Keys To Victory

HOG FANS LOOK FOR FULL TILT BOOGIE

Put the hammer down, Chad Morris. Let’s see full tilt boogie. Get this offense in the left lane!

Fast. Right now.

Yes, that’s what I’ve heard from fans over the last eight weeks as Arkansas has plodded along with the Morris spread.

There have been times that it’s looked like pure gold, such as when the Hogs put up 31 points against Alabama. And, the Hogs did not punt while Ty Storey was on the field for three quarters against Ole Miss, building a 17-point lead.

But it has not always looked creative and for sure has seldom been operated at breakneck speed. There has been only a brief window where anyone was doing a boogie.

There has been frustration among fans. Why is this offense in the right lane? When will they pop the clutch?

Some might not get it, but I do. Just to make sure, I exercised my right like in the old TV game show and phoned a friend. Actually, I phoned three.

I called two retired high school coaches and one current coach. The comments were interesting and confirmed everything at my core on offensive line thinking.

There was Jerry Welch, a captain on the 1964 national championship team who learned offensive line play from one of the all-time greats. Welch played offensive guard for Merv Johnson, the line coach for three national title runs at Arkansas, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.

There was Barry Lunney Sr., the retired coach who won eight state titles, four apiece at Fort Smith South-side and Bentonville.

The third is an active coach, Bill Blankenship of Owasso, Okla. He’s won a combined five state titles at Tulsa Union, Fayetteville and last year at Owasso. Blankenship also served as tight ends coach on the Tulsa University staff when Morris was the offensive coordinator.

It’s the offensive line that determines what you can run each week, the play calls that will be successful against the changing defenses in college football. And, they change from one snap to the next.

For example, Tulsa’s “odd-stack” front is so different than anything the Hogs had faced this season. The run fits from the safeties are almost opposite from what most of the defenses ran against the Morris spread this season. It was a challenge to teach during the week.

Now the Hogs face a pro scheme run by Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason. They change fronts and stunts almost every snap. It’s probably the most complex look the Hogs have seen.

Why is this significant? In case you haven’t noticed, the Hogs have a patchwork offensive line.

Ideally, you play the same five guys every play of the season and don’t have an injury. That’s hardly been the case this season. The Hogs have started nine different offensive linemen this season. Several have started at different positions.

Some of that shuffling has been because of injuries, but some of it has just been an effort of finding the best chemistry. Center Ty Clary and left guard Hjalte Froholdt flipped positions after three weeks, prior to the Auburn game. Developing chemistry is almost impossible when there is a new lineup each week.

The ultimate test came last week when starting left tackle Colton Jackson came to coaches at the team hotel early Saturday morning with back spasms. It was determined on the bus ride to the stadium that Dalton Wagner would have to move from right tackle to Jackson’s spot.

Fortunately, offensive line coach Dustin Fry had planned for just such a situation during fall camp when almost every lineup possibility was tried.

“Coach Fry has done a great job,” Morris said. “We talked to our (O-line group) in camp that we were going to be constantly cross training. It has been cutting and pasting all season.

“We knew we better have guys that were at least a little familiar with every position. It’s a long season in a physical league. So we always try to do that.”

But the hope is that you put the same five in the same spots for 12 straight weeks. Believe it or not, that sometimes happens. It’s just not something you can count on. As they say, this is a 100 percent injury sport.

Offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said most of what’s happened this season — and that’s good or bad — has been about “the continuity up front. The more the offensive line plays together, the more we can do.”

Then, Craddock said the obvious: “What you are dealing with is that defenses don’t sit still and that’s before the snap and after the snap. You try to build on what your group up front can handle.”

Morris said each week starts with a plan, but it may not be something the O-line can handle. You put in a series of plays that should fit against the defensive scheme that’s coming, but you may have to wipe those off your play sheet if the line can’t block those plays against the look of the week.

“That’s the battle you face,” said Blankenship, who between high school stops at Union and Fayetteville was a college head coach at Tulsa. “The whole deal is trying to build chemistry in the offensive line.

“And, the hardest group by far to build chemistry is the O-line group. It’s a lot more important than defensive line chemistry.

“For example, you can take a great, young player and insert him in the defensive line and he just does his thing. He may not understand what’s going on around him and you get by.

“You do that in the offensive line, you could have all kinds of problems. That great player in the O-line has to know what the other guys are doing and be in step.”

Told that Arkansas has played nine different starters in the O-line, Blankenship said, “Then, I’m going to speculate they’ve struggled. Consistency — or lack of — is the critical aspect in the offensive line.”

Blankenship is an old quarterback and not an O-line guru, but has had plenty on his staffs.

“One of my best O-line coaches always said even if all are right in the O-line, they can all be right,” Blankenship said. “In other words, if they do something in unison and all step the same way, you still have a chance for it to work. But if one is out of sync, you almost have no chance.

“So you can misidentify the defense and if everyone steps the same, you might pick up the stunts. It’s when some go one way and others go a different way that it creates your issues.”

Lunney explained further.

“It then becomes about communication,” he said. “And, I’ve always said that’s the one position that you really require intelligence of what they are facing and the willingness to study. I think O-line play is highly interesting.”

Lunney pointed at Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders during his time at Oklahoma State and in the NFL with Detroit.

“I think with some of those lines, Barry had to make people miss for five yards to get to the line,” Lunney said. “I wondered what he would have done with a really solid line.

“Now what I really believe is that when you have a really great offensive line, you can win with just average backs.

“And, I have believed that an offensive line with intelligence can get by without the greatest athletic ability if they have great IQ and experience.”

Blankenship said that might be changing with the arrival of the spread with constant pulling and counter plays.

“You better be more athletic up front now,” he said. “I think you see that with what Chad is running.”

Morris confirmed that Wednesday night on his statewide radio show.

“We are looking for athletic linemen, slimmer and faster, because we do a lot of pulling and movement with our blocking schemes,” Morris said. “That’s why we really stressed conditioning in the offseason.”

Welch said it’s interesting that his group in 1964 stressed speed and quickness up front under Johnson, as demanded from Frank Broyles.

“We had a lot of smaller offensive linemen,” he said. “Glen Ray Hines was 6-7, a freak, but he didn’t have a lot of weight. None of us did.

“It wasn’t until much later in the pro passing schemes that just pure size and bulk was stressed. You see that flipping back now in the spread offenses. I see it.”

One thing that hasn’t changed is the way fans see a game.

“I do not think very many see what’s happening in the line or understand it,” Welch said. “I probably shouldn’t say that, but it’s about blocking and tackling. Now, I see the angles for blocking change in these schemes.

“And, when you have the complex defensive alignments and movements, you may see tremendous complexities in what the offensive linemen have to recognize to get those angles and be right.

“And, that’s why the communication is so critical. The guard sees the tackle line up in his gap and the block is for him to hook that guy. It’s not possible for him to get there. So he tells the tackle to block down and then he fills the tackles gap. Then something else changes on the outside and they are all wrong.

“I do like what I see with this system Coach Morris is running. I like the angles of the blocking. I agree with the concept. I think this gives the linemen blocking it a lot of flexibility as they learn it. What I know is that most people watching it don’t give a thought to what is actually happening on each of these plays and if they can run them or not.”

That’s back to the chemistry thought. When it all fits together on a consistent basis, Morris is going to pop the clutch.

Now we’ll get to the keys for hammer down against Vanderbilt.

  1. Offensive Line Play — Did you expect anything else? Vanderbilt’s offensive success has been built on experience at quarterback where Kyle Shurmur is a four-year starter. But that’s not really where the Commodores are reaping dividends from experience.

The Vandy offensive line — while not extremely talented — is highly experienced. Seven returnees have started during their college careers. Center Bruno Reagan and left tackle Justin Skule have 35 career starts. Right tackle Devin Cochran has 18.

The Hogs aren’t sure who is going to start this week. Right guard Johnny Gibson, right tackle Brian Wallace and Jackson have all battled injuries in the last two weeks. Gibson and Jackson were listed as day-to-day by Morris on Wednesday, the last day he talked about injuries.

  1. Tailback — The best running backs on both sides have been in and out of the lineup the last couple of weeks, but may be full go this week.

Vandy’s top runner is junior Ke’Shawn Vaughn. He missed last week’s game but is expected to play against the Hogs.

“He’s a big-time back,” said John Chavis, the UA defensive coordinator. “You know each week you are going to see someone like him in the SEC. He’s very good.”

The Hogs think Rakeem Boyd will be full go this week, too. He carried 22 times for 99 yards last week before leaving with dehydration. The Hogs won’t have Devwah Whaley and T. J. Hammonds, both out after surgery. Chase Hayden and Maleek Williams are the backups.

  1. The Strength — No one would have predicted this in preseason, but the defensive line has quietly become the strength of this Arkansas team. Of course, linebackers De’Jon Harris and Dre Greenlaw make the bulk of the tackles.

What’s taken place is that defensive linemen Armon Watts and McTelvin Agim have become forces inside. Chavis said end Randy Ramsey had his best game last week, playing almost perfect technique and forcing plays to the inside or collapsing the pocket to allow others to make sacks.

  1. Secondary Coverage — Can those defensive linemen make plays downhill to collapse the pocket against Shurmur? It won’t be as easy as last week when Tulsa’s receivers could not beat coverage against Ryan Pulley and Jarques McClellion.

Vandy’s wideouts are much more talented. Kalija Lipscomb has 54 catches. Tight end Jared Pinkney has

  1. They’ve combined for nine touchdown receptions.

McClellion had perhaps his best game last week, but will be tested every game the rest of the way as quarterbacks continue to look away from Pulley’s side. Dubbed the Pac-man by secondary coach Ron Cooper, McClellion continues to improve. Morris called him a “super star of the future” on his radio show this week.

  1. Tackling — The Hogs improved in this area against Tulsa, but they didn’t see any SEC speed. Vandy isn’t the fastest team on the schedule, but will present more challenges than the Hurricane.

Can free safety Santos Ramirez match last week’s effort when he led the team with 10 stops? Morris said strong safety Kamren Curl had his best game. They will face tougher tests this week.

Chavis was a little critical of his unit despite the shutout, noting there were periods of softness inside, but they got corrected at halftime. The third quarter effort in tackling was the team’s best of the season.

  1. Ty Storey’s Return — The junior quarterback sat out last week because of concussion protocol, but was cleared Sunday. Immediately, Storey stepped back in as the starting quarterback.

While praising the play of freshman Connor Noland, Morris also noted, “We missed Ty’s leadership on the field. We missed some checks that you are going to miss when you are a true freshman.”

Morris said the run-pass option game wasn’t a strong point against Tulsa, perhaps the reason the Hogs had to settle for three field goals. Storey’s ability on those plays has progressed to the point that it’s the strength of the offense with the gives to Boyd off those first reads.

  1. Michael Woods — It was interesting that the freshman wide receiver was one of the choices to attend Morris’ radio show this week. Woods started the season on suspension after an arrest in the offseason. Morris called him a “super star of the future,” like Mc-Clellion.

Woods said he’s starting to figure out things and has honed his technique. He’s one of the few receivers with the physical stature to get off press coverage and win one-on-one matchups that are there in the spread.

Vanderbilt’s strength on defense is size and length at cornerback, especially with Joejuan Williams (6-3, 210 pounds). That’s a key matchup for Woods.

  1. Special Teams — Can the Hogs dominate this part of the game for the second straight week? Morris is the ultimate stat man. His college major was mathematics with a minor in statistics. He said he can sometimes wear out his staff with numbers.

“We measure the difference in yards in special teams,” he said. “We think for every 100 yards you beat the other team by in special teams, it equates to six points. We were plus-57 last week and we would like to improve on that.”

Early this year the Hogs were deep in negative yards in special teams. It also helps that Connor Limpert continues to impress at placekicker. He was a perfect three-for-three against Tulsa to make it 10 straight makes since missing against Auburn.

  1. Turnovers — Morris talks up Vandy’s defensive ability to force turnovers. The Commodores have 14 takeaways. Interestingly, the Hogs are just one back at 13. So this promises to be a key area. This is the area where field position often swings.

The key for both defenses is the blitz and changing looks in the front. Both teams are multiple. How the two quarterbacks adapt to this area is important. Storey has been up and down in this department. He did not take care of the ball against Alabama, but did against Ole Miss.

  1. The Lead — Both teams have blown leads this season. Arkansas had Ole Miss down by 17, then slumped in the fourth quarter. Vandy blew a 21-3 lead against Florida.

Interestingly, Morris never lost a game that his SMU teams led at halftime. That’s happened against Colorado State and Ole Miss this season.

How do you correct that? Morris said it’s a simple philosophy: “Improve every day and try to win every play. That’s what we stress. The message and the formula doesn’t change.”

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