FAYETTEVILLE — No one would confuse Sam Pittman with an English teacher, but he clearly got a healthy dose of Schoolhouse Rock when he was younger. The Arkansas football depth chart shows his grasp of the classic “Conjunction Junction.”
Although there was no “and” or “but” included, the Razorbacks’ initial two-deep did have 11 total instances of “or” at nine different positions. Seven of those are for starting spots: two on offense, three on defense and two on special teams.
“I think we still have another physical practice today and we’ll find out what we’re going to do at that point,” Pittman said during his weekly Monday press conference. “But again, who runs out there first is probably more important to the kid, and maybe the media, than it is to us because they’re certainly going to play their reps.”
That has become a time-honored tradition in all of college football, so that’s not a dig at Pittman. Just look at what Tennessee did for its upcoming game against Chattanooga.
However, some of those spots are less of a competition than others. Let’s take a look at how we expect them to play out for Thursday’s game against UAPB, with some insight from the Head Hog himself…
Running Back
Rashod Dubinion -OR- Ja’Quinden Jackson
Prediction: Ja’Quinden Jackson
The fact that there was an “or” at running back isn’t particularly surprising because Dubinion and Jackson have separated themselves from the pack. They are the most experienced players at that position and been the most consistent at practice.
What came as a bit of a shock Monday, though, was the fact that Dubinion might actually be third or fourth in the pecking order for Thursday’s game because he’s been dealing with an injury.
Pittman revealed that Jackson would be the starter, followed by Florida State transfer Rodney Hill. The real battle appears to be between Dubinion and heralded freshman Braylen Russell for the third-team reps.
“R-Dub’s been beat up a little bit, so he hasn’t practiced at full speed consistently over the last 10 days,” Pittman said. “Rodney’s done a really good job. We feel like we have five backs that can really play. But probably in order of going into the game, that would be one and two. Then we’ll figure out how Rashod is at practice today and whether that would be him or Braylen probably going in there.”
Left Guard
Patrick Kutas -OR- E’Marion Harris
Prediction: E’Marion Harris
Coming into fall camp, Kutas was seemingly locked in as a starter at left guard. However, two practice in, he went down with a back injury that kept him sidelined the rest of camp.
In his absence, the Razorbacks tried rotating Addison Nichols and Amaury Wiggins between that spot and center, but they eventually determined Harris was the best option.
That is because the light came on for the former four-star recruit, who was offered by Alabama was he was just 13 years old. Harris was identified as one of the most improved players on the team since spring ball and is now firmly in the starting lineup, based on what Pittman said Monday.
“E’Marion Harris has had an outstanding camp and I don’t know that there’ll be any drop-off there,” Pittman said. “He’s really not 5 — if you were going 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, he’s not 5. I don’t know where he’s at. I don’t know if he’s 3, I don’t know if he’s 4 but he’s not 5. He’s really done a really good job.”
The biggest question here is how long Kutas will miss. Pittman said he’ll have an MRI on Friday that should give him some more answers. But even if he returns, it will be interesting to see what happens with Harris if he truly is the Razorbacks’ third- or fourth-best lineman.
Kicker
Matthew Shipley -OR- Kyle Ramsey
Prediction: Matthew Shipley
He has refused to name a starter the last two times he spoke to reporters, but reading between the lines, it seems pretty clear that Shipley will be the Razorbacks’ starting kicker Thursday.
After some struggles in the spring, the Hawaii transfer came on strong during fall camp. According to stats provided by the UA, he made 6 of 8 field goals during Arkansas’ two scrimmages and capped each of them with a make from 50-plus yards in a two-minute drill.
What also helped Shipley’s case is that Ramsey — who was brought in over the summer to push for the starting job — missed all four of his attempts in the last scrimmage. That was partly due to him dealing with a hamstring injury, which eventually led to him being shut down for five days.
Although Ramsey is now healthy and “did a really good job on his field goals,” per Pittman, in Sunday’s practice, Shipley will almost certainly be the guy against UAPB.
Cornerback
Marquise Robinson -OR- Jaheim Singletary -OR- Kee’yon Stewart
Prediction: Marquise Robinson
This has been one of the more intriguing battles of fall camp and probably the toughest to decipher because each of those three players have dealt with injuries at various points.
Singletary is a former five-star recruit who began his career at Georgia and Stewart is a transfer from TCU. Both of them are entering their second season in the program. Robinson – nicknamed “Cuddie” – is a transfer from South Alabama who enrolled midyear.
Those first two guys each got limited opportunities last season and struggled. They’ve shown some signs of improvement in practice, but it remains to be seen if that translates into games.
Considering this is his first year here and the fact that he missed time with injury in both spring ball and fall camp, Robinson is a bit of a “mystery man” for the Razorbacks. It sounds like he has the edge right now — but that may not be the case throughout the season.
“Singletary’s had a little hamstring that set him back a little bit and (Kee’yon Stewart’s) been beat up just a little bit as well,” Pittman said. “But I think all three of those guys are healthy, and I really like what Cuddie’s done. So, we’ll see if we get through healthy the next 2 days. I expect for Cuddie to be the guy there.”
Safety
TJ Metcalf -OR- Hudson Clark
Prediction: Hudson Clark
Back as a sixth-year super senior, Hudson Clark is a veteran who has played a lot of snaps at pretty much every spot in the secondary. He’s a very divisive player when it comes to the fan base, but several different coaches have continued to play him significant snaps.
It seems like safety fits him better than nickel and cornerback, as that’s where he’s been since midway through the 2022 season, but he’ll have to really fight to keep his starting job this year because of the emergence of TJ Metcalf.
Metcalf had a big-time performance in Arkansas’ last major scrimmage and afterward, Pittman specifically mentioned that he was pushing Clark.
On Monday, the Head Hog said both of them would get reps against UAPB, so we’re basing our prediction of Clark as the starter on the fact that he is the older player. If he doesn’t play well, though, it is definitely possible that Metcalf takes over at some point during the season.
Defensive End
Nico Davillier -OR- Anton Juncaj
Prediction: Nico Davillier
This is a similar situation as the Clark-Metcalf battle at safety. Following the last scrimmage, Pittman said Juncaj was really pushing Davillier for the starting spot opposite of Landon Jackson.
Davillier took a majority of the first-team snaps seen by reporters this fall, and during the spring, but part of that could be explained by the fact that Juncaj had a hard time transitioning from the FCS to the SEC.
As a transfer from Albany, he even admitted to the pace being a bit difficult. Now that he’s used to that, Juncaj has grown in the playbook and better understands what he’s supposed to be doing.
We have Davillier getting the nod against UAPB, but this is certainly a spot to monitor moving forward if he doesn’t perform as well as Juncaj.
Long Snapper
Eli Stein -OR- Ashton Ngo
Prediction: Eli Stein
Yes, Arkansas slapped an “or” on the long snapper…and it might be the most surprising of the bunch.
Stein is a two-year starter at the position and has been very consistent, so there’s no obvious reason the Razorbacks would be pushing for Ngo. That said, reporters haven’t seen much special teams work during the limited periods open to the media during camp.
One possible explanation, too, is that Arkansas prefers one snapping for field goals/PATs and another snapping for punts.
Other Sam Pittman Presser Tidbits
Here are a few other quotes, not verbatim, from Sam Pittman’s weekly press conference previewing the Arkansas vs UAPB game…
- On playing at War Memorial Stadium: I believe it has a lot to do with the passion of our state. I think the passion from the years of Arkansas football had to do with our willingness to go play games in Little Rock. Our team is not looking at this as “We have to play in Little Rock,” we’re looking at is as an opportunity to go on the road. We are excited to go over there and we hope we’ll have a whole lot of fans supporting our football team.
- On the matchup with UAPB: Looking forward to playing an in-state opponent. I know Coach Hampton has done a good job. He’ll know more about his team and will have a better team than last year.
- On the travel plans: We’re going to bus down and bus back. It saves a little money, but more importantly, we have a two-day advantage on our opponent and the kids will be off Friday.
- On the emergence of E’Marion Harris: I just think he’s so much more motivated and his body gives him a chance. He was down to 275 pounds or so and I think that affected his mind because he wasn’t able to move people. Now, him being over 300 pounds, I think his confidence is much better. He’s been here for three seasons and his ability to move people is much better. He’s just playing better because he’s confident he can get it done. Carmona has been good for him, too.
- On the “mock game” scrimmage last week: Our tempo was good Thursday. Offense was right at 20 plays, two on air, and the defense was around 18. We had all kinds of special teams situations and it went well. In the past, we did not do that. We didn’t physically get after each other. I just felt like we’re talking about being tough and you can’t be tough unless practices are tough.
- On the ongoing position battles: I’m really excited about that, to see game-ready competition. You don’t stay the same. You go out to a game and you get a different person. They’re either going to get better or get worse. You really don’t know what you have until you line up in a game.
- On the plan for naming team captains: With the portal and all that, I think naming captains this early (isn’t a good idea). What we’re going to do is we’ll name four game-day captains for a while. Not sure if it’ll be until Game 10 or bowl prep. I just think we have too many captain-like guys on our team to get to four. Let’s let them play and see them in adversity and who really are the leaders.
- On the UAPB scouting report: We’ve got to stop the stretch play. Their QB is athletic. He can throw and pass. I like their left tackle. He’s a good player. Schematically, they’re going to throw the bubble. They’re going to run some RPOs with the QB. They have good team speed. Defensively, we haven’t seen a ton of pressure. They base out of a four-man line. Not a ton of movement, but I expect to see more movement. I expect to see some more blitzing.
- On the decreased media access this year: This is a critical year for us. We want to keep things in house. That’s no negative to anybody. It’s a big year for us. We also understand that you have a job to do and media is part of our family – sometimes we like them and sometimes we don’t. We’re trying to find as good of a togetherness as we can possibly have. We do not want to shut you out of what was going on.
- On wide receiver Jordan Anthony: Really good camp. I think Jordan is definitely in the two-deep. I think he’s six or higher and moving up. The toe and track might have set him back, but we knew coming in that he would be running track. As he got healthy, he really came on.
Watch the full press conference here:
Arkansas Football Injury Report
Here’s the latest on several players who are dealing with injuries ahead of the Arkansas vs UAPB game…
- Andrew Armstrong (hamstring): Questionable… Has been participating in practice, but limited.
- Patrick Kutas (back): Doubtful… Will have an MRI on Friday to determine his status beyond the UAPB game.
- Rashod Dubinion (undisclosed): Hasn’t been full-go for about 10 days, Pittman said Monday… Dealt with some swelling in his knee during fall camp, forcing him to miss the first scrimmage.
- DB Jaden Allen (knee): Pittman said the freshman had “cartilage repair” done on his knee and that he’s not expected to play this season.
- LB Justin Logan (shoulder): After being limited and wearing a green non-contact jersey during the spring, Pittman said he probably won’t play this season.
- OL Zuri Madison (ACL): Missed the spring and will miss the 2024 season with a torn ACL suffered in a scooter accident.
Arkansas vs UAPB Depth Chart
Here is the official depth chart for the Arkansas vs UAPB game on Thursday, from the UA’s game notes…
Offense
| POS | First | Second | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Taylen Green | Malachi Singleton | KJ Jackson Blake Boda |
| RB | Rashod Dubinion -OR- Ja’Quinden Jackson | Braylen Russell -OR- Rodney Hill | Tyrell Reed |
| TE | Luke Hasz | Var’keyes Gumms | Ty Washington Andreas Paaske |
| WR-Z | Tyrone Broden | Jordan Anthony -OR- CJ Brown | Davion Dozier |
| WR-X | Andrew Armstrong | Monte Harrison | Jaedon Wilson |
| WR-W | Isaiah Sategna | Isaac TeSlaa | Khafre Brown |
| LT | Fernando Carmona Jr. | E’Marion Harris | |
| LG | Patrick Kutas -OR- E’Marion Harris | ||
| C | Addison Nichols | Amaury Wiggins | |
| RG | Joshua Braun | Ty’Kieast Crawford | |
| RT | Keyshawn Blackstock | Joe More |
Defense
| POS | First | Second | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE | Landon Jackson | Quincy Rhodes Jr. | |
| DT | Cam Ball | Keivie Rose | Danny Saili |
| DT | Eric Gregory | Ian Geffrard | |
| DE | Nico Davillier -OR- Anton Juncaj | ||
| LB | Brad Spence | Stephen Dix Jr. | Alex Sanford |
| LB | Xavian Sorey Jr. | Anthony Switzer -OR- Bradley Shaw | |
| NB | Doneiko Slaughter | Tevis Metcalf | |
| CB | Marquise Robinson -OR- Jaheim Singletary -OR- Kee’yon Stewart | ||
| S | Hudson Clark -OR- TJ Metcalf | Ahkhari Johnson | |
| S | Jayden Johnson | Larry Worth III | |
| CB | Jaylon Braxton | Selman Bridges |
Special Teams
| POS | First | Second |
|---|---|---|
| K | Matthew Shipley -OR- Kyle Ramsey | |
| P | Devin Bale | Sam Dubwig |
| KO | Devin Bale | |
| LS | Eli Stein -OR- Ashton Ngo | |
| H | Devin Bale | Sam Dubwig |
| KR | Isaiah Sategna | Rodney Hill |
| PR | Isaiah Sategna | Jaylon Braxton |
How to Watch Arkansas vs UAPB
Date: Thursday, Aug. 29
Location: War Memorial Stadium (Little Rock, Ark.)
Kickoff time (TV): 6:30 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Commentators: Jay Alter (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst)
ESPN FPI: Arkansas has a 99.0% chance to win.
Odds/Betting Line: Arkansas, -49.5 | O/U 57.5 (BetSaracen)
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