Finding a home

Stumon finds role, touchdown in hometown

Posted: September 13, 2009 at 6:52 a.m.

Andy Shupe
Arkansas junior fullback Van Stumon makes a catch during practice Aug. 13 at Razorback Stadium. Stumon caught the first touchdown catch of his career against Missouri State on Sept. 5.

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FAYETTEVILLE — Honk if you've coached Van Stumon.

For Razorbacks coaches present and recently past, the collective honking surely would violate some noise ordinance somewhere.

Those horning in on the "I have coached Van Stumon" Razorbacksrosterwouldinclude at least two head coaches, two sets of offensive and defensive coordinators, two special teams coordinators and enough position coaches requiring Stumon to dig deep into the memory vault.

"Hmm," Stumon said pausing - chuckling - then pausing again. "I've had five coaches since I have been up here: three with Coach Nutt. Two with Coach [Bobby] Petrino."

Maybe kinda, sorta three with Petrino. In addition to defensive ends coach Kirk Botkin last year, two coach him right now. Stumon reports mainly to tight ends coach Chip Longbut also gets some supervision from running backs coach Tim Horton.

Recruited out of North Little Rock as star running back/ defensive end by the Houston Nutt Razorbacks in 2006, Stumon had a redshirt year, and another bench-warming year under Nutt before nine games spot duty under Petrino last year. All three years Stumon moved like Allied Van Lines.

On defense he was variously an end, a tackle and a linebacker and on offense a fullback and tight end.

Judging by Arkansas' seasonopening 48-10 victory over Missouri State on Sept. 5 in Little Rock, it seems safe to call the vagabond home at last as a "hybrid" fullback/tight end/ H-back/special-teamer.

Of the blocks thrown to spring Dennis Johnson on the game-opening, 91-yard touchdown kickoff return, Stumon threw a big one, Petrino surmised on his TV show. And the 6-1, 266-pound, fourth-year junior made his first-ever Razorback catch with a 2-yard touchdown toss from backup quarterback Tyler Wilson.

"For an old North Little Rock boy," Horton said smiling, "that had to be special to score in War Memorial Stadium."

Stumon smiled evenbigger than Horton.

"It was a good feeling," Stumon said of proving you can go home again. "I got it in my hometown."

He got points for the touchdown, but the block helped get the game's first points on Johnson's return and launched the Razorbacks on a roll.

"My assignment was to get the No. 2 guy," Stumon said. "We had a double block [by Matt Harris and Freddy Burton] on the No. 3 guy coming down and that double block actually ended up taking two people down and it opened up a little wider than expected. I had to make my block, and D.J. with his speed, he took it home."

And so did Stumon.

"I have been up here a long time," Stumon said, "and Coach Petrino came in and he found me a home."

Did he think of ever going home, or elsewhere, when the Hogs couldn't find him a position home?

"It kind of crossed my mind," Stumon said, "but once Petrino got here I looked at it as I have a new slate, new coaches and I just had to prove myself to them. I just tried to keep pushing. Now it looks like it's all going to come up to me in the end."

Of course the Petrino regime didn't find him a home right away either.Stumon had played enough last year to letter at defensive end before finishing 2008 in the fullback/tight end/H-back role he has now.

Apparently there is just something about Stumon's build that makes him a 'tweener both coveted yet hard to fit.

"I think the part of my being recruited," Stumon said, "was schools didn't actually know exactly what they wanted to do with me. So when I got here I got to bouncing around."

His weight bounced around, too.

"The biggest adjustment was the weight gains and the weight losses," Stumon said, "trying to get to the right weight at each position. The most I ever weighed, I got up to 283 and the lowest was 245. It's been a long road. I am just trying to make the best of it."

Petrino said he was not surprised to see Stumon make the best of it in the season opener because he believed Stumon started making the best of it when moved back to fullback/ tight end late in 2008.

"He's a quick learner," Petrino said. "Very coachable. And now he feels he's found a home. He's very eager to go in there and block. He can do a great job in the run game and he does a nice job knowing who he has in pass protection and can pass protect. And he can catch the ball."

Given the Hogs' goalline struggles to punch it in against Missouri State, don't be shocked occasionally to see Stumon reliving old North Little Rock running back days.

"Everybody tells me he was a great running back in high school," Petrino said, "which I can see because any time we do running drills he is very, very hard to tackle."

Undefined, Pages 10, 11 on 09/13/2009

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