Arkansas and Ole Miss football don’t like each other – flat out. Most Razorback fans would list the Rebels right up there with Texas and LSU as the program’s biggest rival.
For most Arkansas players, they’re in the same boat. Take offensive lineman Patrick Kutas for example, who said he was “raised to not like Ole Miss.”
But for the Metcalf brothers, defensive backs TJ and Tevis, the situation could not be any more different.
Born in Oxford and raised an Ole Miss fan, the Metcalf family’s ties to the school and the state of Mississippi run deep. His parents met when they were students at Ole Miss and his dad, Tarrus, played for the Rebels. His cousin, DK Metcalf, was a standout receiver for the Rebels who is now tearing it up in the NFL.
But TJ and his younger brother Tevis, a freshman defensive back, went against the family grain and took their talents to Arkansas.
Saturday morning’s contest between the Razorbacks and Rebels is shaping up to be a pivotal matchup for both teams in the latest installment of a rivalry that’s always full of surprises.
Whether it’s a 52-51 thriller or a miracle like the “Henry Heave” on fourth-and-25, this one never disappoints. This time around, Arkansas (5-3) will be looking to pick up its sixth win to secure bowl eligibility while Ole Miss (6-2) looks to get back on track in its quest to win out and make the College Football Playoff.
But the showdown will be “even more meaningful” for the Metcalf brothers, their mother Neely told Best of Arkansas Sports on Monday.
Ole Miss Football Ties Motivation for Metcalfs
TJ and Tevis were both three-star prospects out of high school, with TJ collecting two dozen offers, including the likes of Penn State and Michigan. Tevis pulled in 13 offers of his own, most notably from Auburn and Colorado. In the end, Neely said it was a “consensus” that the best fit for them was to take the opportunity to play together in the SEC at Arkansas.
The Metcalf family always watched Ole Miss games during TJ and Tevis’ childhood, whether in person or on TV, and there are photos of the brothers in the Rebels’ football facility from way back in elementary school.
Spending so much time around the program as a kid made TJ’s return to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as a Razorback last season an emotional moment that he said brought tears to his eyes.
Despite the brothers spurning their family’s Ole Miss ties to become Razorbacks, she added that she always respected their decision and knew they were doing what was best for their careers – no repeats of The Blind Side in this instance.
“We never made it a thing of, ‘Oh, the Metcalf legacy is at Ole Miss so our kids just have to go to Ole Miss no matter what.’ I mean, you look at Arch Manning, he’s not at Ole Miss,” Neely said. “The facility is named after his family, and he’s not even there, so we could definitely not feel slighted or feel disappointed by their decision not to go to Ole Miss.”
The Rebels’ football facility is named after Archie and Olivia Manning, Arch’s grandparents.
While their boyhood love for Ole Miss might seem to present a conflict of interest for the Metcalfs on Saturday, their mother said it only serves to heighten their focus heading into the game.
“It really acts as a motivator to go out there and perform,” she said. “That’s the game where all the family’s gonna be watching from back home! It’s kind of similar to the vibe TJ felt with Auburn, because half of his childhood was spent in Alabama and the other half was spent in Mississippi.”
Metcalf attended Pinson Valley High School near Birmingham, Ala., about 100 miles from Auburn’s campus. Despite that, the Tigers never offered him, something that he said made it “personal” when the Hogs beat them in September with the help of a whopping four turnovers forced by Metcalf.
If he turns in a game anything like that on Saturday, the Rebels’ offense might be in trouble. After his performance against Mississippi State on Saturday, the extra chip on his shoulder might prove useful. Despite the 58-25 win, the sophomore received a dismal 44.0 grade on PFF for his 42 snaps against the Bulldogs, making him the Razorbacks’ lowest-graded defender of the week.
When you contrast that with his mammoth game against Auburn, where he recorded a blistering 87.7 grade, it’s been an up-and-down year for Metcalf in his first season as a starter. Defensive coordinator Travis Williams will certainly be hoping that he gets the same fired-up Metcalf against the Rebels’ high-powered offense.
Pittman’s Priorities Gave Hogs the Edge Over Rebels
Head coach Sam Pittman offered some praise to both Metcalf brothers when asked about their Mississippi ties at Monday’s press conference.
“They’re doing a great job,” Pittman said. “Hard-workers, great kids, good football players, as well. All those things. But momma and daddy raised them to be great human beings. They’re great kids and obviously had an opportunity to go in there and get them to come play for us and I hope they have a great game.”
Neely said it meant a lot for her to hear the kind words from the Head Hog, and that Pittman has consistently been good to the Metcalf family throughout their recruitment and their time at Arkansas so far. It was his genuine nature and the effort he put into building a relationship with them that allowed the Hogs to bridge the gap over the Rebels, she said.
“Coach Pittman brought us in his office from the beginning and made us feel like a priority. That wasn’t the case at Ole Miss.”
The Rebels’ staff, by contrast, seemed to take the Metcalfs for granted, assuming their commitments were a “no brainer” because of their ties to the university, Neely said. It’s great to have connections in recruiting, but they’re no good if you don’t put the work in to leverage them.
She also said the Arkansas staff did a great job of doing “the simple things that nobody else did.” Special teams coordinator Scott Fountain was one of the Metcalfs’ primary recruiters, and she specifically cited the time he greeted her at the football facility and got her youngest daughter’s stroller out of the trunk for her. Those moments didn’t go unnoticed.
Both brothers told a similar story in a Pig Trail Nation interview in the spring.
“Arkansas was either my first or second offer, so that was pretty big for me and my recruitment,” Tevis said. “With TJ committing here, that also helped me want to narrow down my decisions. With [Arkansas] being in the SEC and them calling me, texting me, just wanting me the most, that really helped me out.”
TJ cited the prospect of early playing time and feeling welcomed by the staff as key factors in his decision to come to Arkansas.
“It was hard, not going to Ole Miss where my dad and my cousin played, but I just had to make the best decision for me, to come here and make our own little legacy” TJ said. “I just wanted to start something new, still in the SEC but at a different school and a place that felt like home for me.”
“They really wanted me here, and every visit that I came on felt like home,” TJ said. “I felt like I could come in and make a big impact early as a freshman.”
Future with Arkansas Football
Sure enough, the older Metcalf appeared in all 12 games as a freshman. Ironically, the most playing time he got in SEC play last season was against Ole Miss and Auburn, when he played 24 snaps in each game.
Pittman gets some flak from the Razorback faithful sometimes for his “aw shucks” nature, but his authentic and down-to-earth personality is often his best recruiting tool, particularly with families.
You’re not just recruiting a prospect when you walk into an at-home visit – you’re also recruiting his mom, his dad and all his siblings, too. That’s something Neely said Pittman did a great job of.
“He said, ‘I know that I’m recruiting the whole family,’ so it’s always been about family to him…he’s like your favorite uncle,” she said. “He really made it a point that when they came to Arkansas, it was going to be about them leaving better than they came in.”
For the Metcalfs, Saturday’s win over Mississippi State was extra sweet. Neely said she has a number of relatives who are MSU grads, and she grew up in a divided household as the Rebel of the family – literally and figuratively. That made the 58-25 rout in Starkville “special” for her and the boys as they not only brought home a win for Arkansas, but knocked down their in-state archrivals in the process.
With their whole family watching from a divided household this weekend, the brothers will have the opportunity to show out against their childhood favorite team when the Hogs square off against the Rebels.
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Full interview with the Metcalf brothers on Pig Trail Nation, starting at the 9:30 mark:
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