The right-hander was projected to be the Hogs’ ace as a junior in 2022, but a torn UCL resulted in him needing Tommy John surgery. Who knows what Arkansas does that year with him on the pitching staff.
Last season, the projected ace was righty Jaxon Wiggins. The hard-throwing native of Roland, Oklahoma, suffered the same fate as Pallette and the Hogs really could’ve used him with the amount of pitching injuries they had in the 2023 season, which ended with a Fayetteville Regional exit against TCU.
So it’s pretty clear that having a health ace will be key for Arkansas. Left-hander Hagen Smith is expected to the ace after an All-American sophomore season, and he could end up being one of the best to ever do it at Arkansas.
Commonly projected in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft, Smith can do it all on the mound. The Texas native can touch 100 miles per hour as a closer or sit around 95 miles per hour as an elite starter.
“He didn’t like the way the season ended last year," Van Horn said Nov 30. "The kid’s a winner. If the game is on the line, he’s the guy I want on the mound."
Keeping Smith healthy doesn’t guarantee any sort of success, but it would be a good step in the right direction for a team that loaded up in the transfer portal for a run this spring and summer.