Nico Davillier’s family was forced to move from New Orleans to Arkansas when he was 2 years old, but even something as powerful as Hurricane Katrina couldn’t wash away the pride he carries for his hometown.
That’s clear from the former Maumelle High standout’s Instagram page, which touts his 504 to 501 background, as well as the pictures of New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico that the Razorback defensive lineman posted from earlier this summer.
And it’s also clear from the way he responded to a certain line of questioning on Tuesday evening during an Arkansas football press conference.
There’s frankly not much to get excited about for Arkansas’ next opponent, UAB. Last week’s tilt at No. 13 Oklahoma State was far more captivating.
Super Bowl Champ Trent Dilfer… Crickets?
Reporters scrapping for something, anything, that could be of interest were drawn to Trent Dilfer, the UAB football coach who has 5-9 overall record with the Dragons after cleaning up at Lipscomb Academy, a high school, before that.
Coaching, however, is not how Dilfer made his name.
The 52-year-old starred as a quarterback at Fresno State before suiting up for five NFL teams over the course of 13 years. Dilfer earned a Pro Bowl berth in 1997 with Tampa Bay and three years later took over for Tony Banks to guide the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl XXXV win.
On Tuesday, Daviller was asked about whether he had any memories of the league’s first quarterback to be let go by his team after winning the Super Bowl and a guy who retired when Daviller was a toddler. “Nah,” Daviller replied with a smile.
Then, just to sprinkle a little Zatarain’s spice on things, he added: “If he ain’t play for the Saints, I don’t know him.”
There you go, Nico. Go ahead and flash that New Orleans pride.
After racking up a career-high 5 tackles vs UAPB and helping turn Ollie Gordon III into a shadow of his former self last week, you’ve definitely earned the right to have a little fun.
Arkansas vs UAB In Week 3 = Weak Sauce?
Arkansas has had a couple sexy matchups in its Fayetteville home opener in recent seasons. Georgia got things rolling in the Sam Pittman era in 2020, then there was Cincinnati coming off a playoffs appearance the previous year in 2022. Sure, the Hogs lost against Georgia, but that wasn’t for lack of caring or intrigue considering Pittman had been the offensive line coach there just the year before.
Arkansas also opened against lowly Rice in 2021, which at least had the intrigue of playing against a former SWC foe.
The UAB football program simply doesn’t bring anything near the same kind of sizzle. Few Arkansas fans care about teams from The American, even when they have ties to Difler and a former Razorback player like Alex Mortenson.
“Arkansas should trounce these guys. This should be an afterthought,” HawgSports’ Trey Biddy said on the Hawg Sports Live Arkansas vs UAB show.
On top of that, the Hogs have already played twice before finally taking the field in Fayetteville. That’s unusually late in the season to wait for a true home opener.
“It’s crazy to think about we’re in week three and this is the first game in Fayetteville,” Biddy continued. “That should never happen. That’s a disservice to your fans.”
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See Davillier have fun with reporters starting at 3:50 here:
More from Biddy here:
More on the Razorbacks and New Orleans Saints:
