Texas A&M vs. Arkansas: Players to Watch

Texas A&M Aggies: Players to Watch

QB Trevor Knight
Knight is coming off of a rock-solid game on the road against a solid Auburn defense that featured multiple All-SEC candidates up front. On Saturday night at Jerryworld, he'll be facing an Arkansas Razorback D that returns nine players with starting experience from last season. The Hogs are very good in the front seven and are a tough defense to score a lot of points on because they're very, very basic from a scheme standpoint and are typically content to keep everything in front of them. That means Trevor and his Aggie teammates will have to be patient and, more often than not, take what's there. As such, Knight will have to make good decisions with the football and throw accurate passes to his open targets underneath because overthrows tend to be particularly costly against the Hogs. Then again, the way TCU moved the ball against the Hogs two weeks ago has to have caught the attention of Noel Mazzone. Kenny Hill threw for 377 yards against UA, and Kevonta Turpin did manage to get behind the defense two or three times. Hill also ran for 93 net yards and routinely ripped the Hogs on zone reads and designed quarterback draws or off-tackle runs. Knight has the ability to do similar damage with his legs, which would go a long way towards opening things up for not only the Aggie passing game but also for tailbacks Keith Ford and Trayveon Williams. At the end of the day, however, what Trevor needs to do more than anything else is exactly what he has been doing: Protect the football, make some big plays with his arm and as a runner and simply find a way to win.
 
WR Josh Reynolds
The Aggies' most dangerous downfield and red zone receiving threat is coming off of a 98-yard, one-touchdown effort at Auburn and seems to be developing great chemistry with Trevor Knight. That doesn't bode well for an Arkansas secondary that's probably grown quite tired of seeing #11 make game-changing plays at their expense. Last year, Josh caught 3 passes for 106 yards and made two clutch grabs to help force overtime. The first was a 63-yard catch-and-run that set up a score, cutting the lead to 21-19 in the final three minutes of action. The second came when he made a terrific snag of the game-tying two-point conversion. Two years ago, Reynolds made perhaps his most memorable play in Maroon & White when he scored from 59 yards out to tie the game and force OT with just 2:08 left on the clock. With the Hogs certain to focus much of their coverage efforts on slowing down inside receiver Christian Kirk (he torched Arkansas for 173 yards and 2 TDs last September), the Ags' resident Hog-killer should get his targets and touches.

RB Trayveon Williams
This one was an easy choice, no? In two games against quality Power Five competition, all the true freshman has done is rush for 221 yards on 23 carries. Read that again. The dude is averaging just under ten yards per carry against a pair of veteran defenses from UCLA and Auburn. While Williams will hard-pressed to continue his torrid pace against a Razorback defense loaded with experience and led by All-SEC linebacker Brooks Ellis, you can bet Clarence McKinney and the Aggies are going to see if the talented runner still has the hot hand early and often on Saturday night. Trayveon is a special talent and is a legitimate threat to rip off an explosive play anytime he touches the football. An Aggie true freshman torched the Razorbacks last year in this same game, and Williams has the speed, explosive playmaking ability and confidence to enjoy the same type of breakout performance that Christian Kirk did a season ago...especially with the Ags likely to work hard to establish the run.

DE Daeshon Hall
Both of John Chavis' defensive ends will face unique challenges this week. Between 6-10 tackle Dan Skipper manning the left tackle spot, the regular use of big, physical tight ends and running backs for extra blocking help and Arkansas looking to use the Ags' aggressiveness against them, Daeshon Hall and Myles Garrett are going to have to bear a pretty physical workload for four full quarters of football. In particular, Hall is likely to have to deal with most of the Razorbacks' runs and rollouts being directed away from Garrett and in Dae Dae's direction. Per our conversation this week, I get the feeling that the senior relishes the challenge. Where he's going to have elevate his level of play, however, is when it comes to fighting off blocks from the Hogs' enormous and uber-physical blockers - including 6-6, 260-pound tight end Jeremy Sprinkle, 6-5, 320-pound All-SEC guard Frank Ragnow and either 6-6, 335-pound tackle Brian Wallace (or Colton Jackson, who sits next to Wallace as an "or" on Bret's depth chart this week) - when Arkansas runs the football. Like I said, the Hogs are going to attempt to send a lot of the offensive action to the right side of the line, so don't be surprised to see Hall either use his wingspan to tip and perhaps even pick off a pass or lay a couple of bone-jarring hits on Allen. I'm thinking about John Chavis' comment during the Tuesday presser as I type this. "When they run away from Myles, they're running right into another strength." This is the game where all of the 265-pound Hall's off-season weight room work and weight gain pays off.

LB Claude George
John Chavis stated the obvious this week when he said that the Aggies would likely spend a lot more time in their conventional, three-linebacker look against an Arkansas offense whose primary goal is to line up and run the ball down the opponent's throat. That means less of Donovan Wilson and probably more of Claude George and Richard Moore. George is an interesting player for Chief moving forward because he's shown marked improvement over last season and has actually flashed real playmaking ability against both UCLA and Auburn. Against the Tigers on Saturday, the senior was very disruptive, despite not seeing much action until after halftime, finishing with six tackles, two stops behind the line and a sack. He's fast and physical, actually plays the game downhill and, at 240 pounds, can stand in against the run. If Chavis trusts George's ability to consistently make the proper gap fits, we could see #31 on the field a lot more than we did in any of the Ags' first three games.

CB Nick Harvey
The junior cover man will have his hands full on Saturday night as he'll not only be tasked with covering a couple of veteran, All-SEC caliber pass-catchers in Drew Morgan and Keon Hatcher but also provide run support on the perimeter against one of the league's most persistent and punishing ground games. Harvey has been a tackling machine through three games with 21 tackles (good for third on the A&M defense) and has used his speed and surprising physicality to blow up several plays at the line of scrimmage. Against Arkansas, the job of the Aggie corners might be as vital a component of A&M's success as at any point this season because the Hogs are so committed to running the football, yet they're also one of the most effective downfield passing teams that the Aggies will face. In other words, Harvey and Priest Willis are going to have to attack ball-carriers and blow up bubble screens by fighting through blocks while also respecting play-action and rollout passes, each of which could result in a field-position changing play or six points if Terry Joseph's corners get even the slightest bit overzealous. Morgan ripped the Ags for a 155 yards and a score in last year's meeting, so shutting down the senior receiver is probably priority No. 1.

Arkansas Razorbacks: Players to Watch

QB Austin Allen
For the past three seasons, Austin Allen sat patiently and watched his older brother Brandon run the Razorback show. With Brandon, who steadily developed into one of the league's top passers, gone to the NFL, it's little brother's turn to show the folks in his home town of Fayetteville what he can do. So far, so good for the 6-1, 209-pound junior. Allen has led the Hogs to a 3-0 start, completing 53-of-79 passes for 655 yards and 7 TDs versus 2 interceptions along the way. A two-time 7A state champion and title game MVP at Fayetteville High, Austin is a leader, a winner and a very good passer. He showcased all of those attributes in the double-overtime win against TCU, completing 17-of-29 passes for 223 yards and 3 TDs and fighting his way through a rugby scrum and into the end zone for a five-yard, game-winning touchdown run. In the season-opener against La Tech, Allen was 20-of-29 for 191 yards and two scores but also threw a pair of interceptions in a 21-20 Razorback win. The Hogs' starter followed up his SEC Offensive Player of the Week effort in Fort Worth by throwing for 241 yards and 2 TDs in a cakewalk win over Texas State on Saturday night.

RB Rawleigh Williams
The Dallas native made a fast, impressive recovery from a frightening neck injury that ended his freshman season in late October and has been Bret Bielema's workhorse so far this season. Through three games, Williams has run for 354 yards and 3 scores on 71 carries. The 5-10, 223-pounder is one of the SEC's top young backs and possesses a nice blend of speed, agility, quickness and power that make him a perfect fit in the Razorbacks' power running scheme. Before seeing his true freshman season cut short, Rawleigh managed 254 yards on 56 carries while backing up All-SEC starter Alex Collins. In last year's meeting with the Ags, Williams was effective, running for 46 yards and a short score on just 8 touches. His high-water mark through three games this year was a 137-yard effort against TCU. He also went for 96 yards and a TD in the season-opener against La Tech and 119 last Saturday versus Texas State.
 
WR Drew Morgan
If you were to rank the Arkansas receivers just over a year ago, Morgan was considered no better than third or fourth. A couple of injuries in the first two weeks of the season created an opportunity that the 6-0, 193-pounder did not let go to waste. Drew's breakout game actually came against the Texas A&M defense in Jerryworld, where he led the Hogs with 8 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort. Morgan didn't slow down from there, finishing among the SEC's top-10 receivers in catches (63), yards (843) and TDs (10). Eight of his 10 scores came in SEC play, which led the conference. Another one of Drew's biggest games came in the Hogs' biggest win of the season. In an unforgettable win over Ole Miss, he managed a career-high 9 catches for 122 yards against the vaunted Landshark defense. The senior came up big in the Razorbacks' win over TCU by snagging 7 Austin Allen passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. He's a chain-mover and a big-play threat, which will make stopping Morgan one of the Ags' primary objectives come Saturday night. Through three games in 2016, Drew leads the Hogs with 15 catches and has totaled 168 yards and a score.

TE Jeremy Sprinkle
The 6-6, 256-pound monster is one of three SEC tight ends considered a serious contender for this year's Mackey Award. Sprinkle has gotten off to a relatively quiet start as a pass-catcher but he ended 2015 on a pretty incredible run. In the Razorbacks' last seven games, Jeremy has hauled in six touchdown passes. In addition to leading the SEC with 6 TDs among his 27 catches for 389 yards, the 6-6, 256-pound is also a devastating blocker and key component of the Hogs' vaunted ground game. Sprinkle came up with in the Razorbacks' OT win at TCU by making three key receptions for 58 yards, including a 19-yard scoring grab in overtime. He added his second touchdown of the year against Texas State on Saturday. He'll be a matchup problem for the Aggies, just like he is for any defense trying to stop Bret Bielema's offense.

LB Brooks Ellis
A pre-season All-SEC Second-Teamer, Ellis is the heart and soul of a veteran Arkansas defense. The senior was never more valuable than he was in the Hogs' dramatic overtime victory in Fort Worth, when the Razorbacks knocked off then-No. 15 TCU, thanks in large part to Brooks' inspired play. With 8 solo tackles among his game-high 13 stops, Ellis dropped Horned Frog ball-carriers behind the line of scrimmage three times and set the tone early with a 47-yard interception return for a score.  As a junior, the 6-2, 245-pound middle linebacker led the team with 102 tackles, 8 TFL, 1.5 sacks, an interception and 5 QB hurries. In a close loss to Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Brooks set the pace with 15 tackles (13 solos) and 2.5 TFL, as the Razorbacks held Bama to its lowest rushing output of the season. The Arkansas native's career numbers include 233 takedowns, 19.5 tackles for loss and four picks. The rare defender who could just easily be described as a field general and playmaker.

DE Deatrich Wise
Last fall, the showboating Razorback defender emerged as one of the Southeastern Conference's premier pass rushers. A Carrollton native who was largely overlooked coming out of Hebron High School, Wise led the league in sacks during SEC play with eight, seven of which came during the month of November. Once a rangy, long-armed project, Deatrich entered his senior season as a 6-5, 270-plus pound All-SEC candidate and future NFL Draft pick. Last fall, Wise was in on just 31 stops but was ridiculously disruptive with 10.5 TFLs, 8 sacks (when no one else on the Hog defense recorded more than two), 5 hurries and 3 forced fumbles. In the season-opener against La Tech, Deatrich proved he was ready to pick up where he left off in '15 with 7 tackles, a shared sack and three hurries.