We take a look at the best players statistically that return for the Arkansas Razorbacks, including two standout running backs and a defense that must replace a lot of talent.
Quick Facts on Arkansas
Last Year’s Record: 7-6
Location: Fayetteville, AR
Coach: Bret Bielema
Returning Offensive Starters: 9 (QB Brandon Allen; OL Dan Skipper; OL Sebastian Tretola; OL Mitch Smothers; OL Denver Kirkland; RB Jonathan Williams; TE Hunter Henry; WR Keon Hatcher; WR Cody Hollister)
Returning Defensive Starters: 6 (DL JaMichael Winston; DL Taiwan Johnson; DB Jared Collins; DB D.J. Dean; DB Rohan Gaines)
Yards
| Pass Yds/Gm | Rush Yds/Gm | Rec Yds/Gm | |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB Brandon Allen | 175.8 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| RB Jonathan Williams | 0.00 | 91.54 | 5.00 |
| RB Alex Collins | 0.00 | 84.62 | 0.70 |
| WR Keon Hatcher | 0.00 | 8.62 | 42.90 |
| TE Hunter Henry | 0.00 | 0.00 | 39.50 |
Almost the entire offense returns and that’s problematic for most teams, including Texas Tech. The interesting thing here is that at Arkansas, running backs run the ball and receivers catch the ball. There is little in the way of receivers catching the ball out of the backfield. They’re either receiving the handoff or Allen is throwing it to someone. Henry is someone that I recall thinking could be problematic last year, but truthfully, if you don’t stop the run, you ain’t got a chance.
Points
| Pass Pts/Gm | Rush Pts/Gm | Rec Pts/Gm | |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB Brandon Allen | 9.2 | 0.92 | 0 |
| RB Jonathan Williams | 0 | 5.5 | 0.92 |
| RB Alex Collins | 0 | 5.5 | 0.92 |
| WR Keon Hatcher | 0 | 0.46 | 2.75 |
| TE Hunter Henry | 0 | 0 | 0.92 |
Williams and Collins are each going to get a touchdown a game, while Allen did a good enough job of throwing a touchdown and a half for each and every game, while Hatcher is your guy if there’s going to be a touchdown reciving. The fact that Williams and Collins each average nearly a touchdown a game is not encouraging. Not even a little.
Tackles
| Solo | Assisted | |
|---|---|---|
| DE Taiwan Johnson | 15 | 11 |
| DB Jared Collins | 39 | 14 |
| LB Brooks Ellis | 29 | 43 |
| DE Deatrich Wise Jr. | 5 | 8 |
| DB Rohan Gaines | 29 | 30 |
I decided to add tackles here, because not every player that produces havoc stats makes a ton of tackles. I’d also add that I sorta like paying attention to the solo tackles and who’s joining in the pile or starting the pile. It should be mentioned that Arkansas graduated a ton of talent or that talent left to go to the NFL. We’ll get to that more in the next post, but a lot of the defensive standouts from last year graduated.
Havoc
| Tackles for Loss | Passes Defended | Forced Fumbles | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LB Taiwan Johnson | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| DB Jared Collins | 4 | 13 | 1 |
| LB Brooks Ellis | 5.5 | 7 | 2 |
| DE Deatrich Wise Jr. | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| DB Rohan Gaines | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Collins and Ellis are the most interesting prospects because they do a little bit of everything, especially Collins. That’s a good number of passes defended and also getting behind the line of scrimmage 4 times is impressive range, at least as far as I’m concerned.