Biggest Position Battle Highlights Arkansas’ Top 6 Questions Entering Fall Camp 2024

Stephen Dix Jr., Sam Pittman, Arkansas football, fall camp 2024
photo credit: Arkansas Athletics

The 2024 Arkansas football season is just around the corner, with the Aug. 29 opener just over four weeks away. Before the Razorbacks take the field against UAPB at War Memorial Stadium, though, they must get ready for the season with fall camp.

Beginning Wednesday evening, fifth-year head coach Sam Pittman and his staff will lead the Arkansas football program through 25 practices over a 29-day span. Here are six of the biggest questions they must answer during fall camp…

1. Where will the newcomers slot in for Arkansas football?

Most of the team was on campus for spring ball, as many of the new additions were midyear enrollees. However, there are 13 scholarship players who joined the program this summer, so fall camp will be their first official practices with the Razorbacks.

That group includes four high school signees and nine transfers (eight from the transfer portal and one from the JUCO ranks). Those 13 newcomers make it difficult to fill out a projected two-deep depth chart because it’s unclear how they’ll fit into the mix when combined with those who went through the spring practices.

The high schoolers feature two heralded linebackers in Bradley Shaw and Wyatt Simmons and a pair of lower-rated wide receivers in Krosse Johnson and Zach Taylor. Of that group, the two linebackers probably have the best shot at immediate playing time for reasons laid out below in our second question.

When it comes to the transfers, all of them have a decent shot at playing time in 2024, with the exception of quarterback Blake Boda (Coastal Carolina).

As far as the best chance of starting is concerned, that is probably linebacker Stephen Dix Jr. (Marshall) because — again — of reasons laid out below. Versatile defenders Larry Worth III (Jacksonville State) and Anthony Switzer (Utah State) are also probably in that category, albeit at multiple spots.

The others are likely vying for a spot in the two-deep and/or rotation at their respective positions: running backs Tyrell Reed Jr. (Hutchinson C.C.) and Rodney Hill (Florida A&M), offensive lineman Joe More (Syracuse), wide receiver Khafre Brown (South Florida) and defensive tackle Danny Saili (BYU).

To figure out where all of those guys fit in, Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman will once again implement his method of “two-spotting” — utilizing both practice fields simultaneously to ensure all of the units, first through fourth, get equal reps in practice.

“We’re going to two-spot a bunch of drills — a bunch,” Pittman said. “We’ve got 120 kids coming into camp. We’ve got to find out about these guys. There’s such a thing as having a good mental rep and all that, but a mental rep, we don’t know what rep they got. When it’s a physical rep, we can see it.”

2. Who will end up starting at linebacker — and who will be the top backup(s)?

This is probably the most intriguing position on the entire roster this fall. Almost all of last year’s production is gone and the Razorbacks have replaced it with a lot of talent.

The most notable addition in the group was Xavian Sorey Jr., a former five-star recruit and midyear transfer from Georgia. He was a starter from the jump this spring and probably has the best case for being penciled in as a starter entering fall camp — but it’d be best to actually use a pencil and not a sharpie.

Sophomore Brad Spence will likely be the other starter alongside Sorey on the first day of practice, but he rotated with a couple of other second-year guys — Carson Dean and Alex Sanford — this spring and is far from a lock to start Aug. 29 against UAPB.

That’s where the transfers come in. Stephen Dix Jr. is coming off a very good season at Marshall and also has starting experience at the Power Five level, as he began his career as a four-star recruit at Florida State. Injuries derailed his time with the Seminoles, but if he’s back to playing at that level, he could very well earn a starting spot, much like Jaheim Thomas did as a summer transfer from Cincinnati last year.

It’s a similar story for Larry Worth III and Anthony Switzer, but they could also be in the mix at nickel or safety, so the biggest thing with them will be figuring out their best position.

Because they weren’t early enrollees, it’d probably be hard for Bradley Shaw and Wyatt Simmons to crack the starting lineup as true freshmen — especially early in the season. However, they were recruited by several big-time programs for a reason and could earn some playing time much like Spence last year and Jordan Crook the year before that.

“We have a lot of linebackers in that room,” Pittman said. “We’ve got to find out who can play at linebacker.”

3. Who will be the starting kicker for Arkansas football?

Linebacker may get most of the attention, but the biggest position battle still looming for Arkansas football is on special teams. With Cam Little now in the NFL, the Razorbacks still don’t have any idea who their starting placekicker will be this season.

They thought they had a sure thing with Hawaii transfer Matthew Shipley, as he was excellent last season, but he had a very inconsistent spring. There were moments he looked like an All-SEC caliber kicker and other times he missed multiple kicks in a row.

Arkansas also has Vito Calvaruso back as a boomerang transfer. Fans will remember him as the kickoff ace from 2020-21 who transferred to Wisconsin in an effort to also add field goal duties to his repertoire. He transferred back to Arkansas and redshirted last season, but is now competing with Shipley for the starting job. Although his field goal kicking has vastly improved from his first stint in Fayetteville, Calvaruso’s spring was also inconsistent.

With neither of those kickers separating themselves as the starter, the Razorbacks went into the portal again in April and brought in an FCS All-American in Kyle Ramsey. He went 14 of 15 on field goal attempts at Abilene Christian last year, with 11 of those makes coming from at least 40 yards. Ramsey was also 4 of 5 on attempts from 50-plus yards, highlighted by a 55-yarder.

It’s a three-man race for a position that ideally sees only one guy play the entire year.

“To me, that’s one of our big we-have-to-find-outs, so we’ve got to put them in some pressure situations,” Pittman said. “To be honest with you, we’ve got to put them in the stadium. It’s just different. So that’s going to be a battle between those three guys. We need to find out fairly quick. I think we need to find out before school starts — the next two weeks, two-and-a-half weeks — who’s going to be that guy.”

4. How will the depth shake out at running back and tight end?

There’s very little question surrounding the top of the depth chart at these two positions. Ja’Quinden Jackson and Rashod Dubinion are a solid 1-2 punch at running back, while Luke Hasz has serious All-SEC (or more) potential at tight end.

Who gets the reps behind those guys remains a mystery and will have to be sorted out this fall because new players will be in the mix.

At running back, those new players joined the team as transfers over the summer. Tyrell Reed Jr. is a sophomore who put up big numbers at Hutchinson C.C. last year and was compared to Dennis Johnson by Bobby Petrino on Hogs+. Rodney Hill is technically a transfer from Florida A&M, an FCS program, but he spent only one semester there. He actually spent the last two seasons at Florida State, where he showed some glimpses of his potential.

Of course, the Razorbacks also have freshman Braylen Russell. The heralded in-state prospect checks in at a whopping 253 pounds, so he brings something different to the table than the other guys and is more than capable of emerging as the No. 3 running back.

At tight end, the “newcomer” is actually a returning player coming off injury. Ty Washington was able to return late in the spring and do some drill work, but didn’t do any of the full-contact team stuff. It will be interesting to see where he slots in on the depth chart because he looked really good in his limited action between taking over after Hasz’s injury and getting hurt himself.

What could complicate things, in a good way, is the emergence of Var’keyes Gumms. He was a big-time get out of the transfer portal last offseason, but struggled making the jump from North Texas to the SEC. His lack of production in games was a reflection of what reporters saw from him in practice leading up to the season. This spring, though, he looked like a completely different player.

It really seems as though the Razorbacks have three high-quality pass-catching tight ends to go along with the more blocking-oriented Andreas Paaske. It’s just a matter of whether Bobby Petrino will find a way to utilize all of them or if one of them will separate himself as the clear No. 2 behind Hasz.

5. Who will emerge as the sixth and seventh offensive lineman for Arkansas football?

Sam Pittman can say whatever he wants publicly, but the Razorbacks’ starting offensive line is set. Barring injury, the starters from left to right will be Fernando Carmona, Patrick Kutas, Addison Nichols, Joshua Braun and Keyshawn Blackstock. On paper, it should be a much improved unit over last year — which, to be fair, is a low bar to clear.

However, there is a lot of intrigue with the second unit. Specifically, figuring out who the top backups are will be critical for Arkansas this fall because injuries inevitably happen, even if they’re minor and cause a starter to miss only a series or two.

Right now, the frontrunners for those spots are likely Ty’Kieast Crawford and Joe More. Crawford spent the spring at right tackle, but Pittman revealed Tuesday that they were going to move him in to right guard and put More, a transfer from Syracuse, at right tackle.

Pittman said the hope is Crawford will push Braun for the starting job, but that doesn’t seem likely because Braun was an All-SEC performer in 2023. However, Crawford could establish himself as the top backup in the event of an injury — or More could prove he’s the best option during fall camp.

6. Can the Razorbacks be more physical in the run game?

This question might be difficult for those outside of the Arkansas football program to answer during fall camp because reporters are only getting to watch 20-30 minutes of practice and both of the scheduled scrimmages will be closed in their entirety.

However, it’s certainly at the front of Sam Pittman’s mind entering the season after the disaster that was the 2023 campaign. The offensive line was putrid and the running game took a massive step back, averaging nearly 100 fewer rushing yards per game.

The Razorbacks made it a point to address that this offseason, as seen in their additions from the transfer portal. They brought in four new offensive linemen, three of which are expected to start, and a very physical running back in Ja’Quinden Jackson.

It should also be noted that Arkansas moved a walk-on, Kyle Thompson, from the defensive line to fullback — a position that hasn’t been listed on the Razorbacks’ roster since 2019. There’s also the 265-pound tight end Andreas Paaske and 253-pound running back Braylen Russell.

“(That was) certainly the plan — it was that way from when we went into the portal,” Pittman said. “Bobby (Petrino) obviously likes to throw a lot of play action, and it’s not any good if you can’t threaten them with the run game. … So we want to get back to that physical football.”

Fall camp will be vital to Arkansas when it comes to instilling that physical brand of football.

***

Watch Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman’s full press conference previewing fall camp here:

YouTube video

***

More coverage of Arkansas football from BoAS…

Facebook Comments