New faces could step up at safety for Arkansas
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Arkansas fans are likely familiar with returning safeties Hudson Clark and Jayden Johnson, but head coach Sam Pittman said Tuesday that some new faces will need to step up on the back end of the secondary this fall.
There are 51 career starts between Clark, a sixth-year senior, and Johnson, a true senior. The pair were a mainstay at safety for defensive coordinator Travis Williams last year, and that's going to be the case once again this season.
Johnson set a career-high with 62 total tackles in 2023 and he also added an interception and three pass breakups. In his first full season at safety last year, Clark tallied 51 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, four pass breakups and one interception.
Returning two experienced players at the same position is very beneficial for Pittman, Williams and co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson. Still, Pittman mentioned that the Hogs could've added more at safety in the transfer portal.
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"I think if you look in totality of what we did in the portal — trying to get depth at the safety spot, that’s where we didn’t get near the numbers there," Pittman said. "I think we got quality, but we didn’t get near the numbers there as what we did at other positions. I think we’re good there, but I don’t know if we’re way past two-deep."
Before getting to the transfers Arkansas added, Pittman mentioned sophomore TJ Metcalf as a potential candidate to step up at safety. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound native of Birmingham, Alabama, played in all 12 games — primarily on special teams — as a freshman last year and he racked up 15 tackles with a fumble recovery.
"I think the name that pops us right off my mind is TJ Metcalf," Pittman said. " TJ ran 22 (miles per hour this offseason)... so he obviously was a lot faster."
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Arkansas added four quality defensive backs out of the portal over the offseason in Tennessee transfer Doneiko Slaughter, South Alabama transfer Marquise "Cuddie" Robinson, Utah State transfer Anthony Switzer and Florida transfer Miguel Mitchell.
Mitchell (6-foot-1, 222 pounds) is the only one that was really a true safety at his prior stop, while Pittman mentioned Robinson (6-foot-1, 192 pounds) and Switzer (6-foot-0, 220 pounds) as two options who could morph into a solid safeties.
"You’ve got Miguel Mitchell, who we like," Pittman said. "Went into the portal to get him. If you look at that and then you think about — and I’m talking about other than (Johnson) and (Clark) — if you look at that and then you go okay, what about Switzer? What’s his capabilities there?
"What about Cuddie? Now Cuddie is obviously a corner and we’re going to give him every chance to win a corner position. He also has a body that he could play safety too."
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Mitchell started eight games at safety for Florida in 2023. He logged 37 tackles, two pass breakups and an interception, which came on Oct. 14 against South Carolina. Robinson set career-bests with 36 tackles, three picks, three pass breakups and one fumble recovery in 13 games at South Alabama last year.
Switzer played linebacker last season as a redshirt senior for Utah State. The Marion (Ark.) native recorded 85 tackles, three sacks, 8.0 tackles for loss, four pass breakups and one pick for the Aggies.
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"I think Switz can play inside the box, I think he can play Hog (nickel) and I think he can play boundary and field safety," Pittman said. "So we’ve got to figure that out. And again, I’d like to figure that out to where we can have at least two full weeks of practicing in that one position. But I think we’ve got to figure out where he would fit. Is he one of our best 11? If he is, where is that fit?"
Arkansas begins fall camp Wednesday ahead of the season-opener Thursday, Aug. 29, against UAPB at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.