By Otis Kirk
FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas will be back in Razorback Stadium on Saturday to host No. 23 Liberty.
The Razorbacks haven't played a home game since Saturday, Oct. 1, when they hosted Alabama. Sam Pittman is pleased to be back at home for this game and the next two as well.
"Thank you Lord," Pittman said. "It was time to get back home. Everybody says it but we truly have the greatest fans in the country and they want to see the Hogs play and we want to play in front of them, It’s a big deal for me, our staff and our team to play in front of the state of Arkansas. Big deal. So we’re really excited and we have three in a row. So obviously we need to win. Each win will pump up our fan base a little bit more and it’ll us win. They’ll help us win. If we’re fortunate enough to win on Saturday, I’m sure it’ll be a lot to do with the home crowd advantage."
Redshirt junior cornerback Malik Chavis didn't play against Auburn due to the head injury he suffered against BYU. Pittman was asked if he expects to have him back this week?
"I hope," Pittman said. "I mean, I certainly was positive that he would be ready last week. He just wasn't. Again, that one was basically a Friday that we found out on that one. But we were able to take Andrew Chamblee on the trip and I thought that was great for him. He's going to be a good player, by the way. But he (Chavis) will be back at practice today and hopefully we'll have him this week."
Pittman noted Chavis will have some competition to start at cornerback from a true freshman as well as noting the staff needs to put Hudson Clark at one position. He has doubled at both cornerback and safety to this point.
"I think in all fairness to Clark, we need to leave him at one spot," Pittman said. "Now, he played well Saturday. But we need to leave him at one spot if we can. Now, obviously, with Chavis coming back, that helps. As long as we stay healthy, I think we probably look a little bit more at corner with those two guys and leave Hudson back in the middle.
"I think Chavis will battle with (Quincey) McAdoo to be perfectly honest with you. It’s time that we get him out there. He’s a good player and we’ve moved him over there for a reason and [not playing DB yet] has nothing to do with athletic ability, because he’s as talented as anybody over there. It has everything with understanding what to do. I believe we need to increase his reps at practice and give him an opportunity to get on the field."
McAdoo is a true freshman from Clarendon who signed with the Razorbacks in December to play wide receiver. But with so many injuries in the secondary he volunteered to Pittman to move over for this season. As a senior at Clarendon, McAdoo completed 7 of 19 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed 82 times for 894 yards and 11 touchdowns. He caught 34 passes for 617 yards and eight touchdowns. On defense, McAdoo had 58 tackles, two for loss, one interception and returned a punt for an 88-yard touchdown.
Clark has 32 tackles this season including 16 solo and 2.5 for loss. Clark has one interception, eight pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and forced a pair as well. Pittman talked about Clark at safety.
"He's smart," Pittman said. "Well, he's getting us lined up, you know, him and (Simeon) Blair. Unfortunately, the first week he played safety was against Mississippi State, and them guys were coming through there, we weren't really slowing them down, and, you know, they were knocking the heck out of him in there. I think if, in the future, we decide to leave him at safety, we're gonna have to bulk him up, you know?
"But I do know this about Clark, you can count on him. You know what you're gonna get, and he's gonna be out there every snap that he possibly can. Guys, there's an invaluable aspect to that. I mean, there just is. You know he's gonna be out there, and you know what you're gonna get, so really, really pleased with him."
Against Auburn, Pittman got Myles Slusher, Jayden Johnson and Khari Johnson back from the injured list to help in the secondary.
"Well, we've got to get better," Pittman said of the secondary play. "When you don't play for a period of time, a lot of times you've got to get the rust off. We have to get better. I think if you ask each and every one of those kids, they would tell you that they have to play better. I'm not telling you they played bad or anything of that nature, but I think they're better players than what they played on Saturday, and I think they will play better."
Arkansas will host Liberty on Saturday at 3 p.m. and televised on the SEC Network.