The Razorbacks' physical play makes them a legit threat to everyone
You knew it was only a matter of time until the University of Arkansas could arguably lay claim to having the most vaunted rushing attack in the Southeastern Conference.
After all, head coach Bret Bielema may be the premier rushing game orchestrator in the nation — at least for those teams with an authentic pro-style offensive scheme.
His ability to recruit capable talent at both the offensive line and running back positions may only be superseded by his ability to develop said talent.
His philosophy is simple: lean on defenses with a huge offensive line while providing multiple looks with a diverse group of backs. Do this while dominating with physical between-the-tackles runs — rather it be draws, traps or dives.
Simply put, the Razorbacks want to be the most physical team in the nation. And with how this season is shaping up for them, they may be well on their way.
Physical Offensive Line Play
With an average of 328 pounds, Arkansas’ offensive line is flat-out massive. Being a former lineman himself, albeit on the defensive side of the ball at the University of Iowa, Bielema understands the concept of a heavy line wearing down defensive lines as the tilt wanes on.
At his prior stop — the University of Wisconsin — his lines were not only big, but they were some of the most dominant, physical lines in recent history.
Bielema put a wealth of talent in the NFL: Joe Thomas (Cleveland Browns), Kevin Zeitler (Cincinnati Bengals), Kraig Urbik (Buffalo Bills), Gabe Carimi (Atlanta Falcons), Peter Konz (Atlanta Falcons), Travis Frederick (Dallas Cowboys) and Ricky Wagner (Baltimore Ravens) immediately come to mind.
And his current Razorbacks’ line has a few potential superstars among it as well — most notably tackles Dan Skipper and Brey Cook .
The 6’10”, 320-pound Skipper, and the 6’7″, 314-pound Cook are both the epitome of “dancing bears,” a term used to describe linemen who are light on their toes.
Skipper is budding superstar as NFL teams will like his nasty temperament anchoring man-blocking schemes. His athleticism may lend itself to seeing him be courted by several area-blocking schemes, as well.
With as many pulls, traps, counters and iso-runs as Bielema’s schemes are know for, you can bet that the interior of the line has talent as well.
Right guard Denver Kirkland is built in the mold of Konz and Frederick with his ability to act as a lead blocker in Arkansas’ gap scheme. He understands angles and can maul as well as seal block.
On this well-executed “Counter-Lead,” out of “12 personnel,” the Razorbacks’ line does a great job of down and seal blocking — creating two separate walls.
Kirkland pulls from his guard post and seals off the approaching back-side pursuit. Skipper works his man like a…nah I can’t say that kind of stuff here (haha).
But what really separates Arkansas’ blocking scheme from the rest, is the fact it stays in “Big” personnel (“12” and “22 personnel”) the majority of the time.
Furthermore, all tight ends possess the ability to act as de facto extra linemen.
Case in point: the tight end executed a physical “Wham” block at the point of attack in the above sequence. When most of these spread teams think about Wham, it’s usually in reference to singing its favorite song: Wake me up, before you go go.
And I can’t stress enough how multiple offensive coordinator Jim Chaney’s scheme is. Although he comes from a spread background, his time spent in the NFL — and at the University of Tennessee — has virtually transformed his whole philosophy to a pro-style outfit.
But the basic blocking concepts look very similar to what Bielema was doing at Wisconsin.
Here we see Arkansas’ line looking like a fine percussive symphony.
Left guard Sebastian Tretola kick-out blocked the 1-technique darn near to first row. Kirkland did his normal bit: showing how athletic a 6’5″, 348-pound lineman can really be; Cook sealed.
And Skipper, of course, spread some poor lineman on the grass like fertilizer.
Arkansas’ blocking scheme is nearly unparalleled from a personnel and physicality standpoint.
Scheme-Specific Running Backs
It’s one thing to have a staple of running backs that benefit from having a nasty, physical and well-schemed offensive line. It’s another thing to have play-making backs that could make an average line look spectacular.
The trio of Jonathan Williams, Alex Collins and Korliss Marshall is arguably the very best in the nation. Bielema asks a ton from his backs: one-cut-and-go runs, downhill darts, edge blasts and a ton of pass protection.
When opponents expect you to run the ball more than you pass, you have to find a plethora of ways to employ your backs in the ground game; versatility is the key.
Williams is a downhill runner that can plow over defenders as well as make them miss. His short-area prowess was highlighted in the two above GIFs, but he is also the best receiving back in the Southeastern Conference.
At 6’0″, 225 pounds, Williams is a well-put-together back with franchise written all over him — from an NFL standpoint. He runs with excellent pad level, and he brings the thunder like very few can.
Thus far on the season, Williams has carried the ball 48 times for 391 yards (8.1 average per attempt) with seven touchdowns. He also has a 90-yard touchdown, showing that he’s not just a power back.
Marshall, on the other hand, is a speed demon that excels at hitting the home run. The 6’0″, 205-pound Osceola, Arkansas native doesn’t quite run behind his pads, yet. Once he develops his overall game he, too, will be a star in the making.
But as a change-of-pace back, Marshall has drawn the eye of his head coach.
“Korliss Marshall might be the explosive player in my coaching career that I’ve coached and nobody has really seen him yet,” Bielema said on The Paul Finebaum Show recently.
Considering he just coached future NFL superstar Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin), you can plainly see the gravity of the situation.
The most exciting back on the team is Collins. His one-cut-and-go style has led to plenty of highlight-reel runs. The prized recruit out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida has lived up to lofty expectations thus far during his time in Fayetteville.
He was last season’s offensive rookie of the year, and he currently leads the SEC with 490 yards on just 65 totes (7.5 average).
Simply put, Collins is a baaad man. But, of course, he gets by with a little help from his friends.
On this lead draw, the fullback gets a nice block allowing Collins to have quite a few choices of which road to take.
With his unparalleled vision, Collins sees daylight on the left side of the formation and bends it like Beckham to the outside. He encounters an unblocked defender and leaves him grasping at air.
From there it’s all god-given ability; the Razorbacks are the absolute truth in all aspects of running.
TEXAS A&M GAME OUTLOOK
While many expect the Texas A&M Aggies to dispose of the Razorbacks — in this Saturday’s tilt at AT&T stadium in Arlington, Texas — quite easily, I don’t subscribe to that theory.
While the Arkansas defense may have trouble with the aerial styling of the Aggies, I expect the Aggies to struggle to stop the Razorbacks’ ground attack. If the Razorbacks can control the time of possession and force the Aggies out of rhythm, they can very well pull off the “upset.”
A key matchup will be Skipper going against the next great edge-player, Aggie super freshman Myles Garrett (5.5 sacks thus far); Skipper can’t allow Garrett to control the edge and funnel all the action back inside.
Regardless of the outcome, the Razorbacks are on their way back to the top and are doing so with a sustainable philosophy: Bloody the mouths of your opponent and force them to man up on a snap-by-snap basis.
I just love physical football, don’t you?
