Could New Recruits Give Life to a Dead Razorback Defense?

“For the first time since I have been here, I was legitimately pissed off.”- Bret Bielema

To say that the Arkansas Razorbacks defense has been weak this season would be a massive understatement. There is bad, then there is Arkansas bad. The Hogs are ranked 124th nationally for pass defense -out of 128. To put that in perspective, they are a whole 2 spots higher than Kansas, who has given up 56 more passing yards. The Razorback defense is giving up an average of 302.8 yards a game. 0-11 Kansas is beating that by only 5.1 yards per game. If you had any question who is winning the games for Arkansas, that would be Dan Enos and Brandon Allen. Yes, the Brandon Allen that armchair coaches lit torches and grabbed pitchforks to go full “bench mob” on earlier this season.

Nov 21, 2015; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Arkansas Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s go ahead and get one thing out of the way: No one is getting fired. How do I know this? Bielema, in his pre-Mizzou press conference, has taken the blame for a big issue with his defense, which is linebacker depth. “Because when we first came here, we were so deficient offensively in the type of players our offense needed to have, I over-signed at wide receiver, a little bit at offensive line, and at tight-end. I over-signed at defensive line in particularly because D-line jumped out to me right away. I did a little bit at d-b as well in just numbers. I wish I’d have put 2 or 3 more players, over the past 2 years, in the linebacker depth chart. We are just so thin there right now, and especially losing a couple guys to injuries, magnified the problem times a thousand.”

That being said, what is Coach Bielema doing as far as bringing in immediate talent? Let’s take a look at some of the talent that has been described by the coaches as “immediate impact players.” I have heard, listening to Bo Mattingly and Dudley Dawson, that this means 2 things. One, the coaches have a lot of faith in the incoming talent. Two, coaches are not happy with some of the players that are currently here.

The best way to defend the pass is to sack the passer. Seems pretty logical. However, it’s something Arkansas, who ranks nationally at 109th, is not great at. Rory Segrest and Barry Lunney Jr. found a couple of 4 star players that they feel are going to fix that problem- the number 1 in-state player and 4th in his position defensive end McTelvin Agim, as well as the number 2 in-state player defensive tackle Austin Capps. Agim, in his sophomore and junior years, racked up 38 total sacks alone. The same years, Capps pulled 15, with 166 tackles. Joining the Arkansas natives is defensive tackle Briston Guidry, who is a 4 star as well. You can expect Arkansas to earn a much higher sack and pass rush ranking next season with the added depth these guys bring in.

Nov 21, 2015; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs wide receiver Fred Ross (8) after a catch, runs for a touchdown as Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Josh Liddell (28) pursues at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

So, there are some guys coming to get to the quarterback, but who’s coming to make the plays when they don’t get to him? They may not be 5 stars, or even 4, but OLB’s Jordan Carmouche and Alexy Jean-Baptiste are two 3 stars that, with a little development, have potential to be the hard-hitting, athletic linebackers that Arkansas so desperately needs. Carmouche is actually ranked as linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves’ best commit since being here at Arkansas.

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Inside linebacker De’jon Harris has greatly improved his stock over his senior season, as well. Take this group, add safety Deon Edwards, put them through a good off season with coach Herb in the weight room with some solid 2-a-days before the season starts, and you are looking at a good chance for a defensive turn around going into next year.

I am not saying that any of these guys are going to be super-stars because, until we see them at this level of play, no one knows what they can do yet. However, like Coach Bielema says, you win as a team and you lose as a team. These are the recruits that he believes, with a bit of development, will make an immediate impact to his and defensive coordinator Robb Smith’s scheme. Agim and Capps putting pressure on the opposing QB will lead to more interceptions and break ups by Harris, Carmouche and Jean-Baptiste. That’s the plan, anyway.

This is shaping up to be one of the Arkansas Razorbacks best defensive recruiting classes in a long, long time. It shows how dedicated Smith and Bielema are to building a complete team in Fayetteville. The current defensive roster boasts a high amount of young talent as well. 9 of the 11 starters will be returning in 2016 for the Hogs defense.

Next: Going Ham: The MSU Game sucked, but Recruiting Has Picked Up

One last point of thought- this is just the commits and does not include the targets the Arkansas Coaching staff is going for. Don’t be surprised to see what is already the best defensive recruiting class in Arkansas history, get a few more big-time play-makers added to it. Arkansas making a bowl this year, and the long road the Hogs took getting there- including the domination of LSU, has drawn a lot of attention from some attention-getting players from around the country.

Woo Pig.

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