Hog heaven

Sporting News, The, Oct 12, 1998 by Tom Dienhart, Mike Huguenin

As soon as the final gun sounded, the chants began. "Hous-ton!, Houston!" It seemed every fan in War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark., wanted to let Houston Nutt know he is appreciated. After all, Houston's Hogs were 4-0 after beating Kentucky, 2720, last Saturday.

"This was the greatest," said Nutt, a native son who played for Arkansas before transferring to Oklahoma State a year after Lou Holtz was hired in 1977. "Our team showed so much character."

Character is one of several ingredients Arkansas lacked under former coach Danny Ford, who resigned in 1997 after consecutive 4-7 seasons. The old Razorbacks committed myriad penalties and frequently looked disorganized. But the most striking difference between the Nutt and Ford regimes is the calm that looms over the staff. Ford, whose program was plagued by the turnover in his staff (three offensive and three defensive coordinators came and went), was an old-school coach, a Bear Bryant disciple who liked to yell at players and use negative reinforcement. Nutt, who previously was the head coach at Boise State and Murray State, stresses the positive, and his young staff is out to prove itself.

While Ford preferred to delegate to his assistants, Nutt is involved to the point where he calls plays. And he hasn't missed on many for a program off to its best start since 1989.

This time last season, Arkansas was rudderless. Before the 1997 campaign, Ford wanted to hire Chuck Reedy, a former assistant of Ford's at Clemson, as his offensive coordinator. Ford wanted to get back to his Clemson roots and run the ball. But Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles wanted a passing attack to generate interest and sell tickets. With that, Ford hired former NFL coach Kay Stephenson. The results were disastrous, as the Razorbacks finished last in the nation in rushing (56.5 per game) and averaged 273 total yards a game.

With Stephenson, Arkansas' once-old-school playbook became as thick as Ford's southern accent. And it was too complex. Matters were complicated by injuries to running backs Madre Hill and Chrys Chukwuma. Without a rushing game and playing behind a shaky line, quarterback Clint Stoerner struggled. Nutt has simplified things to the point where some think Arkansas looks like an original Danny Ford team.

The Hogs, who have Hill and in rushing with a 191.8-yard average. And they have benefited from a kind early schedule; the real tests lurk at the end of the season with games against Tennessee, Mississippi State and LSU. The Tigers' loss to Georgia last Saturday makes the SEC West an open race, which has the Hogs thinking of their first division title since 1995. To have a chance, Arkansas must keep Stoerner healthy and continue to get good play from a strong defensive line.

RELATED ARTICLE: Young guns

This is shaping up to be the Year of the Freshman Quarterback, The good: Fans have a lot to look forward to in ensuing seasons. The bad: There is uneven play from game to game.

The Big Ten leads the nation in freshmen starters with four. Indiana starts Antwaan Randle El, Iowa has Kyle McCann, Illinois goes with Kurt Kitmer and Northwestern starts Gavin Hoffman. Michigan (Drew Henson) and Michigan State (Ryan Van Dyke) also have given freshmen significant playing time.

None of the Big Ten's freshmen quarterbacks have been as good as Georgia's Quincy Carter, however. He blossomed last week in a 28-27 victory at LSU, completing 27-of-34 passes for 318 yards and two touchdowns. Here's a look at our top five freshmen quarterbacks:

1. Quincy Carter, Georgia(*)

2. Antwaan Randle El, Indiana

3. Major Applewhite, Texas

4. David Neill, Nevada(*)

5. Ronald Curry, North Carolina(*)

(*) True freshman.