Coaches May Already Know Defensive Starters for Opener

All bets may be off every week, but it's very likely we are only ones that don't know lineup

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Aug 23, 2023 8:36 AM EDT
Original:
Aug 22, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — About the only things the media and fans know for certain right now about Arkansas' starters for the opener against Western Carolina are KJ Jefferson will be at quarterback and Cam Little is the starting kicker along with Brady Latham at center. The impression we've been given is everything else is up for grabs.

Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman has dropped several hints through preseason practices for a few weeks the coaches know who they plan on sending out first at nearly every position. Nobody wants to tell us who that's going to be to keep the players competing for the jobs.

Pittman said at one press conferences it's dang near impossible for a back-up to practice his way into a starting role once the season starts. In other words, the guy in front of him has get hurt or be so bad it's impossible to not notice.

At practices, we have gotten an idea who looks better in individual drills and the half-step above playing flag football the media gets to see. You can rest assured once we get out of view, the Hogs get after it a lot more than in front of us. We've heard it gets rather spirited once the cameras and critical eyes have been given enough time to get out of range.

The defensive side is where I've looked as much as possible to see who might be the starting 11. There are too many other factors going into who back-ups will be to try to figure out who will be next in line, but it's possible to see enough to at least have a strong guess as to who's starting.

Having said that here's a projected look at how the Hogs will line up for the scrimmage keeping score against Western Carolina on Sept. 2:

Defensive Front

Going to a four-man front will, in theory, put more pressure on the quarterback, which is something that didn't happen often the last three years. That starts with pressure from the edge, which has a couple of lanky guys from the end spots in Landon Jackson and Trajan Jeffcoat. Big, tall guys that should be able to get that pressure without any help from the linebackers. Add Tank Booker and Eric Gregory at the inside spots and the size is there.

Gregory should know. He's been around town longer than a lot of professors on campus. He told us Monday this is the best and deepest they've been up front in his time with the Hogs.

Linebackers

Even though he's been banged up through most of the preseason workouts, nobody has come close to even giving the impression Chris "Pooh" Paul won't be starting after an injury that slowed him. It's the other one that's been the question mark.

Jaheim Thomas transferred in from Cincinnati and will probably be the first on the field. It will be interesting to see No. 27 (Paul) and 28 (Thomas) side by side to start the game. Both have shown they can play in the individual drills we've seen and will likely be the ones on the field first.

Secondary

The easy pick is Hudson Clark, probably at a safety position, which seems suited for a guy who's shown an ability to pick off passes his entire career here. He's got the experience, smarts and has shown he can play pretty well in the SEC. From there it gets kinda interesting at times.

Alfahiym Walcott, one of the transfers from Baylor, is expected to be one of the starters and Lorando "Snaxx" Johnson is the other. Both will probably be in the starting line-up. From there, pick a guy and situation to see who will get playing time.

Dwight McGlothern will be at cornerback to add some experience and playmaking ability. He's done it at LSU and here, so that one is as easy as putting Clark in one of the spots. Jaheim Singletary will probably be the other cornerback out there first.

DE: Landon Jackson, Trajan Jeffcoat

DT: Anthony "Tank" Booker, Eric Gregory

LB: Chris "Pooh" Paul, Jaheim Thomas

CB: Dwight McGlothern, Jaheim Singletary

S: Hudson Clark, Alfahiym Walcott, Lorando "Snaxx" Johnson

The Hogs will open the season Sept. 2 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock against Western Carolina at 3 p.m. It will be incredibly hot, probably, especially on those metal bleachers in that old relic of a stadium. The game will not be on cable or satellite and is only available on ESPN+.