BBCF - Arkansas Razorbacks: Back from the Dead

[MJ4H]

Arkansas Razorbacks 2005

Post-season Press Conference (in wake of season ending loss to LSU)

Coach Jones: Welcome. I'll open the floor to questions in a bit, but first I'd like to say a few words about the season as a whole, and this team.

It was a tough way to end the season; a heart-breaking loss at #11 LSU when we needed a win to be bowl-eligible was tough to swallow, particularly when we had as many chances to get back into the game. We dug ourselves a hole in the first half, 17-0, and showed a lot of character pulling to within a single touchdown, but we never could quite get that final drive off the ground and lost a tough one 30-23. We don't believe in moral victories, here, so we are still trying to see the positives, but when the season ends in such a fashion it can be hard. 5-6 looks almost like 6-5 on paper, but really, it is a tremendous difference. Just ask any of those kids in that locker room.

I don't think I can say enough about how hard those kids have worked this season. There are a lot of disappointed kids in that locker-room right now, and that's the way it should be. It hurts, I won't lie to you. Dainon [Schonert, Arkansas QB] played the entire second half of that game basically on one leg. For a guy that was as unheralded out of high school a few years ago, he sure has led this team just about as well as a guy can. His passing rating was not the highest in the country (122.8) but it was certainly respectable for a team in one of the toughest leagues in the country, the Southeastern Conference.

Freddie [Michalik, Arkansas RB] broke 1,000 rushing yards for the season. That's such a big milestone for him. What a work-horse he's been for us. We are very lucky to have both Freddie and Dainon coming back next year as seniors.

We lose a strong reciever, Galen Roundtree. 54 catches this year and every one of them he made count. We will be looking at lots of young receivers over the next few years, that's for sure. There will be lots of opportunities for youngsters to step up into the spotlight. Galen will be missed, but I think the receiver corps here at Arkansas will be the sight of quite a few battles for playing time in the future.

Our offensive line is going to take some hits, as well. Standlee and Kanell are both gone. This is another spot where we will be looking at some youngsters. The O-line has been one of our strong points, with Standlee and Kanell both named to the All-Conference team this season. Our recruiting will also target several young offensive linemen.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Billy Horne, our freshman kicker. All Billy does is come into his first game as a collegiate and kick 3 field goals, 2 from 40+. He tore through the season making 18/22 field goals with a long of 49 yards and didn't miss an extra point in 27 tries. He'll be with us for the long haul so we are definitely excited about Billy.

On defense we had so many stars this year, it would be tough to talk about them all. Guys like James Papac (SS) who had 109 tackles this season, Benjy Parry (OLB) and Rob Holt (ILB) who will probably be playing on Sundays next year, George Campbell who has one of the biggest upsides of anyone on our whole team and intercepted 7 passes this year, and Kirk Garrison, a defensive end that had 11 sacks on the year, the most on the team have all been very valuable to our effort this season.

Now that you can see why we are encouraged for the future, and understand how disappointed we are after such a hard fought game today, I will take just a few questions before I go back to the locker room to address these players.

Media: Coach, what would you say was the biggest win of the season?

Coach Jones: Well we had a great game against Auburn this year. That was a such a workman-like game for us. We just showed up with our hard hats on and jumped into the trenches and pounded out that win. Auburn finished even with us in the conference standings, but had a 7-4 final record overall and will be going to a nice bowl game. That was a strong victory for us. Particularly coming off of those back to back losses against Florida Atlantic and Florida International. Florida Atlantic won the Sun Belt Conference this year, but losing to Florida International was probably the low point of my coaching career. Winning that next game against an outstanding Auburn team was very important for us in salvaging the rest of the season. We came together as a team in that game, and that was really big.

Media: What do you think about the upcoming playoffs and bowl games? Do you think Oklahoma State will continue their unbeaten season and win it all?

Coach Jones: It is quite a feat to get through the Big 12 undefeated. Beating Oklahoma, who was, what, #6 at the time, was a huge win, and showed that this team can handle just about anybody. There's a string of one loss teams ready to take them on and just about any of them can do it. Miami, Penn State, Bowling Green, even Arizona State at 9-2, any of those teams can pull it off this year. Oklahoma State has proven they have what it takes this year, though, so I'm not sure I would bet against them.

I want to thank you guys for your time and patience with our team. I promise we are headed in the right direction with this team. Stick with us and we can make it to the top of this mountain. I'm gonna go be with my team, now. It should be an interesting signing period for recruiting period coming up, so watch for some good news coming from the hill very soon!

Headlines from the conference championships and playoffs:

ACC Championship:
#2 Miami 56, #9 Clemson 54 4OT

Big 12 Championship:
#1 Oklahoma State 14, #8 Nebraska 37

Conference USA Championship:
#10 Tulane 24, Marshall 19

MAC Championship
W. Michigan 12, #4 Bowling Green 16

SEC Championship
#16 LSU 13, #12 Georgia 28

PLAYOFFS:

Miami 65
Cincinnati 24

Nebraska 31
Oklahoma 35

Florida Atlantic 6
Oklahoma State 57

Washington State13
Texas 51

San Diego State 7
Penn State 48

Georgia 38
Oregon State 28

Tulane 14
Arizona State 35

Boise State 25
Bowling Green 19

SECOND ROUND:

Oklahoma 3
Miami 24

Texas 34
Oklahoma State 22

Georgia 51
Penn State 16

Boise State 20
Arizona State 31

SEMIFINALS:

Arizona State 38
Miami 41

Georgia 31
Texas 17

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:

Georgia 28
Miami 31

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Sportscenter Segment:

Anchor: Arkansas head coach Matt Jones has not yet released a statement regarding the rumors of several job offers from big name college teams. Jones' surprise move into coaching just last year was a shock to many people, and after seeing his style of coaching and the strong leadership he exudes, he has offers to defect to Marshall, Alabama, and Stanford. We will be going to a press conference at the bottom of the hour where Coach Jones will announce what his intentions are.

Coach Jones: Good evening. As most of you know, I have indeed been contacted by several schools that are interested in my services as head coach. It is my one and only goal to bring the University of Arkansas to the top of the college football world. I have absolutely no interest in leaving this team. If I am asked to leave by the fans or the athletic director, that is one thing, but as my own choice, I'm here for the duration. I really don't see much of a point in taking questions, since that is just about as crystal clear as I can make this issue, so that concludes this press conference.

Anchor: Certainly, that should lay that issue to rest. Jones, as always, his rather honest and straight-forward style leaving little doubt where he wants to coach.

[MizzouRah]

Good for you Coach Jones! Nothing like showing your players how dedicated you are to them and the team. March on Arkansas!!

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Coach's Notes:

With the addition of two players that have decided to transfer to Arkansas, we have a small jumpstart on the recruiting season.


OT William Butz (Michigan State)
ILB Henry Sherman (Clemson)

Our definite needs for the recruiting period this season include:

Wide Receivers: we will need a couple of these, probably 2 would be a good target number, but 3 would be more comfortable

Offensive Linemen: We are not short in numbers at any of the spots, but we could use a talent boost here. Immediate help may be the issue here. It wouldn't hurt if the remainder of the 11 scholarships go to offensive linemen so we can make sure to get some talent and depth here.

Outside Linebacker: We only need one for sure, but two to three would be just fine.

Cornerback: Just one short here.

We have 11 scholarships open at this point and a good idea of how to spend them. Now the goal is to identify the likely candidates to fill them.



Recruiting Notebook:

After 3 weeks of recruiting, we look to be pretty much on track where we want to be. The talent level of our offer list is slightly below target, but certainly within reason. At this point we have 3 recruit targets that are rated 4 stars, and the rest are all 3 stars. We came up a little short on the offensive line, but we do have a couple of strong centers that can help out. In the receiver department we did very well with several strong options, and we will almost definitely land 3 good 3 star wide receivers. We have merely the minimum of what we were after in cornerbacks and outside linebackers, but with a very good shot at landing what we are after. All in all, I'm not displeased with where we are.

Over the next 3 weeks, we will likely shift around the scholarship offers after learning more about the intentions of some of these youngsters, but hopefully, we will get most of what we are after.


3 weeks later:

As expected, several targets changed, but the overall focus is pretty much the same. Some of the receivers lost interest, so we picked up a couple of more 3 star targets that were cornerbacks, making our initial goals a little more reachable. Also, we recently got our first initial committment, SS Mel Dorney from Bowling Green, KY.

Week 14:

Several more recruit committments:
C Marion Roe
OLB Kelly Tucker
WR Robert Wright

Recruiting is starting to pick up. Some signings, some unexpected players suddenly showing some interest. The O-line will be a bit of a weak point for us, but we are really shoring up some of the bigger holes in our roster elsewhere. Definitely encouraging.

Week 15 committments:
CB John Hughes

A little disappointing the last couple of weeks to not receive any more committments than this. John was a late addition to our target list, and he was serious in his interest as he commits almost instantly.

Week 16 committments:
QB Lindsay Hock

Another late addition commits quickly. Some of these targets need to make up their minds quickly. They all still have us listed high on their list, but something is holding them back from signing on the dotted line. Let's hope a final push can grab at least some of them.

As we move into the final week we have 5 offers on the table:

3 WRs, 1 TE, and 1 Punter. All of them have visited, and 4 of them have a 10 in interest. We have no spots on the roster where we are below the minimum number, so we are in good shape no matter what, but landing several of these players would be a great bonus.

As week 18 of recruiting rolls around, we get 3 letters of intent coming across the desk. All three are from wide receivers: Paul Bell, Don Logan, and Pierson Mosley. Not too shabby landing 3 of the 5 targets we had left.

Below is a list of our newest Razorbacks:

C Marion Roe, 4-stars
North Laurel (London, KY)
National Rank: 259, Regional: 57, Position: 11

SS Mel Dorney, 4-stars
Warren East (Bowling Green, KY)
National Rank: 356, Regional: 72, Position: 29

WR Robert Wright, 3-stars
Tehachapi (Tehachapi, CA)
National Rank: 774, Regional: 149, Position: 73

WR Pierson Mosley, 3-stars
Howard (Howard, SD)
National Rank: 1170, Regional: 226, Position: 169

OLB Kelly Tucker, 3-stars
Hamshire-Fannett (Hamshire-Fannett, TX)
National Rank: 438, Regional: 78, Position: 58

WR Paul Bell, 3-stars
Yosemite (Oakhurst, CA)
National Rank: 741, Regional: 140, Position: 69

QB Lindsay Hock, 3-stars
Fairborn (Fairborn, OH)
National Rank: 924, Regional: 195, Position: 91

CB John Hughes, 2-stars
Gaston (Gadsden, AL)
National Rank: 1111, Regional: 248, Position: 121

WR Don Logan, 2-stars
West Monroe (West Monroe, LA)
National Rank: 1197, Regional: 269, Position: 171

[MJ4H]

Press Conference:

As you know we got a chance to look at our roster after our preseason training recently. What I can tell you is very encouraging. Coming in, we really believed our weak point would be the offensive line. Coming out, it really looks like starting a true freshman at center will be the biggest problem. Our returning guys really took it upon themselves to beef up and commit themselves to the team. We really look pretty solid. Personally, I am not only surprised, but
very, very pleased with how things have gone in that area.

Offensively, Dainon Schonert(QB) has come back stronger than ever (73/77). Freddie Michalik(RB) is also looking very strong (72/84). The receivers are, as expected weak, mostly because of inexperience. 4 freshmen make up the rather average in talent receiver pool. Freshman Paul Bell (48/61) shows the most promise of the group, but to start out, they are all about even.

Defensively, this team should be very strong. Kirk Garrison is back for his senior season after an 11 sack junior campaign, and looks like an NFL defensive lineman. At 6-3, 301 lbs., Garrison will anchor a solid defensive line. The
linebackers, particularly the outside group, are somewhat average, but with some future potential there (freshman Kelly Tucker shows a lot of promise). The backfield will be anchored by George Campbell (64/78, 7 interceptions in 2005) and James Papac (70/73).

Special teams will feature a strong place-kicker in Billy Horne and one of the best punters in the nation, Dave Crumpler.

So, reassessing after camps, we believe that our weakest spots are lineback and receiver, and those were our strongest spots in recruiting this season. The future is bright in that area. We have some stars on the team, and we have some depth in some key areas. I am extremely
optimistic about the team for the season.

We are close to having our 2006 schedule finalized and will be releasing it through the sports information department as soon as it is set.

[MJ4H]

Sports Information Department Press Release:

The 2006 Arkansas Razorbacks Football Schedule has been finalized. 6 Home games will be played this year. Road games this season include trips to Lexington, Kentucky and Auburn, Alabama.

1 Idaho
2 Houston
3 BYU
4 at Kentucky
5 Mississippi State
6 Vanderbilt
7 at Auburn
8 OPEN
9 at Alabama
10 at LSU
11 Tennessee
12 Ole Miss

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Week 1:

Idaho Vandals at Arkansas Razorbacks

The interest in the football program in Fayetteville has been growing to near fever pitch after coach Jones' comments about training camps. Cautious optimism has crept into the causal fan's discussions of the future. Has Jones really gotten the program moving in the right direction so quickly? It certainly seems so. A lot of offensive firepower for the first time in a long time, a very strong defense, and two very strong kickers round out one of the best looking teams
that has been fielded in Arkansas for years--on paper. The day has come for the true test. The guinea pigs are the Idaho Vandals.

A beautiful summer day greets the teams, as Razorback Stadium fils to capacity for the season opener. The temperature is 89 degrees and there isn't cloud in the sky.

The Vandals come out firing, not intimidated at all as Izo hits Kelley over the middle for 30 yards on the first play of the game. Two plays later, Izo hits Hamilton for 27 more to move into the red zone. Another large gain on a passing play overcomes a 3rd and 15 and Idaho is on the board after a short touchdown run by Hamilton.Arkansas' attempts to answer with points on the next possession. Beginning at their own 27 yard line, the Hogs put together a long drive with
short passes and runs. A 12 yard pass to TE Floyd Adams gets them into the redzone. On 3rd and 1 from the 7, Michalik plows into the endzone to answer the Idaho touchdown. Billy Horne botches the extra point by doinking it off the crossbar! That could be a big error.

With 5:55 to go in the first quarter, the score is Idaho 7, Arkansas 6The teams trade punts and the quarter ends with
the score 7-6 Idaho.

Early in the second period, Bell gets loose on an out-and-up pattern and Shonert finds him for a 55 yard pass play to set up first and goal at the 1 yard line. Michalik punches it in and this time Billy Horne converts the PAT, making it 13-7 Arkansas. This was the kind of offense the fans were hoping to see!

Idaho comes right back, driving deep into the Arkansas redzone, but a holding penalty helps to stall the drive, and the Vandals settle for the 28 yard field goal.

An Arkansas drive then falters at the Idaho 18, and the Hogs also settle for the 36 yard field goal, making it 16-10 at halftime.

Arkansas takes the ball in the second half and immediately gets on the board with a 15 play, 59 yard drive that takes 5 minutes off the clock. Jones decides to make up for Horne's miscue here, and an out pattern for Bell gives Arkansas 2
points and a comfortable 24-10 lead.

The only other points in the 3rd quarter come on a Billy Horne 50(!) yard field goal, making the score after 3 quarters, Arkansas 27, Idaho 10.

Arkansas plays ball control through the 4th quarter and adds a final touchdown to win the game 34-10. A fine offensive showing, and the crowd files out with a lot to talk about:

- Dainon Schonert completed 24/35 passes for 303 yards and 1 touchdown

- Freddie Michalik tallied 115 yards on 34 carries and 3 touchdowns.

- True freshman Paul Bell caught 4 passes for 91 yards.

- The defense, after bending a little in the first half, held Idaho to only 280 yards of offense.

- The Razorback offense had no turnovers in the entire game.

- The ball control philosophy has a lot of merit; time of possession was dominated by Arkansas at 37:20 - 22:40.

- OT Ralph Davis allowed 3 sacks.

- K Billy Horne's mental mistake doinking the PAT on the first touchdown.

Next up for the Razorbacks: the Houston Cougars.

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The report from the medical staff is in and it isn't bad. We have about 5 players that are not at full speed, but 4 of them will probably play next week. Only FS James Meade needs to sit out against Houston.

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Houston Cougars (0-1) at Arkansas Razorbacks (1-0)

The Houston Cougars roll into town on Friday evening for their walk-through. The predictions have been rolling in all week, and they don't look good for the Cougars. The official line is Arkansas by 18, but most of the experts seem to think it will be more. The real problem appears to be the Houston defense which gave up 622 yards in their first game against #3 ranked LSU.

Arkansas' first possession of the game ends in points as Barry Laufenberg gets into the endzone. The drive was keyed by a big 57 yard run by Freddie Michalik. The drive was 14 plays and 88 yards.

The Cougars come back with a nice drive keyed by several medium length pass plays, including a 15 yard screen pass to Mayberry. The drive stalls and a 40 yard field goal sails wide right, giving the Hogs the possession back.

Schonert throws his first interception of the season on the next possession setting Houston up deep in Arkansas territory. However, the defense holds again and Parrella misses his second field goal of the game from 43 yards out. The quarter ends with the score Arkansas 7, Houston 0.

After a couple of punts, Arkansas adds a 39 yard field goal to take a 10-0 lead after a 10 play, 65 yard drive. With about 6 minutes to go in the half, Houston needs to muster a good drive to get on the board before the half ends to gain some momentum. However, James Papac gets into the backfield on the second play of the drive and hits Gary Mayberry just as he receives the hand-off. He scoops and scores on a 25 yard run after recovering the fumble. Now Houston's next possession could be important just to keep them in the game.

A 3 and out is not what they need, but it is exactly what they get as Arkansas's defense stiffens. With 3 minutes to go before the half, a Razorback touchdown before the break would be crippling.

The Cougars defense rises to the challenge, though, and forces a 3 and out. After a poor punt, Houston has the ball in Arkansas territory, at the 44. 4 plays later, the Cougars find themselves in the endzone as Wayne Thomas catches a 4 yard touchdown pass from Hardy.

Trying to answer, Schonert throws another interception to end the half. The score at the break is Arkansas 17, Houston 7.

Disaster strikes on the first play of the second half as Hardy hits Taylor for a 72 yard touchdown pass. The momentum switches just like that, and Houston is right back in the game, down 17-14.

A glance at the statistics to this point shows why Houston is in this game. Quarterback Thomas Hardy is 13-13 for 198 yards and 2 touchdowns at this point in the game! He can't miss! On the other side of the ball, Schonert is 6-12 for 47 yards and 2 interceptions. The Hogs will hope to get those stats going in the other direction to hold off the feisty Cougars in the second half.

Hardy's first miss of the game is still caught. George Campbell picks off a pass deep in Arkansas territory to stop a drive in the middle of the 3rd quarter. At least the run of consecutive completions comes to an end, and maybe the Cougars QB will cool off.

At this point, a number of things are combining to make this a game. First, the phenomenal play of Hardy. Second, the very poor play of Schonert. Lastly, the Arkansas punter, Crumple, is having a terrible game, and the Cougars are getting a short field every time.

Hardy throws another pick late in the 3rd, but again Arkansas follows it with a 3 and out from deep in their own territory. The 3rd quarter ends with the score Arkansas 17, Houston 14.

Crumple manages a good kick to flip the field to start the 4th quarter. No offense for Houston and the Hogs get a short field for their next possession. Only one first down and a punt follows. The punt goes into the endzone for a touchback.

Arkansas gets the ball back with 5 and a half to play on their own 14. A few first downs here would put a lot of pressure on the Cougars. A couple of first downs is all they get, but they do get to mid-field before having to kick the ball back. Houston will begin from their own 15 with 2:12 to play.

On 4th and 16 from the 9 yard line, Hardy throws his 3rd interception of the game. The Hogs can now just run out the clock, and that's exactly what they do. Arkansas 17, Houston 14 is the final score.

This game left the fans happy about the win, but scratching their heads about the future. If we can't consistently move the ball against Houston, how will we do so against the much tougher defenses of the SEC? Was this phenomenal start by the Houston QB a fluke, or was it consistently poor pass defense? Michalik was not a question mark at all as he broke 100 yards easily (nearly in the 1st quarter) for the second straight game. However, Dainon Schonert was on and off the whole game.