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Arkansas report card: Defensive grades in rout of Nicholls State
By Drew Laing
Published:
School is officially in session. The Arkansas Razorbacks took their second test yesterday, facing Nicholls State for their 2014 home-opener.
The Hogs won 73-7, but how did each position group perform in last night’s blow out win? We hand out grades for every defensive position group.
DEFENSIVE LINE: A+
The line of scrimmage belonged to the Razorbacks all game. Defensive linemen Trey Flowers, Darius Philon and Taiwan Johnson unleashed havoc in the Nicholls State backfield constantly. Johnson racked up 2.5 sacks for a total loss of 22 yards and was easily the best defensive performer yesterday. The defensive line as a whole got a great push off of the line, making quarterback Kalen Henderson very uncomfortable. The Colonels were unable to get any sort of running game going, either, rushing for just 34 yards. It was a banner day for Arkansas’ defensive line, one of the most underrated position groups in the conference.
LINEBACKERS: A
It was the usual suspects in the linebacking corps that stood out against Nicholls. Brooks Ellis and Martrell Spaight both had good games in the time they played. Daunte Carr and Khalia Hackett also combined for eight total tackles. Nicholls State only managed to gain 34 yards on 28 rushing attempts, which averages out to 1.2 yards per carry. Safe to say it was a dominant, shut-down kind of performance from the Hogs linebackers.
SECONDARY: A-
The secondary gets the worst grade of the three groups, mostly due to a Nicholls State passing touchdown in the third quarter. Other than that one drive by the Colonels, the passing game was virtually nonexistent for them, despite ending up with 208 passing yards. There really was no viable threat to Hogs in the Nicholls State passing game
This was the biggest question mark for the Hogs going into their road game against Texas Tech. Overall, I think the defensive backs did what they were supposed to do against a team like Nicholls State. They didn’t make any stupid decisions, they were aggressive to the ball and also shored up some of the tackling woes from last week. They passed this week’s test, but next week will be much tougher. It’s not a group without its deficiencies, but yesterday’s performance is a step in the right direction heading into an incredibly important game in Lubbock.
Drew Laing will be providing analysis and insight on Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina.
