Gameday Extra

Do you want your head coach to call the plays? That seems to be an integral part of the plot Saturday as Arkansas heads to Texas A&M after a bye week. New Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said emphatically when he was hired that he wouldn't call plays on either side of the ball. So far, no one has questioned that his two coordinators — Kendal Briles on offense and Barry Odom on defense — are calling the plays. There is confirmation that Pittman will give them guidance. For instance, on a critical series against Auburn with a chance to run out the clock with a first down, the first-year head coach told Briles to run the ball twice and then to pass if it wasn't third-and-long. Two running plays produced lost yardage, so Briles called a quarterback draw on third down, a play that failed to produce a first down. Auburn burned all three timeouts, but got the ball back with 2:06 to play. Everyone knows the rest of the story: Auburn's backward fumble was ruled intentional grounding and allowed the Tigers a chance to avoid certain defeat. This space isn't about that call. And, it's clearly not about any calls made by Pittman. After the Hogs beat Ole Miss 33-21, Pittman downplayed his role. "I didn't do nothing," he said. "I just stood out there and watched. I didn't do nothing." No one among the Arkansas fan base believes that. In fact, they wouldn't take "nothing" for Pittman right now. He's told national media outlets he is at his final destination and is quick to mention he has a retirement home in Hot Springs he used this past weekend. It's my belief that play calling is overrated. It's about line play and physical toughness over what a coordinator picks on his sheet. But I'll pacify those armchair quarterbacks who live and die with every call. As far picking plays, Jimbo Fisher is the clear man in charge of the Texas A&M offense. He has a coordinator in name, veteran Darrell Dickey, but Fisher is the man giving the call to the quarterback in most situations and in all critical stops. He whispers the call into the ear of senior quarterback Kellen Mond. And, in fact, Fisher has a reputation of being a "quarterback whisperer," a developer of that key position even before Jameis Winston won the Heisman Trophy in 2013. It was Winston who helped Fisher win the national championship at Florida State. Strangely, I'd be more worried about this game if Dickey was absolutely in charge of the calls, than with Fisher calling the game. Fisher has the reputation as a solid play caller, but I think Dickey's presence in the press box gives me more cause for concern than Fisher looking over the call sheet from the sideline. I have tremendous respect for Dickey. It dates to my early days covering college football. I did one-on-one interviews with Dickey three times during his four years as the starting quarterback at Kansas State. It was an interesting time at K-State. Jimmy Dickey was desperately trying to right the ship in Manhattan, Kan. That happened briefly with his son running the triple option and mixing in some effective play- action passing. Jimmy Dickey held strong beliefs that players should redshirt and used that weapon in 1981 in an unusual way. He redshirted all of his seniors and that group returned in 1982 to lead the Wildcats to their first bowl game in school history. Ultimately, the Wildcats fell back to misery after the younger Dickey graduated. And, after a brief fling in the NFL with Seattle and New Orleans, Darrell Dickey landed at Texas A&M as a graduate assistant under Jackie Sherrill. His resume reads a bit like Pittman's, with lots of stops at interesting places. There is one exception: Dickey got a Division I head coaching gig early on. That was from 1998-2006 at North Texas where he led the Mean Green to five bowl games and was four times the Sun Belt Conference coach of the year. The Mean Green won 26 straight Sun Belt games during one stretch. There is one interesting item after Dickey was fired at North Texas in 2006, a donor insisted that a new practice facility bear Dickey's name. That was done. Dickey's resume includes two stops at Memphis, the first under Charlie Bailey and the last under Justin Fuente and Mike Norvell. Among the highlights there was Dickey's push to sign quarterback Paxton Lynch, a diamond in the rough found in Deltona, Fla. Dickey's career has been split between coaching tight ends, running backs and quarterbacks. He's been an offensive coordinator at Memphis, Texas El-Paso, SMU, Utah State, New Mexico, Texas State, Memphis and now Texas A&M. Dickey did learn his way around the SEC with four years split between Mississippi State and LSU from 1990-93. Dickey's stamp is on this offense. It is sound, features near perfect decisions by the quarterback and does not beat itself. There is a strong running game, coupled with effective play-action passing featuring tight end Jalen Wydermyer and deep shots to freshman wide receiver Kam Brown. Interestingly, Brown and Wydermyer are among the few underclassmen starting for the Aggies. They rely on upperclassmen in the trenches with size and experience everywhere. That's where we will start this week's keys to victory. LINE PLAY Fisher might be a quarterback guru, but what the Aggies have done in the trenches is the key to the surge that has them No. 8 in The AP Top 25 with a 3-1 record against the SEC. Four of the five starters in the offensive line are seniors. The guards are both 335 pounds and the tackles weight 315. The Texas A&M base defense is a 4-2, with all upperclassmen. There are four senior starters, two juniors. Those six players own 14 letters. The Aggies rotate three at the nose tackle spot and all are 335 pounds. Can the Hogs match these two groups with physical intensity for four quarters? The man calling the plays benefits from the kind of experience, size and talent that makes up the A&M fronts. TURNOVERS There is little doubt that turnover margin has been a key part of the turnaround for the Razorbacks this season. They are plus-7 (with 14 gained) to lead the SEC. Texas A&M is plus-1, with only seven lost. The Hogs lead the nation with 10 interceptions, including three by redshirt freshman Hudson Clark against Ole Miss. Can the Hogs force Mond into mistakes? He's had plenty of time to find receivers, but the key to improved play as a senior is quicker decisions. He doesn't hold the ball long. He's thrown two interceptions in 130 attempts. "He's playing fast, the receivers are getting open and the offensive line is doing a good job of protecting him," Pittman said of Mond. "This is the best I've seen him. He's confident. He doesn't have as many rushes this year, which means he's living in the pocket, throwing deep balls and really having a fine year. "We need to get pressure on Kellen with three rushers and make sure we can try to contain him when he gets outside the pocket." For the most part, Arkansas quarterback Feleipe Franks has taken care of the ball. He's thrown only three interceptions and lost one fumble. PROTECTION This goes back to solid line play, something the Hogs have added this season. Because of injuries, they have rotated seven players at the five spots, with Ty Clary and Dalton Wagner both playing key minutes off the bench. Clary may be close to regaining a starting spot he lost to start the season. The Hogs have improved pass protection this season, but they still are among the nation's worst in that area. They have allowed 12 sacks this season, 12th in the SEC and 73rd in the nation. Conversely, this is what the Aggies do best. Mond's two sacks came in the first half of the season opener against Vanderbilt. Mond was not sacked against Alabama, Florida or Mississippi State, the reason Texas A&M leads the nation in fewest sacks allowed. LINEBACKERS There are some good ones in this game. They will be asked to make plays for both teams. How they play will go a long way to determining the outcome. Texas A&M touts senior middle linebacker Buddy Johnson as an All-America candidate. He's been a starter since late in his sophomore season. He led the Aggies with 77 tackles last season and is tops with 42 this season. Weakside linebacker Aaron Hansford is just as good. He's made 24 tackles, second on the team. Everyone knows the Arkansas linebackers have been off the charts good this season. Both Bumper Pool and Grant Morgan have earned national defensive player of the week honors. Morgan got his with a 19-tackle effort against Ole Miss. Morgan's pick-six in the final minutes gave Arkansas breathing room when it was still a one-score game. Pool missed the Ole Miss game because of rib injuries. Morgan has battled an elbow injury, too. Pool has practiced this week, but it's not sure if he can make it through a game. THE ONES Johnson wears No. 1 for A&M. Jalen Catalon is the Arkansas playmaker wearing the No. 1 jersey. While linebackers have made a significant number of tackles for both teams, Catalon is the catalyst for the Arkansas defense. Morgan has 52 tackles, but only 13 are solo. Pool has 36 in three games, but only 16 are unassisted. Of Catalon's 45 stops, 29 are solo - an incredible number. Catalon often is the man who gets the Hogs started. He makes a big hit or can ignite the Hogs with a play when the ball is in the air. His interception return against Ole Miss excited the entire stadium. "Somebody has to set the tone. Somebody has to be the intimidator," Pittman said. "He was against Ole Miss. "It's like the fights. If you sit around and wait on the other old boy to throw a punch, he might knock you out; you probably ought to throw the first one. That's what we try to do, what we talk to our kids about, that we're going to fight, so let's throw the first punch and see what happens." THIRD DOWN It's been called the key play in the game of football. Yes, scoring touchdowns is what everyone remembers, but the measurement of a defense is whether or not it can get off the field. Arkansas is first in the SEC with a 32.4% ratio on third down. Texas A&M is 11th at 49%. If the game is played with similar ratios, it might favor the Hogs and Odom's defense. Offensively, the Hogs are trying to improve on their 33.3% conversion rate, which is 12th in the SEC. Texas A&M is on the other end of the spectrum with one of the nation's best at 57.7% - second in the SEC and fifth nationally. STYLE OF PLAY It's been interesting over the last 10 months in trying to pin down the Arkansas defensive brain trust on how he's going to line up his defense. Odom has been honest. It would be week to week. Odom prefers a five-man secondary and that features safeties Joe Foucha, Simeon Blair, Myles Slusher and Catalon. You might consider nickel back Greg Brooks as a safety, too. Brooks can be a blitzer off the edge. COMMENTARY CLAY HENRY See KEYS, Page 4 10.31.2020 HOGS TAKE CONFIDENCE TO COLLEGE STATION KEYS TO VICTORY Can Treylon Burks give the Hogs a surge in special teams? Charlie Kaijo/NWA Democrat-Gazette Hudson Clark intercepted three passes against Ole Miss. Photo Illustration NWA-Gazette/ Charlie Kaijo

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