FAYETTEVILLE – Special teams have been an issue at Arkansas for the last few years, but there has usually been at least one bright spot.

In 2013, the Razorbacks had second-team All-SEC kicker Zach Hocker. They had a really good punter as recently as 2016 in Toby Baker. Last season, De’Vion Warren was a Freshman All-SEC selection as a kickoff returner and they had one of the top coverage units in the conference.

That is not the case so far in 2018, as all of the units in football’s third and oft-forgotten phase at Arkansas have struggled. Not only are the Razorbacks falling short of head coach Chad Morris’ goal of placing three units among the best in the SEC, but their special teams as a whole is among the worst in the country.

It ranks 127th out of 130 FBS teams in ESPN’s efficiency rating with a score of 15.6. That is on the scale from 0-100 based on contribution to scoring margin on a per-play basis.

The result of that poor special teams performance was on full display Saturday at No. 9 Auburn, with long kickoff and punt returns, blocked punts, short punts and a missed field goal all leading to excellent field position for the Tigers.

In fact, 34 of their 58 total offensive snaps were on Arkansas’ side of the 50-yard line, including 13 of 17 in the first quarter and 23 of 30 before halftime.

“The amount of emphasis we place on special teams around here, and to put the production out that we did was unacceptable,” Morris said. “Your fundamentals have to hold up under pressure.

“That’s something we’ve got to go back and we’re going to look at. … We’ve got to get better in all phases in our special teams.”

Morris has received some criticism for not hiring a special teams coordinator for the 10th assistant coach position the NCAA recently allowed.

An analysis of each team’s official website shows that Arkansas is one of three SEC program without a coach who has the title of “special teams coordinator,” with the others being Ole Miss and Texas A&M.

Five teams – Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri and Vanderbilt – have a coach whose sole duty is special teams, while the other schools have a position coach who has a double role.

When asked during his weekly Monday press conference if he considered hiring a special teams coordinator and what went into his decision not to hire one, Morris mostly deflected the question.

“A lot of programs across the country do exactly what we’re doing,” Morris said. “We have a special teams analyst, who goes in and breaks it all down and puts together the plan and we all look at it in a staff meeting and look at it as each coach has his own individual responsibilities in special teams.”

The special teams analyst Morris is referring to is Tanner Burns, who is in his fifth season as Arkansas’ quality control coach for special teams.

Morris said he and the rest of the staff meet with Burns every Monday night to go over that week’s game plan and then they spend 10-15 minutes in daily meetings on each phase of special teams.

They also look at the personnel each week to determine if they need to move guys around, which will likely happen this week after missed assignments on the front line allowed the blocked punt and near block.

“There’s some things that we’ve got to shore up from a scheme standpoint,” Morris said. “We’ve had some things up front that we’ll go back in and readjust, as we do at all positions.”

Following the game Saturday, Morris mentioned the Razorbacks might use some more starters on special teams, which has always been a delicate balance in football.

Defensive coordinator John Chavis said he would prefer to be able to use second-team players on special teams to give his starters some rest, but is on board with it if it helps fix the issues.

“We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to win,” Chavis said. “If that’s going to help us, I’m all for it, I’m all in.”

That sentiment is also held by offensive coordinator Joe Craddock, as he said he didn’t mind using offensive starters on special teams if it meant improving that area of the game.

“If they need to use Ty Storey, I feel good with that,” Craddock said. “Do whatever is best for our team. That’s a third of the game, special teams. If they have to use our best players, so be it. We’ve got to win that third of the game.”

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