All Hogs

Random Observations: New Hog, missed Hog and an escaped Tiger running free

Newest Razorback will pull fans' heartstrings, passed opportunity may lead to feelings of regret
Kent Smith|
Arkansas offensive lineman Fernando Carmona unveils his new pet pig on his Pin 'n Pull podcast.
Arkansas offensive lineman Fernando Carmona unveils his new pet pig on his Pin 'n Pull podcast. | Fernando Carmona / Pin 'n Pull Podcast

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It's been a busy last few days for Arkansas fans. Between work, junior high games, high school football games and just life in general, there's simply not enough time in the day to take in everything.

That's why "Random Observations" is back. It's time to catch Razorbacks fans up on some of the things that would have slipped through the cracks while dealing with the more important things in life.

New Hog makes debut

On the latest episode of "Pin 'n Pull," a podcast for which Arkansas offensive lineman Fernando Carmona serves as co-host alongside his brother George, the preseason All-American unveiled the latest addition to his family.

The show opened with Fernando rolling through the customary show open introductions while holding a small black and white piglet wearing a Razorbacks jersey that we later found out is named Pittman after the Hogs' head coach.

"Welcome to the 'Pin 'n Pull' podcast. I am Pin."
"And I am Pull, and that is a pig!"

The pair were definitely uncertain about whether Fernando truly was allowed to have the pig, but if there are complaints or concerns, they made it clear with whom those people could take up their issue.

"Yeah, we got a pig," Fernando said. "We got a pig roaming in the house. Is it legal to have in the neighborhood? Not sure. But, we got a freaking pig."

His brother was quick to provide assurances.

"Well, I think it was Pittman that said, and not your pig that I'm referring to here that is also named Pittman, Pittman told you whenver you first came to Arkansas, he's like, "Whatever you want, you could have," so I don't think that having a pig is against the rules."

Fernando agreed.

"I don't think so either man," Fernando said. "I mean, if they do try to come after me, I'm just going to be like 'Hey, just go to the, go to the Pit-Boss. He told me I could have a pig. He said this was fine."

For those wanting to see Pittman the pig squeal and grunt his way through his debut, see below, but be warned. The language can get pretty rough. This is not your typical family friendly, highly marketable podcast, so be wary of children if you stray too far once Pittman is off screen.

The one that got away

Houston Nutt warned two years ago that Arkansas fans would soon come to regret the Arkansas Razorbacks not making a legitimate run at Fayetteville quarterback Drake Lindsey. Thursday night, in his starting debut as a redshirt freshman for Minnesota in the Golden Gophers' opener against Buffalo, Nutt's prophecy showed to likely be true.

Lindsey looked like a second-year senior, and at 6-foot-5, had all the hallmarks of for Hogs star Ryan Mallet, but with slightly more accuracy and much better on his feet. The rocket of an arm was clearly there as previously described by Nutt, but what was astonishing was his poise for someone making his college debut and the sheer accuracy with which he threw.

Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey (5) warms up before the game against the Buffalo Bulls
Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey (5) warms up before the game against the Buffalo Bulls at Huntington Bank Stadium. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

"This deep ball the night I watched him, the wind's blowing gusts up to 20, 25 miles an hour," Nutt said back in 2023. "There's one ball, he's throwing against the wind, went 65 to 68 yards and dropped it in the bucket for a deep ball. He can make every throw. Big Ten quarterback, committed to Minnesota. This guy is talented man."

The fact Lindsey finished 19-of-35 for 290 yards and a pair of touchdowns might be the most glaring evidence of how little stats often reflect how well a quarterback played. In a lot of cases it's inflated because a quarterback threw a few short passes that went for long touchdowns.

However, the opposite is the case here. Lindsey's stats are heavily deflated.

He should have easily gone over 400 yards and at least one or two more touchdowns, but his receivers had a severe case of the Tyrone Brodens. In addition, that number would have been basically through three quarters as the Gophers spent the last nine minutes of the fourth quarter running the ball at four yards a clip to run out the game.

Throw a 20-yard out perfectly placed to the receiver, caught in-bounds, but bobbled at the last second before landing out of bounds for an incompletion. Throw a perfect strike over the middle, caught, but then bobbled at the last second and jarred away by the ground.

Throw a perfect fade to the back of the end zone, caught, but the receiver lets his foot hit just out of bounds by half an inch. Throw a pass to a wide open tight end with just the right amount of touch that hits his hands perfectly right in front of his chest — dropped.

Run it again, wide open again, right in the hands again — dropped, again. That was the night Lindsey faced over and over.

Even his interception ended up being one of the most unfortunate passes in college history because of how well it was placed. His receiver was tackled before the throw, which should have been pass interference, sending Lindsey's target tumbling feet over head.

As the shoes reached their highest point, chest high as the head below folded into an awkward position on the turf below, the pass arrived, careened into the air off the shoe, and into the waiting arms of a member of the Buffalo secondary.

It matched the interception output he had his entire senior season at one. If you watch it back and account for balls that should have been caught that hit hands, chests or shoulder pads, Lindsey should have finished around 32-of-35.

Wild Tiger on the loose

Arkansas fans got a close-up look at the Auburn Tigers and the Jackson Arnold rehabilitation project. Arnold returned to Texas where he once ruled under the Friday night lights before his confidence was lost on Saturday afternoons in Oklahoma last season.

It appears Hugh Freeze's way of rebuilding his quarterback is to simply not have him throw passes. It's a little unorthodox, but it worked as Big XII member Baylor was not equipped to face an SEC running game.

Arnold sliced and diced the Bears for 10-15 yards a pop as he stepped up and through the Baylor defense. In the end, he led Auburn in rushing with 16 carries for 134 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Freeze finally let him throw the ball a little late, allowing his quarterback to finally break the 100-yard mark in passing with an 11-for-17 night and 108 yards. So, to recap, Arnold ran on 16 plays for an average of 8.6 yards per carry and a couple of touchdowns, and passed on 17 plays for an average of 6.4 yards and no touchdowns.

It looks like if Arkansas is going to include Auburn in its possible wins column, the Hogs will have to force Arnold to throw his way to victory. If he gets hot running, it will be over.`

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Kent Smith
KENT SMITH

Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments. 

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