Every few years, Arkansas football seems to come out of nowhere to field a very strong defense. Many of the Razorbacks’ best defenses over the years have been unexpected.
There was the 2006 defense, led by a defensive line with all four starters from Little Rock, including All-American defensive end Jamaal Anderson. Then there was defensive coordinator Robb Smith’s 2014 unit, which had the perfect combination of a player that had fallen into the Hogs’ lap (Darius Philon), a veteran (Trey Flowers) and a perfect junior college pickup (Martrell Spaight). And who can forget Barry Odom’s first defense, in 2020, that flustered opposing quarterbacks with a max zone defense spearheaded by Jalen Catalon?
The 2024 defense is trending towards these memorable units. Despite showing some softness in the second half of the Oklahoma State game (a result that continues to look worse after the Cowboys’ 0-3 Big 12 start) and throughout the UAB game, the Hogs have allowed 14, 21, and 14 points in SEC play. One of the touchdowns against Texas A&M came on a drive that started first-and-goal.
Compared to the relative chaos of the Razorback offense, Travis Williams’ unit is pretty tame. It’s good at not giving up explosive plays, it’s very good against the run and it gets off the field on third down. The “good against the run” part is particularly impressive when you look at a list of the top teams in the SEC at creating rushing yards after contact: the top three entering Week 7 are Texas A&M, Auburn and Tennessee – the three SEC teams the Hogs have faced. The quality of rushing offenses they’ll face moving forward is about to go down.
However, the Hog secondary is about to be seriously tested. Garrett Nussmeier, Jaxson Dart, Quinn Ewers and Brady Cook are still on the schedule, and those quarterbacks have plenty of very good receivers to throw to. If run defense defined the first three SEC games, then pass defense will define the last five.
Here’s a position-by-position look at the defense, with all stats coming from Pro Football Focus or official NCAA stats unless otherwise specified.
Defensive Line Remains King in the SEC
Want to know what makes the SEC different? Look to the defensive line, where the gap between the SEC and other conferences is largest in terms of NFL draft picks. It’s hard to have a consistently successful defense without a good defensive line.

The line was supposed to be a team strength, and it’s safe to say this unit is living up to expectations. Landon Jackson in particular has been dominant, with a PFF overall grade ranking him fourth among SEC edge starters. Among those 32 players, he ranks fifth in run stops and third in pressures. He has just two sacks, but he’s clearly having a major impact on opponents whether he’s playing the run or pass.
The seniors in the middle are also playing well, particularly Eric Gregory, who is proving very difficult for opponents to move. He sacked Nico Iamaleava through a double-team block on Tennessee’s first drive last week, and then ran Iamaleava out of bounds on the game’s final play.
Are there any potential concerns with the line? Certainly not with the starters, but depth could be an issue later in the season. It can’t be easy for the Razorback staff to take Jackson, Gregory or Cameron Ball out the game, but if they don’t rotate throughout, they could end up with another situation like the one late against Texas A&M, where little-used backups were on the field as the Aggies drove for the win.
The pass rush has also disappeared at times, like in the second half against Oklahoma State. Is the consistent pressure the Hogs got against Tennessee here to stay? We’ll find out soon enough. Pressure will be key to rattling some of the quarterbacks still on the schedule, like LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, who threw a couple picks against Ole Miss on Saturday while under pressure.
Speed is the Rebuilt LB Corps’ Best Friend
After the surprising offseason loss of Chris “Pooh” Paul to Ole Miss, Travis Williams knew he had to hit the portal to find a new star linebacker. He went back to a well that has been friendly to the Hogs during the Pittman era, snagging Xavian Sorey Jr. from Georgia.

Sorey hasn’t been dominant this year, but he leads the team in run stops and has been effective when he does rush the passer. His speed is what jumps out when you watch the defense play, as the Hog linebackers have been very good at flocking to the ball.
Stephen Dix made his first start against Auburn and has now started all three SEC games. He’s another typical linebacker for Williams’ “Over” front, which emphasizes smaller, quicker linebackers that can flock to the ball. Dix stole a starting job from Brad Spence, who has still played quite a bit. Spence has struggled in coverage: all eight targets against him this season have been caught for 71 yards.
Arkansas Secondary: Fantastic Despite a Missing Piece
The secondary was a relative unknown entering the season. The Hogs were having to replace Dwight McGlothern and Alfahiym Walcott (plus Snaxx Johnson, who transferred in the spring). Travis Williams and co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson added several transfers, but a lot of hope was pinned on Jaylon Braxton, who was a Freshman All-American last year.

With Braxton missing the last several games due to injury, the cornerbacks have proven to be a nice surprise, especially South Alabama transfer Marquise Robinson, who missed the Oklahoma State game with an injury but has played almost every snap since. He’s allowed only 10 catches all year and just 25 yards after catch.
The safeties have also played well, with Jayden Johnson building off a promising 2023 and TJ Metcalf showing us why the staff was excited about him in the offseason. Metcalf’s big game was against Auburn, where he played a direct role in forcing four Auburn turnovers, picking off two passes himself, tipping one to a teammate and then stripping an Auburn running back.
PFF graded him harshly against Tennessee, charging him with six allowed receptions for 71 yards. To be fair, most of those receptions came in zone coverage where Metcalf was merely the nearest defender to the receiver.
Even without Braxton, Arkansas’ secondary has been able to not only hold down the fort, but excel at times. Yes, that includes an outing vs the uber-talented Nico Iamaleava, but the quarterbacks of LSU, Ole Miss, Texas and Missouri are considerably more seasoned than Tennessee’s redshirt freshman.
The “luxury” Arkansas has had of facing less capable and/or experienced signal-callers ends this week vs LSU. Expect Braxton to be needed back more than ever given the gauntlet ahead.
Pittman expected Braxton to return to practice during the open week as he recovers from tendonitis. If he is back in the lineup for the LSU game, where does he fit over the second half the season? The other corner spot is held by Jaheim Singletary. Singletary had been rotating with Kee’yon Stewart, but after Stewart allowed an early 58-yard touchdown pass against Texas A&M’s, he’s barely played since, including recording zero snaps against Tennessee.
Braxton could take Singletary’s snaps, but it’s hard to see him replacing Robinson given how well he’s played. The coaches probably don’t mind having too many good options in the secondary.
(UPDATE: Unfortunately, it sounds like Braxton will miss his fifth straight game this weekend. Despite last week’s optimism, Pittman said on Monday that he doesn’t think the sophomore will be ready this week.)
How Special Can the Arkansas Special Teams Be?
Special teams ended up playing a key role in the win over Tennessee. Yes, the Hogs missed yet another field goal, but in the fourth quarter, Devin Bale uncorked a bouncing 66-yard punt that was downed at the Tennessee 21. After a Vol three-and-out, Isaiah Sategna attempted a dangerous return to help his team gain some field position, gaining about five yards on a 43-yard punt.
The end result? Arkansas ended its previous drive at its own 15, and then got the ball back at its 41 for the game-winning drive. That’s a gain of 26 yards that has to be credited to special teams.
Bale has been a bright spot on special teams, averaging 45.5 net yards per punt with six punts downed inside the 20 against only one touchback. Opponents have attempted only four returns for a net of 11 yards against him.
Booming punts to flip field position could be a factor in a future game this year. Another thing that could be a factor is field goals.
Kyle Ramsey is just 7 of 12 this year, though all five misses have come from 40-plus yards. Ramsey appears to be out for a while with a groin injury suffered on his second-quarter miss, so Matthew Shipley is the main guy for now. While Ramsey is just 4 of 9 (44%) on kicks 40-49 yards, Shipley for his career is only 15 of 28 (54%) on kicks from that range, so I’m not sure he’s much of an upgrade there, even if Shipley has kicked against better competition during his career (Shipley at Hawaii, Ramsey at Abilene Christian).
Arkansas’ offense improving its situational execution might include avoiding negative plays when on the edge of field goal range. The Hogs have attempted nine field goals in the 40-49 range (and passed up at least three other opportunities to go for it, presumably due to a lack of confidence in Ramsey), but they haven’t had a single attempt in the 30-39 range. Sometimes playing for shorter field goals, or at least not taking negative plays that make field goals longer, can be a way to earn points which will be a premium in this tougher back half of the season.
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Miss our breakdown of the offense? Check it out here:
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