Heading into his second year under an aggressive Travis Williams' Arkansas defense, sophomore linebacker Brad Spence said on Wednesday that he feels natural as a versatile defender and is progressing well with his speed and knowledge of the playbook heading into the 2024 season.
As a freshman in 2023, Spence played in 11 games for the Razorbacks with one start. The Houston, Texas, native made 16 total tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and one interception that was returned for a touchdown against Western Carolina.
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The 6-foot-2, 238-pound linebacker has been seen starting alongside Xavian Sorey Jr. with the first-team unit during fastball periods throughout fall camp, but has also taken snaps as a standup edge-rusher in the "Buck" (outside linebacker) position.
"Naturally I feel like I’m a pass rusher at heart, so I think T-Will kind of keyed in on that, Spence said. "That’s our three-down. So’ll probably go down there. Me and (Nico Davillier) switch out here and there. I feel natural on the edge, so that’s where I’m at home at."
Arkansas' mix-and-match potential has been hammered on throughout August, and Spence is just the latest in a long line of Hogs that can adapt to what the defense needs at any given moment.
"I mean, he can do different things," Williams said. "We always talk about the more you can do. So, not just playing one position. The more you can do to help the defense. So, you don’t want to be out there and say, ‘We can’t play this particular defense because this particular player is banged up.’
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"So, he brings different things for us. Inside, outside, things like that. So, man, he’s just so talented to where we can put him at different positions and whatever that position may be is what fits the overall defense, if that makes sense."
During Arkansas' first scrimmage of fall camp on Aug. 8, Spence recorded a sack, according to stats given to the media. The team will have its final tuneup on Thursday morning, and Spence says he hopes to come out faster than before.
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"Last scrimmage, we kind of picked up on it slow late in the game," Spence said. "Our number one goal tomorrow is to come out fast. Start off playing fast and hard.”
Arkansas will open its season Thursday, Aug. 29, against UAPB at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on ESPNU.
