The second set of spring practices in the Chad Morris era begin today at 4:30 p.m. Arkansas is trying to improve off one of the all-time worst seasons in school history and has several things it must address in the 15 practices over the next several weeks.
Here are HawgBeat’s six biggest questions facing the Razorbacks as they enter the spring…
1. How will the quarterback depth chart shake out?
When asked earlier this week about which quarterback will take the first snap this spring, Morris claimed he and the coaching staff hadn’t thought about it yet. That is unlikely, but it does illustrate how up in the air the quarterback position is, especially with the transfers of Ty Storey and Cole Kelley.
In all likelihood, Ben Hicks - the graduate transfer from SMU - will get the first snap. He is a fifth-year senior and probably knows the offense better than any other quarterback on the roster because his first three years in college were spent under Morris and offensive coordinator Joe Craddock. Although he is SMU’s all-time leading passer, there are concerns about how well he’ll adjust to playing in the SEC.
The presumed biggest competitor with Hicks for the starting job would be Connor Noland because he started a game last year and played more than any of the other quarterbacks, but he is splitting his time with baseball and will probably miss several practices. As the No. 2 pitcher for the Razorbacks, there’s a good chance he’ll also miss scrimmages.
That leaves redshirt freshman John Stephen Jones and redshirt sophomore Daulton Hyatt, who have played a combined 24 snaps of college football.
With Texas A&M graduate transfer Nick Starkel visiting this weekend, the depth chart could be blown up over the summer if he commits to Arkansas and we could go through this whole thing again in the fall.
2. What will the first-team offensive line look like by the end of spring?
Three seniors started on Arkansas’ offensive line last season, so several younger players will have a chance to crack the starting lineup and try to fix what has been one of the worst positions on the team the last three years.
The two major keys to this year’s unit are junior college transfers Chibueze Nwanna and Myron Cunningham. The hope is that they’ll quickly adjust to the Division I level and bookend the line at the two tackle spots. Going through spring practice should help speed that process up, but you just never know with JUCO transfers. Their biggest competition is likely from Colton Jackson, Dalton Wagner and Noah Gatlin, all of whom started games at left tackle in 2018.
There are also question marks on the interior, as Ty Clary struggled with snapping the ball last season and both starting guards graduated. Clary will battle it out with Silas Robinson and Shane Clenin at center, with Clenin, Ryan Winkel and Austin Capps competing for the guard spots.
It will likely be a constantly evolving starting unit, so it will be interesting to see what it looks like by the end of spring.
3. Can Trey Knox and Shamar Nash do what Mike Woods did last year?
Last spring, Woods was an early enrollee and immediately inserted himself as a guy the Razorbacks could depend on at wide receiver. Sure enough, he ended up starting seven games.
That is the blueprint that Knox and Nash are trying to follow as they go through spring drills as highly touted four-star signees. They give Morris the big-bodied targets - Nash is 6-foot-3 and Knox is 6-foot-5 - he said they lacked last season.
If they can pick up the playbook quick enough, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them surpass the older plays on the depth chart.
4. How will the defensive line rotation evolve?
Armon Watts and Randy Ramsey are gone, so Arkansas is having to replace half of its starting defensive line. It has a pretty solid anchor in McTelvin Agim, who will likely start out at defensive tackle but is capable of playing defensive end, too.
Beyond that, there are several questions. T.J. Smith started 10 games last year, but wasn’t particularly effective. Can he make the kind of jump seen out of Watts in 2018?
Jamario Bell has shown flashes at defensive end. Can he finally emerge as a reliable contributor as a fifth-year senior? Dorian Gerald started the final two games at defensive end last year. Can he take a step forward sometimes seen by junior college transfer in their second season?
When healthy, Briston Guidry has looked really good, but he won’t be able to go through spring practice because of an injury. It’s now or never for Gabe Richardson and getting close to that for Jonathan Marshall.
Behind them are a slew of younger players. Can early enrollees Mataio Soli and Eric Gregory work their way into the rotation as true freshmen? (Zach Williams likely needs a year of development.) What about second-year guys like Isaiah Nichols, Courtre Alexander and Nicholas Fulwider?
By the end of spring practice, we should have a better idea of which players will be involved in the rotation and which will spend most of the season on the sideline.
5. Can Arkansas establish some depth at linebacker?
Barring the addition of a transfer or two, Arkansas will go into the 2019 season with only eight scholarship linebackers. Hayden Henry will go through spring in a no-contact role, while 2019 signee Zach Zimos won’t arrive until this summer.
That means the Razorbacks could have only six scholarship linebackers available for spring drills. They got a boost when De’Jon Harris decided to return for his senior year and sophomore Bumper Pool is expected to replace Dre Greenlaw as the other starter, but there needs to be some depth behind them so they don’t have to play virtually every snap of every game.
Dee Walker was a guy who some thought would be a solid backup, but he is no longer on the team following an offseason arrest. Grant Morgan has quite a bit of experience, especially considering he is a former walk-on.
Beyond that, it’s going to be up to Deon Edwards or Giovanni LaFrance coming out of nowhere or Andrew Parker emerging for the Razorbacks to build that depth.
6. Which second-year players will make the biggest jumps?
The 2018 class was not very big, as it featured only 15 high school signees, but the coaches are really high on several of them. For the Razorbacks to have a successful season, some of those players will need to make big jumps in their season season at Arkansas.
Here are a few who HawgBeat feels will be critical to the turnaround:
~Joe Foucha/Myles Mason: Neither of these guys redshirted last season and they will probably have even bigger roles as sophomores. With Santos Ramirez gone, one of them will likely be a starter beside Kamren Curl and the other will likely be the primary backup for both safety spots.
~Silas Robinson: As mentioned above, Ty Clary struggled with shotgun snaps last season and had some abysmal blocking grades according to Pro Football Focus. He was basically the starter by default because Arkansas had no other options, so even if Robinson doesn’t win the starting job, maybe he can push Clary to be better in 2019.
~Andrew Parker: We already have a good idea of Bumper Pool brings to the table, but Parker is somewhat of a mystery because an injury sidelined him most of the year. He probably won’t be asked to play a ton, but Arkansas needs depth at linebacker and he could provide that.
~Ladarrius Bishop: Wouldn’t it be a cool story if Bishop could earn a starting spot opposite his cousin, Montaric Brown, at cornerback? For that to happen, Bishop would have to beat out Jarques McClellion, who played a ton last year but struggled in coverage.
Take a look at the Razorbacks Spring Roster and Projected 2019 Scholarship Distribution.
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