There's Too Much Blathering About Who's NOT Playing for Hogs

Plus nobody is talking about one change everybody hopes isn't a problem

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Dec 28, 2022 9:54 AM EST
Original:
Dec 27, 2022

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A question about folks not playing comes up at every press conference.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I understand why some of the people asking the questions think it's necessary, but it's not newsworthy unless they get a surprising answer.

Which probably will be answered before the inquisitions start.

The guess here is when the Razorbacks have their walking wounded back on the basketball floor, the sports information folks will have already sent out an email.

Yeah, somebody is going to have to step up to fill in the holes, but none of that is new and the guys getting more playing time seem to be doing just fine, thanks.

If Hogs coach Eric Musselman isn't worried, you shouldn't be, either. He would rather have at least one of the players back in late February good to go than limping around in January.

Until late February, everything is just for positioning, anyway.

Football is a little different, but I have just gone through several days of listening to the "what-ifs" about who's not playing in Memphis and how it will be different with the guys who have signed.

None of that does Sam Pittman any good at all over in Memphis. He's got to line up at the Liberty Bowl with who he's got.

Throw out everything from the regular season because it's not going to really matter. Unless you're one of the teams in the playoffs, a lot of those stats can be thrown in the trash because it usually doesn't translate to the bowl games.

In the Hogs' case, the offensive line is juggled all over the place. Maybe they've figured everything out in practices, but that's not a game with the band playing and whatever crowd shows up yelling.

For a change, the weather won't be a problem in Memphis. The Hogs have had to deal with some pretty nasty stuff in a place that's just a little larger than War Memorial Stadium.

The basketball team, on the other hand, will be on the road away from the familiar stomping grounds and crowd at Bud Walton Arena.

The guess here is things will be just fine in both cases.

Although there are more questions for the football team that nobody can answer right now, including having a different holder for Cam Little's placements.

If you don't think that is something coaches don't have in their mind you'd probably be wrong. It's a little detail.

Everybody just hopes it doesn't turn into a bigger deal.