Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: You're listening to the Hog Sports Network daily podcast.
Now here's your host, Matt Jones.
[00:00:11] Speaker B: Happy Friday, everybody. I'm your guest host today. Christina Long, filling in for Matt Jones, your regular host, will be back on Monday. It is a dark and stormy day in Fayetteville and we expect that's going to impact this weekend's baseball series against Missouri. Waiting on official word here as we record during the 10 o'clock hour. But we'll have updates throughout the day and through weekend on schedule changes if they happen on whole hogsports.com so you can keep up with everything there as we share updates when we get them on the show today, Ethan Western's Westerman is going to join me in the studio and we're going to talk a little bit about what we heard from Sam Pittman yesterday at football. Ethan went over to practice and observed again their eighth spring practice. So we'll talk a little bit about takeaways from that as well as some other Arkansas sports news from around campus. We've got a little bit more women's basketball, a little bit of gymnastics after the first round of NCAAs last night. But first, we're joined by Matt Michael, color analyst from Mizzou Baseball, who's here in Fayetteville. He's over at Bomb Walker now getting ready for calling the game, whatever games they're able to play this weekend. Matt, thank you so much for joining us. And you and I talked a little bit before we started about what it's looking like over at Bomb Walker. But what do you see out there in terms of the water?
[00:01:21] Speaker C: Yeah, I have the press box view. And thanks, Christina, for having me. It is a little bit of ponding on the apron in front of the third base dugout, a little bit in left field. I mean, a field like this, a great surface with a great grounds crew, it could clear up, I'm sure, if the rain stops. But we all know the rain spend persistent here at about 10:30 as we record this on Friday morning. So we'll see. I know what the forecast says for later. I haven't heard anything one way or the other about where game for Friday night stands and certainly for the rest of the weekend. So I think it's still touch and go right now.
[00:01:52] Speaker B: So Mizzou baseball, not necessarily new to weather issues because wasn't there a series at Texas affected last week, too? I remember seeing a lot of photos from, from that series. Some, some problems.
[00:02:02] Speaker C: Yeah, that was interesting. You know, the series against Texas, they played on Friday, no problem but before Friday's game, they announced a doubleheader on Saturday, which was. I don't really know what came of it. There were concerns for weather on Sunday. It turns out that Sunday, later in the day, was actually fine in Colombia. So maybe they could have played all three days. But in any event, yeah, that was, I think, really the first main weather induced issue the Tigers have had where they had to move things around, certainly in the league. And they played a couple of doubleheaders before they played two nines against Texas. Didn't go well, especially in the second game against the reigning SEC pitcher of the week, Ruger Riojas. But they've had some stuff move around. They've had to be flexible.
[00:02:43] Speaker B: Yeah. And this is a Missouri team that's looking for its first SEC win still. They're 0 and 9 in SEC play. And, you know, looking at the statistics from a lot of their games, it seems like pitching has been an issue. I know they've had injury concern there throughout the season, including their usual Friday starter. It's Ian. Is it. Is it Los Losi? How do you lose? Okay, so Ian Losi, their usual Friday guy, is injured, so they've had to make a change to the rotation a little bit. Can you kind of walk us through what's happened with the injuries they've dealt with on this pitching staff?
[00:03:12] Speaker C: Well, it has been really numerous, unfortunately, and it seems like it's been that way for the past several seasons for Missouri. They knew before the season that they wouldn't have the services of Jab and Pimentel, who might have been their Friday night starter had he been healthy. But he went down with injury before the season and the Tigers knew they wouldn't have him lose. He is coming back from seasons that have been plagued by injury in the past, and it seems like everything that Ian has dealt with for him to keep going. It was great to see him as the Friday night start of this season, but he went out from his last start. It just didn't seem like he was finishing pitches and looked very comfortable. They had another weekend starter from the first weekend of the season, Daniel Whistler, actually start on Wednesday. In his road to recovery from an upper body injury. He worked to two batters, got two outs, and then something didn't feel right and he went down again. They're missing, I believe, Josh McDevitt and they've been missing him for the balance of the season. They've gotten one or two back over the course of the year, but they've been really fighting it and they knew before the season that Tony Dubek, who's coming back from a second year's worth of going in to try to fix his ucl, is on the slow road to recovery. They just saw him pitch on the game on Wednesday against Arkansas Pine Bluff and he worked inning. And then Sam Horn, of course, couldn't really get involved with the team until spring football practice was done as he's trying to be the number one quarterback for Eli Drinkwood on the football field. He is throwing on the side now, but he's still a little ways away and it just seems like, you know, whenever you turn around there's another pitcher injury on this team and that's been a problem for them really the last few seasons and unfortunately you've had to throw some younger guys in the fire or maybe some players without as much experience. And that's where the struggle has come. You know, it's a team right now that has an ERA overall that is just astronomical. I mean, they had a 580 last season and that was actually pretty good compared to some of their peers. But it's a 795 now and they just have struggled at times to throw enough strikes and enough counts and they've gotten themselves in their own trouble and opponents have been able to take advantage of it. If they cut that down, I think they'd be pretty solid. I think the stuff is there, but they're a little bit more thin due to the injury and they've had some strike throwing and consistency problems and that's why you see the elevated runs support for other teams and why they haven't been able to keep them off the board.
[00:05:26] Speaker B: Right. And then the availability report comes out and Jackson Lovitz, their top offensive guy is on there is questionable. Do we have any idea of what's going on there with him? I know we'll get another report before the game.
[00:05:37] Speaker C: Well, we'll see because what happened with Lovich is late in the game on Wednesday against Arkansas Pine Bluff. It was a tight ball game and the Tigers were chasing the game and finally came back to win on a walk off in the ninth inning. But Lovich slid into second base and on the throw the shortstop came down and cleated him in one of his legs and you could see the pants rip. That was there and they wanted to play it safe with Lovic, took him out, he had a wrap. I don't think it's very major, but I'm sure the Tigers wanted to be very cautious with one of their best offensive threats and they're starting shortstop right now, so we'll see. I mean, Lovic is on the trip, but I don't think it would be very major. But we haven't heard anything official. We'll just all have to find out together, right?
[00:06:18] Speaker B: Yeah. Arkansas fans will recognize his name because he's the brother of Ross Lovich, a former Razorback, and he's, like I said, been their top offensive guy. Some stats on him, he's hitting.368. He's got seven home runs and 33 RBI, all of which I believe lead the team so far. So what has he kind of done well and is this was he expected to be this kind of offensive leader for them this season?
[00:06:38] Speaker C: I think coming into the season you would have expected him to be an offensive leader. He had 10 home runs as a sophomore last year. He was one of the top players, in fact, in terms of overall hitting, the top returning player by average on this ball club. He has the levers for power. He's able to hit to all fields, he can play solid defense and he's played all over. The team started this season thinking that Jackson Lovicz would be their starting third baseman. It didn't work out the best there. He's actually better served as the shortstop right now on this team, so that's where he's been getting the bulk of the time. He's also played first base and center field in his time in Colombia. But he's a guy that I think he can't afford to have his bat out of the lineup, especially when he's being selective, and he's done a much better job of that. In fact, just on Tuesday he had a career game. He had two doubles, a grand slam home run and he drove in eight. So his career night offensively as a collegian was on Tuesday night. And he's the type of guy that you can see as a true power threat in this lineup. I think him, Mateo Cerna, maybe the most too consistent offensive threats that Missouri has had throughout the entire balance of the season and Lovich, especially recently, has come on strong.
[00:07:47] Speaker B: Missouri has kind of a unique situation on their staff with longtime coach Tim Jameson back as an assistant. You know, he's had such great talent on his teams and on his staffs. Arkansas pitching coach Matt Hobbs played for him and coached under him. Tony Vitello, same kind of deal. Dave Van Horn knows him from Team usa. He said yesterday just that's kind of unique bringing a Mizzou Leifer back as an assistant in a decision Kerrick Jackson made just have you how what does that do for the program, having a guy like that that was part of the program for so long and what kind of is his role with this staff?
[00:08:19] Speaker C: It is very unique. You know, when the announcement was made and when Coach Jamison was back in Columbia, I talked to him just, you know, briefly about it and he said, I'm glad to be back as a pitching coach. You know, he really got into it to coach pitchers. And you think of all the great ones that he brought through Columbia, names like Scherz and Gibson and Crow, and he really does have a way with pitching mentality. And certainly he calls the games for this team through the pitchcom. He knows how to handle the staff.
He is certainly able to be relied upon by Kerrick Jackson for, you know, a really great sounding board as someone who did this for a long time and successfully in Columbia. But it's Kerrick Jackson show to run. I think they work very well together. Of course, Coach J coached at Southern Illinois for a former the zoo assistant in Lance Rhodes for a minute before Kerrick Jackson got the job at Memphis and said, hey Tim, would you be my pitching coach? And he said yes. And it was a natural fit for the two of them to move over to Columbia. I think he has a really good temper around this staff, you know, a good demeanor in terms of how he works with people. I think that I think the players really do take to him. It's kind of an older school approach, but everybody can take it with their own technique and just been, I think, unfortunate to see that the results on the field haven't been what anybody would want this season. But I mean, you look at what last year the Tigers did in a similar spot with pitching injury and they performed pretty well. When they're strike throwers, the stuff is really good. I think that, you know, you can't, you can't coach anyone to not to throw strikes when they're not able to or haven't been. You know, at some point you got to go out there and do it. But I think he's been a good addition to the staff. He worked even for some years at Missouri in the athletic department, even after not being the head coach. So his dad was a Missouri football coach long, long ago. He's a Columbia lifer and I think it was a unique opportunity, one you wouldn't see everywhere. But with Tim Jameson, I think it's a good fit.
[00:10:13] Speaker B: And you mentioned last season and you know, last year was Carrick Jackson's first at Missouri and It was a tough job for him to take. Right? I mean, Missouri has had a hard time since moving up to the sec and, you know, the record hasn't been good this season, and they've struggled. But is there anything you've noticed that's different or better or just a change from year one to year two under Jackson?
[00:10:33] Speaker C: Well, I think before the season, Coach Jackson was definitely telling people that, you know, this team was able to have more ownership of itself. I think he really liked the way that they melded together. I think this team really gets along and. And they keep fighting. You know, it's not like you have some sort of issue in the clubhouse. I do feel like, you know, going into year two, the expectation and the standard that returners could have of adjusting to how he handles business and the expectations he has for his team is something that he wants to rely on a little bit more. And, you know, the club, it hasn't always responded in wins and losses, but part of that has sometimes been, you know, you just don't sequence things the right way. If there's a game where you don't pitch so well, the offense hasn't come around enough to save it, or if the offense goes away, that's the good pitching day. So I feel like in terms of the way that he wants to run things, things are pretty consistent. He wants the mentality of this program to be, I think, a little bit more confident and a little bit more understanding that if they handle their business and if they play clean baseball, which he says all the time, then they'll be in position to win games, and if they play clean, he's going to be fine with where the results are. There haven't really been too many occasions in which I think he and the staff has felt that they've played clean enough. We're going to see down the stretch of the season if they can find that. But in terms of where things are, in terms of program standards, he's not going to make excuses for location or situation or anything like that. In the end, you've got 60ft, 6 inches, 90ft between the base paths that give you baseball and bats. Go out there and play your best. And that's the standard I think he holds this program to. And that's been pretty consistent from year one to year two.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: To be honest, we talked about all the pitching injuries, and, you know, they've announced a rotation. I think the first two guys, and then Arkansas is going to go with their same rotation, maybe changing the order depending on when they're able to get games in. But, you know, for the guys that are available and the guys that are not hurt, what, what can you tell us about what Arkansas might see from the pitchers that Missouri does have available?
[00:12:29] Speaker C: Well, it does look like we'll see Kate and Jacoby. And part of this has just been thrown in flux because of the way things have gone and a shorter staff and it's kind of been, you know, whoever's available on that day. And Jacoby can be a solid strike thrower. He doesn't necessarily blow you away with his stuff. I think there are plenty of pitchers on these Tigers that are not going to necessarily light up the radar gun, but if they throw their pitches in a good mix and they locate, they can absolutely do the job. And Jacoby's a little bit more of a veteran. He's had time in this program from last year, so expected to be the Friday night guy. Brady Kellenbrink as a freshman, scheduled as the starter in game two. And he's a great competitor. He's a freshman, so he's had some freshman moments. But he went out in really an emergency situation a couple of weekends ago against Ole Miss as Will Libert, who's a red shirt freshman coming off of Tommy John, who the Tigers really like and has the makeup to be a very good starter in the long term for Missouri. He had an injury. I think he cut a finger on his pitching hand and so he was thrown off turn. And so that put Kellen Brink into a Sunday against Ole Miss and he threw very well. I think he struck out five or six. He worked three solid innings in an emergency role. He actually learned about it that afternoon when he got to the ballpark. So you'll see him at some point and I think the staff is excited about the play potential there. But in terms of who comes in at one point on the course of the weekend, it really is anybody's guess right now. The Tigers had two games in the midweek to go up against Arkansas. Pine Bluff that has stretched. Stretched a somewhat thin pitching staff a little bit even more thin. And I'm sure Missouri hoped they'd have Daniel Whistler available and now that seems in question. So I think you'll see everybody at some point or another. But you can look down in terms of the statistics and seeing that there's some games where things have gone really well and other games where it hasn't been. And I think staff wide it's going to be strike throwing. If the Tigers are throwing strikes, they're able to do their job. If they're not and they're putting men on base. Teams in this league have found a way to make that hurt against them and hopefully that's a trend for Missouri that they can find a way to turn around over the course of this weekend. Because if they don't, good offenses so far in the league have taken advantage of that stuff.
[00:14:33] Speaker B: Well, Matt, we appreciate your insight and you taking some time out of setting up for your broadcast. I we'll see when they actually get to play. It kind of seems like maybe now they might be able to squeeze a game in today. It's just kind of hard to tell with the forecast changing as often as it does. But I'll see you out there this weekend and hopefully they're able to get three in.
[00:14:51] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm hoping for three in. I think we'll find a way to do that one way or the other. I appreciate you having me on Christina. I don't see raindrops right now, so let just everybody come over and play right now. Perfect.
[00:15:01] Speaker B: Why not? I mean, get on the bus. Let's go.
Thank you so much, Matt. Appreciate it.
[00:15:06] Speaker C: Anytime At Kendall King, we're proud of.
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[00:15:43] Speaker B: Welcome back. I'm joined now in the studio by Ethan Westerman and we're going to talk a little bit about what we learned from Sam Pittman and Arkansas football practice yesterday. First, I want to tell you about our friends at Bentonville Glass. They've been serving their community since 1971 and they're committed, professional and versatile. If you're looking for a quality leader in northwest Arkansas and for skilled craftsmanship, you can choose Bentonville Glass for all of your glass market needs with the highest quality products. You can Visit them at 507 S. Main in Bentonville or at bentonvilleglass.com Ethan we were over there to listen to Sam Pittman speak yesterday and then you were able to go over and watch practice. There was a lot of general manager talk yesterday with Pittman and a lot of wide receiver talk, two of kind of the the hotter button topics throughout the spring right now. So let's start with general manager because we had talked to Coach Pittman about the general manager position before they. Before it was reported who they were going to hire and then before they made it. And he. It was funny at the time because he had kind of said during those comments, before we knew who they were maybe looking at, he had said, you know, maybe somebody with an NFL or NBA background. And I remember thinking, and I think I said this on the show at the time. I remember thinking, you know, okay, NBA. That's kind of odd. It would be kind of weird if they got an NBA person because at the time we were thinking it would be a football gm and it turns out it's actually an athletic department. Ygm. They bring in Remy Cofield from the Celtics. And it was funny. It proved to be, you know, prophetic. I think he maybe had a clue what was going on when he spoke. But yesterday he talked a little bit about what this is actually going to look like with Cofield. And I think there's been a lot of concern from fans and from those of us on the outside about the idea of having a basketball guy who is running, you know, the contract and financial system for the athletic department in terms of when it comes to player negotiations, and that he's going to be over, you know, running point on kind of all sports. And it's not totally clear if he's, you know, how they're going to build maybe a staff or a department for this, how, you know, how this operation is really going to work. And we kind of tried to get as much as we could from Pittman yesterday, and he basically said he's going to be very involved in all of these meetings that they're having as they evaluate portal guys.
And it sounds like he will be involved in all those meetings as they evaluate. But I also don't think they're expecting him to come in and be a football talent scout. I think it's going to be a little bit more like they look at who and what they want and he helps them figure out who they can get. Is that kind of the same impression that you got?
[00:18:11] Speaker D: Yeah, that's the vibe I got. It seems like he's more of like a let me help you get what the price range should be based on what y'all have told me type of deal. That's the sense that I got. And I mean, I get it. There's. Those concerns probably aren't going to go away from people about the only basketball background until he can prove otherwise like that it shouldn't be a concern.
Certainly seemed like Sam Pittman feels a relief about having this role because it's less of. He talked about having to like as the head coach with these negotiations in the past with NIL deals have to be the good guy and the bad guy. And it's like you go from being on the practice field where you're just coaching to where you're all of a sudden having to just play this, this role where it's good guy, bad guy. And it seems like now he's going to get to focus a lot more on the coaching and it's going to be up to Remy Cofield and I guess whoever, whatever staff else there is to kind of play that good guy, bad guy role with figuring out how much you can afford for a player. And honestly some of these conversations I'm like, are the players even going to really hear them because they're now with this role you can kind of be proactive with what your price tag of what you're kind of looking at with players. I know Sam Pittman mentioned that like he literally after that news conference was about to go look at five portal guys and determine like how much maybe you could like get for them, get them for. So I just think there's a lot of stuff that's now going to happen front end, especially with like the whole NIL deal clearinghouse that there's like the third party now maybe Deloitte or somebody but it's.
[00:19:46] Speaker B: Nobody knows what it's going to look like yet. And that's one of the things that has to iron out before the settlement gets approved, which could be next week. But that's one of the biggest kind of hang ups is what is this clearinghouse that's going to decide whether and I'll dealers are legitimately for market value or if they're kind of a fake. Like post an Instagram ad and I'll give you $200,000, you know.
[00:20:05] Speaker D: Exactly. So we'll see how this shakes out. I know the revenue sharing for a school like Arkansas should help. Like I mean you're all of a sudden able to pay them out of your department's funds a lot of money. So I think, I mean no matter what, I think that this will help Arkansas from a financial standpoint. It's now just a matter of I think seeing how this piece of funding for athletes shakes out with the NIL deals that will still exist. But now there's trying to be more transparency with it, trying to have more like what is legitimate nil like we were talking about. It's just there's a whole Lot of things at play. But I think by and large, the revenue sharing should help Arkansas. Like, just from a holistic standpoint of this is new revenue that they have to share with athletes.
[00:20:53] Speaker B: And I think, yeah, I think it's just such a relief for Pittman and for coaches everywhere that, you know, as they've been doing this, I think the. The relationship between coaches and players has eroded some because, as Pittman has said, the coach is kind of the bad guy. And so there's an idea that, well, Coach Pittman won't pay me what I'm worth, Coach Pittman's holding money from me or whatever, and this is happening to staff Socrates. This is not a Sam Pittman or Arkansas problem specifically, but I think that was something that he was talking about about how it. It makes it personal in a way that makes it hard to coach and run the program the way that they're used to running it. And having this person who is kind of more in charge of that while still, you know, Pittman kind of. He's. He's a. Asserted that he has the say over who's coming and go, you know, who, what who, they get who they want.
But someone who is kind of taking the lead on those negotiations and helping them kind of figure out what's available to them will take a lot of that pressure off and help, I think the relationship piece quite a bit.
[00:21:49] Speaker D: Yeah. Because it's like, we think a lot of times with these player negotiation about, like, just bringing guys in. But I'm curious, once it comes to the retention part of your roster, like, how that looks, because that is a situation where, like, Sam Pittman will still, like, if somebody doesn't feel like they're getting, you know, paid the amount they deserve, the head coach will still take a lot of the. Like, sure.
[00:22:09] Speaker B: They'll hear about it. They'll come in the office and talk to them. Yeah.
[00:22:12] Speaker D: But end of the day, it's like, this is what we deemed. Like, this is just. This is how it is. Like, I mean, and it's. It has to be a weird friction for a coach these days, like, having to try and walk that line of be a player's coach. But at the same time, sometimes you just can't.
[00:22:28] Speaker B: You also have to be a boss, basically.
[00:22:30] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:22:31] Speaker B: And so employees, they're technically not employees.
[00:22:33] Speaker D: Still. I found it interesting yesterday that Sam Pittman literally said he has been naive a lot of times about guys leaving. Like he said. I mean, he mentioned that there are some guys that, like, you can just tell based on Body language like they've, they're, they're checked out by the end and they like you have an idea like, okay, they're transferring. But he said like there's been quite a few that literally on the field coaching them, like he had no idea they were gonna leave.
[00:22:55] Speaker B: Well, I think my interpretation of what he said was more when he's coaching, he's not going through and watching drills and going through coaching with, okay, I don't need to focus on that guy because he's probably going to transfer. He's not thinking of it as like, well that guy's not going to be here so I don't need to worry about him. Yeah, I think that was my read on what he was saying.
[00:23:13] Speaker D: It was one of the, yeah, it was one of those where it was like I was having a hard time like deciphering. I'm like, what do you mean by that? I got the, I got kind of that sense and the just the like it's like, yeah, it just doesn't cross his mind. Like he's not like sitting there like, well this guy's gonna, and I'm sure.
[00:23:27] Speaker B: He'S thinking about it, right, because they have to think about it all the time. But he's not, you know, neglecting certain players because he just, you know, the way that it's different than the way we might talk about players and we might go, all right, well this guy's probably gonna hit the portal or it might be in this guy's best interest to hit the portal based on, you know, an outside view. And it sounds like he tries not to take that approach so that he is not, you know, because I imagine if you start treating guys like they're gonna transfer, it's a self fulfilling prophecy and that forces them into, into transferring, you know.
[00:23:54] Speaker D: Yeah, because he, he segued with this just of like how he's still going to coach the way that he coaches. And I think that, that what that gets to the heart of it is just that he is very much set on like I'm, my job is to coach you. My job is to try and win games and be a good coach. And it's like if you, the moment that like, like I know some players, they'll let the money aspect maybe affect their game and effect if, I mean we've seen it, I'm not going to drop names but like players who literally like probably an injury they could come back from but like they don. Because you can tell they're probably holding out to try and leverage For.
[00:24:28] Speaker B: And it happens at other schools.
[00:24:29] Speaker D: It happens everywhere. Yeah, it happens everywhere. So it's like. I think that what Pittman was getting at is like, as a coach, he's not gonna.
[00:24:35] Speaker B: He's not gonna opt out of coaching them because he thinks they might transfer.
[00:24:39] Speaker D: Exactly. So it's. It'll be interesting to see how it shakes out. I think that it's very much the overarching theme of all the general manager talk was it is a relief for coaches to have this role. And it's. Sam Pittman used the word buffer over and over. Just like it creates a nice little buff him between him and the athlete in these talks. It's so that he doesn't have to be like the ultimate. I mean, he is, in a way, the ultimate. Like we're keeping or going, we're getting him whatever, but he's not like the. He. He's not doing all the boss stuff that he had to do.
[00:25:13] Speaker B: Right. He had a really funny analogy. He was saying it's a buffer. The way that, you know, a dad might go to his son and be like, hey, see what your mom thinks about this? You know, like, you kind of get the go between there. And he had another, you know, somebody asked him basically, what do you. How do you feel about a basketball guy being the general manager here? And he, he had a funny moment where he was like, Well, I coached ninth grade girls basketball in the 80s and I'm a football guy. You know, I thought that was. It was a very Sam Pittman moment. That was very.
[00:25:40] Speaker D: It was.
[00:25:41] Speaker B: And so, you know, I do think there is some. Something to be said for the basketball guy of it all. But I also don't think it has to be. I don't think it has to be a problem. I don't think it's inherently a problem or, Or a bad thing or a sign that they're. They don't care about football anymore. I don't think it has to be that, and I don't think Pittman believes it has to be that. What it looks like in practice and how they kind of build a staff around Cofield and what the plan is for that, we aren't sure yet. You know, that will remain to be seen as they kind of build this thing as they go. But the other big topic yesterday was wide receivers. It's been a hot topic all spring. We've written about it, talked about it, and Pittman really said pretty explicitly yesterday that there's four guys that they feel really good about it about, and it's Raelyn Sharpe, Cam Shanks, Ismail cc and Omega Blake. And those are, you know, somebody asked, who do you know who's going to be kind of the guy? And he was like, no, but it's going to probably come from these four. And I think that's pretty clear when you watch practice. You know, C.J. brown's been with the first team, but he's, you know, to use a Pitmanism, I haven't really, like, felt him in practice. He hasn't stood out much. He hasn't been bad, but he just. Just hasn't stood out the way that some of these other guys have at times.
And he kind of talked a lot about how these are the guys that they feel strongest about now. He also said there's not necessarily an Andrew Armstrong in this group, and that's something we've talked about before. He had said that before, but he also mentioned that with Armstrong, you kind of had to see they. They saw the potential, especially coming into his second season, but they had to kind of wait and see what they were going to get in a game. And I think that's kind of where they're at with some of these guys. You know, they. They see potential, especially in a guy like Omega Blake, who has flashed and made some cool plays and looked really good. And it seems like he is. Has the work ethic. It seems like Pittman has alluded to that. But what it looks like in a game is going to tell you more about who the next guy is going.
[00:27:31] Speaker D: To be, for sure. And I mean, he mentioned yesterday that, like, right now they're at a weird situation where they have. And we've, I mean, talked about it all the way leading up to spring, and even in spring is like, they have a lot of small, fast receivers. And he was mentioning. He's like, we can't have, like, all of them on the field probably at the same time. He said they have gone literally 5 wide at times just because they feel like they have guys that can play. But he's like, Sharp and Shanks.
He thinks both of them are really good. And it's like. But like, on a Saturday, what does that look like? That's where my head goes. And I keep on thinking, like, you're going to have to have somebody pull an Armstrong. Like, you're going to have to have somebody that. I don't think they're going to. They don't have to be like, the leading receiver by yardage in the SEC and, like, do, like. I'm not saying that, like, who's your go to guy? Exactly. Who's your guy? Who? Somebody will lead the pack. If I'm sitting here on Friday, April 4, 2025, I'm. I'm putting my chips on omega Blake. But that's just me. That's what I'm saying. That's where we're at, though, where it's like, you. You can't know until we see him, like, on the field actually doing stuff. We've had spring ball heroes before, right.
[00:28:40] Speaker B: And Tyrone Roden looked awesome in practice last year. And then. I don't know.
[00:28:46] Speaker D: Yeah, it's. It's like right now we have no clue where. It's almost like you have to go based off of, like, experience and, like, proven production elsewhere.
But, like, until the spring comes, we really won't know. But I do think that the receivers from practice that we've watched, like, you do have to feel good about a whole handful of them. It's just you don't know who's going to. Who's gonna really, like, step it up, because there's always those guys that once the lights come on, they just. They step it up.
[00:29:13] Speaker B: Gamers. Yeah.
[00:29:13] Speaker D: And then. But you never know the ones that they fizzle out, so it'll be interesting. I think that they do have a nice little bunch right now. It's just they. A lot of them look the same, which is surely by design. Like, they want that type, but then you also. They want the big guy. Yeah. They want the big body guy. And it's like the only one, the only receiver that I watch at practice. I'm like, that's a big body. Like, is unk. It's Monte Harrison.
[00:29:40] Speaker B: But I'm like, he looks so big compared to them. And I think he is. But, you know, it's a lifetime of professional sports, fitness and training. Oh, yeah, but it is. He is, like, just built more than them. He's taller than a lot of them, except for Shemar Easter, who's really tall, but he's probably not going to get a ton of opportunity from what it sounds like. And yeah, Monte Harrison looks so different from the entire.
[00:30:01] Speaker D: There was a moment yesterday where, like, him and Cam Shanks were, like, having a conversation by each other. And I was like, y'all are in the same position room. Yeah. Like, it's. But yeah, so like, your big body guy right now is Unk. And I'm like, the fact that. That I'm just curious, what does this look like? I mean, maybe Omega Blake, he's not, like, small, but he's also like.
[00:30:23] Speaker B: He's taller. Yeah.
[00:30:25] Speaker D: There's just nobody I look out like last year, Armstrong, I looked at him, I was like, that guy can go up and get a ball.
[00:30:31] Speaker B: Mm.
[00:30:32] Speaker D: These. Cuz I'm like, you're gonna have to put it on the money if you're going deep.
[00:30:35] Speaker B: They're gonna need a lot from Taylor and I think that's gonna be so much is gonna hinge on that and how much progress he makes.
[00:30:40] Speaker D: For sure.
[00:30:41] Speaker B: They've talked a lot about wanting to get sharp and shanks the two slot guys on the field at the same time. You know, Pittman has said they're. They're trying to find some ways to do that because they feel really confident in both of their skill sets, but then it's okay. How do you manage having your two smallest guys out there? You know, it hurts your size a little bit, but that's something that they're kind of exploring. Rohan Jones, the tight end we've talked about a little bit. He's a guy they want to throw the ball to more. He's got experience doing it. I think they kind of know what he can do because he's done it in games. But Pittman has said they want to get him the ball more in practice than they have.
[00:31:11] Speaker D: He gives me the like Rohan Jones in practice. He gives me the sense of like. It's almost like you have another receiver on the field a lot of times whenever he's on.
And yeah, that's the main thing is like that helps out from like a. Just a bigger pass catcher guy who's athletic standpoint. It's just so many. They're all athletic. All these guys are very, very athletic. Like, Cece has made some catches that I'm like, holy cow. Like you talking about. I said, who's gonna go up and get it? That guy. That guy will go up and get it. He's just not as. There's just none that are physically as big as some that we're used to in the past. But these guys are all athletic. It's just a matter of who's going to kind of be those guys that can go make a play when there's not a play. Yeah, CC could be one. Yeah.
[00:31:53] Speaker B: Yeah. We talked to coach Pimin a little bit about some of the transfer Portal needs as well. And he's kind of. He stayed. He stayed consistent in what he feels like. Their list is when they get to Portal time, which is mainly defensive depth. He said their numbers on offense are pretty full. They don't have a ton of room to add on offense. He said they could maybe want a receiver if they have the room and if they have the funds. Um, but as far as defense, you know, depth, particularly at safety and a defensive tackle. Defensive endure too. But I think defensive tackle was a lot of what he talked about yesterday. And safety are where they feel like just numbers wise. They just don't have the depth. And so I think you'll see them kind of try to go get some depth pieces, you know, some guys that they could trust in a game, but I don't think you're going to see them spend huge on. On some of these guys. And he also mentioned the idea of, you know, another veteran linebacker, but that that kind of depends on how much money is available to them. And, you know, they might get a guy who's experienced at a different level. You might not. I don't expect to get, you know, as Avian. Sorry. Coming from another SEC program with experience. But you might see somebody like, more like what they got in, you know, Stephen Dix or Larry Worth who had played a lot but had, you know, we're looking to move up a bit. So we talked about the portal sort of idea there and we'll start to see that heat up. It was. It was interesting to hear. Yeah. That they're already starting that evaluation process because some guys have announced they're going in the portal.
We asked about specialists because I realized we hadn't really talked to him yet about specialists. And they have some change there with Scott Starzik is expected to be the new kicker, the freshman. And we've seen him a little bit when they kick in in the stadium on Saturdays, but not a whole, whole lot yet because they're usually kind of doing their own thing when we watch practice. But he said he feels good about him. I think, you know, last year some of the kickers struggled in the stadium and we would see and hear about that. And I'll be curious kind of how that looks throughout the off season, especially with a freshman. But he's a highly rated guy. I mean, he was the number one kicker in the. In the class by Cole's kicking, wasn't he? So I think they feel good about that. Devin Bale's back. I know you're a big Devin Bale head. After you wrote about him a couple.
[00:33:53] Speaker D: Times, I somehow adopted him. Like anything Devin Bale related. I wrote it.
[00:33:57] Speaker B: The Devin Bail beat.
[00:33:57] Speaker D: Yeah, I was on the Devin Bailey. I mean, I wrote like, it wasn't just like, oh, dude was on the got thrown on the mid season Ray guy where I wrote like I literally was like I'm writing a Devin Bale story today.
[00:34:07] Speaker B: It was the Tennessee game too. You wrote about him being this great game.
[00:34:10] Speaker D: If it wasn't for him, they don't win that game and I will die on that hill. But anyway, yeah, no, he and I think I mentioned it yesterday or two days ago. Last time I was on the podcast they were kicking. He was kicking like away from the wind like wind aided the other day and he was booming punts like 60 plus. I was like, I see you Bale.
[00:34:28] Speaker B: Devin Bale hive.
[00:34:30] Speaker D: I know throw him in the Heisman.
[00:34:31] Speaker B: Talk so him and then they get their long snapper back and Ashton know an experienced guy that helps. And then he talked a little bit about return specialist and how you know Cam Shanks. That's a large reason they brought him in. And I think when Shanks first committed I at least was wondering, you know how okay, an all American return specialist, how much are they going to want to use him in the offense? How much can he help me offense? Because he is quite small, he is very fast. What does that look like offensively? And it. It has turned out to be. They, it sounds like they actually feel very good about him as an offensive piece as well as a weapon. A real weapon in the return game.
[00:35:07] Speaker D: Yeah, for sure. That's the vibe I got yesterday was like Cam Shanks, punt returner. Like I mean it's not that surprising. I mean we kind of expect it but it seems like that is for sure the route they're going to go. But yeah, he's been in the offense a lot more too.
You know, Rodney Hill, they want him in kick return. I know which, it's like they're getting skill guys in those return spots which I know like a lot of places like you'll see like DBAT defensive backs and stuff kind of be back there. It's like Petrino has always loved having his some skill guys though back there returning stuff. I think that which I know it's Scott Fountain who runs the special teams but it's just like you, you seem like there are pieces usually on a Patrino offense that can get thrown right into like a special teams role and.
[00:35:51] Speaker B: They had some great return specialists on those Patrino teams.
[00:35:54] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean Joe Adams was.
[00:35:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:35:56] Speaker D: As good as they come. It's just like. Yeah, it's. We're at that point in the spring where you. We. I mean we're not seeing guys hit with Full pads and, like, seeing actual simulations. So you just kind of, like, guess and you're. You're seeing, like, things that should translate. Like, this dude is extremely fast. Like, surely that helps in the punt return you're seeing, you know, and he's experienced in it. He's experienced. You're just kind of having to guesstimate, estimate who's gonna be in. In what spots. But, yeah, it sounds like they're. I don't know. It's, like, hard to gauge special teams at this point. I'll be curious. The. The Spring showcase spring game, whatever you call it, that's like, whenever. Talking about field goal kicking with stars, that's whenever I'm like, that's the first. I'm like, okay, there's people in the stands. We're in the stand.
[00:36:40] Speaker B: It was rough last year. That was fun. And we had seen it a little bit before in practice that there was maybe some shakiness and it was rough in the spring game last year.
[00:36:47] Speaker D: Yep. So.
[00:36:48] Speaker B: So that'll be a test for Starzik, I think.
[00:36:50] Speaker D: Yeah. Let's say there's not. There's not always things you can, like, truly glean from a spring game, but I think kicking, field goal kicking is one that you can. I mean, I know kickers can have just an off day and. But I do think that if you have a really strong day, it says a lot.
[00:37:05] Speaker B: Yeah. One more thing I wanted to hit while we're here on football is we've heard, I feel like, a lot from Coach Pittman about Danny Saeeli.
[00:37:14] Speaker D: Yep.
[00:37:14] Speaker B: Especially as they've been kind of a little shallow on the defensive line, especially with Campbell out at tackle for the spring after having surgery.
And he is really high on Danny Saeeli. He. He said, you know, yesterday he expects him to be a rotational piece. You know, maybe you're not gonna see him start. Maybe he's not gonna be out there with the ones all the time, but he's going to be somebody that helps them. And I think last year when he came in, he was. I. I was iffy on him because he had come in, he. He had transferred, done spring practice at. Was it BYU that he did. Done spring practice at byu, then transferred again. And so he had had a cup of coffee at byu, gets back in the portal and comes to Arkansas, and, you know, there was some concern about the size he came in at and if he was. If that was a size he could play at or what was going to be the thing there. And Pittman has been really Impressed with the strides that he's made, technique wise, size wise. He said he's earned a ton of respect from the team and he's not a guy we've talked to yet, so we haven't gotten to see kind of the personality there. But it sounds like, you know, you asked about, you know, other leaders on the team besides the obvious guys we know about with Taylor Green and Fernando Carmona, and he mentioned Danny Saeeli in the group of defensive guys that he talked about. And I think that's interesting and something to track. I think he'll be a rotational piece that we see more often. And Pittman brings him up a lot.
[00:38:27] Speaker D: Yeah. And it's one of those things, like, whenever I show up to a practice like before, the most noticeable thing at all, like, before you even look at what's happening on the field. Like, play wise, like a lot of white jerseys, that's the offense, not a ton of red. Like, there's just way more offensive numbers than there are defensive right now, which goes into what we said about needing to get in the portal and add some guys. So it's because of kind of the way the roster is right now. There's guys on defense that I think that maybe last year would have, like, you just aren't noticing them as much. But now, just given the numbers, it's like I'm paying a lot more attention to, like, the defensive lineman and stuff and seeing who they have there. And the biggest thing with him was Saeeli is he is like, there were practices whenever he came in and like in the fall camp last year, I was like, he's not making it through this practice right now. He's just not at his size. He's not in the conditioning to get through this right now like he was and he's getting through it now. And he's. His body is not like, transformed like Ian Jarvards has, in my opinion, just, like, looking at him, but it's like he has changed. Like, it's. You can tell he's been in an SEC strength and conditioning program now for a little bit and he is gaining that respect. I mean, I think that that's one of those things that maybe they just identified a guy that they knew this would be a project and they felt like they had last year enough pieces to maybe, like, it's not going to be as pertinent to have him ready right then. And maybe this was all along like a project. But it is like, he is a guy that you're seeing, like, out there. Very, very often right now in the spring and yeah, we'll see. It's right now. I mean, without cam ball for the spring, it's giving guys like him a shot to prove themselves themselves. And I know Ian has and seems like Danny sile has, but that is a spot that I'll be eager to see, like, what they do in the portal. Just because it's like numbers wise, like, you could. This goes almost everywhere on the defense. Numbers wise. Gonna need to add some guys just because right now it's like they might not feel bad about who they have. The ones like, they might actually really like it. It's just, you, pro needs a lot more depth.
[00:40:31] Speaker B: Right. And they've got David Okey back. He's a little limited right now. He was injured, but they don't know quite what they have in him yet. The Abilene Christian transfer, because he hasn't really gotten to to play the way that some of these other guys have because of injury. So that's another kind of question mark where we aren't really sure what he adds depth wise.
[00:40:49] Speaker D: Yeah, for sure. And it's just we won't know till they start throwing on the pads. To be honest, right now you just get a sense of what the coaches are saying and what you're seeing in limited practice. But I do think that these are.
You're seeing some guys step up in a way that we haven't seen in the past, and that's important.
[00:41:08] Speaker B: Yeah. When we come back, we're going to talk some other Razorback sports news. We've got some women's basketball updates after we talked the other day about it here on Wednesday. And then Kelsey music was on the show yesterday. If you missed that, be sure to look for it in the podcast feed or on YouTube. A great interview with her and some insight into how she's kind of approached her first couple of weeks on the job. And then we'll talk a little bit of maybe some softball and some gymnastics here before we wrap it up for the weekend at Kindle King.
[00:41:34] Speaker A: We're proud of over four decades of design. We're continuing the legacy of great creative design by combining our brands of Kendall King soapbox and shopcart. Together, these brands represent a new focus in marketing design with individual attention to specific areas. Through our design expertise, supported by a team of talented professionals, we showcase our best. We are Kendall king. We are soapbox. We are shopcart. We are design.
[00:42:05] Speaker B: Welcome back. We're gonna get to a little bit of women's basketball news because When Ethan and I were here on Wednesday when I was guest hosting for Matt, we talked some of what they might be seeing in the transfer portal and they've since gotten a really big commitment from Yvette Mayberry. So what does that add for them? You know, she's the daughter of Lee Mary Mayberry, a big Razorback legend. But as far as her play, you know, coming from Kansas, what does she.
[00:42:26] Speaker D: Add for them right off the bat? Experience. I mean that's something that you cannot put a price tag on. She's played in NCAA tournament games. She's. They don't win against Michigan. Last year she came from Kansas. They don't beat Michigan in the first round last year without her. She started like if not every game, close to every game for two years in a row there and then unfortunately I think dealt with a knee injury that really set her back this year. She gives experience right off the bat and then I think the thing that people will notice immediately about her whenever they watch games, she's going to be the best on ball defender they've had in a while. She can really get up and guard.
She's like a gritty player. I just think that that's going to be something that will stand out right away. I think that she's the type of addition that it's a real culture setter as far as like the type of player they're wearing. She's not like there's all these really big fish in the portal like right now that like can go in and they average 20 points a game or something. She averages like a, a modest 10 points and something else. But I mean the thing is she really plays hard and she really defends and that, that speaks to me about the type of culture I think or foundation they're trying to set in year one is they're going to get some pieces that can come in and if nothing else, like, I mean. And she's talented too, don't get me wrong. She's very talented but that they want players that are going to come in and just will really be gritty right away. And I think that that, that stood out to me. She can play at the pace that Kelsey Musik's gonna want to play at.
Like no doubt she can do that and she can really. She's the type that she makes teammates around her better. She's just a good like kind of facilitator of the team. I watched her do that at Kansas. I went to Allen Fieldhouse 2 over two years ago. They played in the WNIT there. And they actually ended Arkansas season. I remember thinking. I was like, she's kind of the. I hate using the word glue. I think it's overused, but she was like a piece on the team that. I'm like, this doesn't all work the same without you. Like, you got to have you on the court right now, or else this is not. This is looking a lot worse. She kind of dictated a little bit of the pace, dictated a little bit of the defense kind of was. Was. I mean, they say this about point guards, like, being, like, the quarterback.
She kind of felt like a quarterback on the team to me, as far as just like, everything went a lot smoother with her. She's a big addition for them. I think that they've definitely got to fill some more spots. But it's also kind of cool that this is the first. Like, just the fact that they got Lee Mayberry's daughter as the very first signee under music was kind of like a cool. Like, that'll always be the first one. She's gonna wear number 11 like her dad did.
And I think that it does establish, like, a sense of, like, hey, we do care about people who want to be here, because I watched an interview with her and Matt Zimmerman, and Lee was on this interview, too, and that was, like, the number one thing that says. Both of them were like, she wants to be here. We want her to be here, and this is really cool for us, and I think that's important. She played a one year at Fayetteville High School because while Lee was in the area on staff coaching, and then went to Watson Chapel, which is in the Pine Bluff area, she played there for a year, I think, and then he became an assistant Oral Roberts in the Tulsa area, and she played at Booker T. Washington High School for two years over there. So. But for her, it's kind of a full circle of coming back to Fayetteville, where she spent a lot of her years growing up. And she was teammates with Sasha Goforth, who is a GA on the women's team, which is. It sounds like that was a really big connecting piece. Like, number one. She was there was a lot. It's one of a whole handful of things that made her want to come and play at Arkansas. But just the fact that Sasha's on staff at Arkansas as a GA, I think really helped there.
And so this was a. Yeah, she just kept on saying full circle, like, for her getting to come back, and you can tell it means a lot to all of them. And, yeah, It's. It's a. It's a cool deal.
[00:46:14] Speaker B: Yeah. Between her and Romani Thurman on the. On the volleyball team, they've got a couple of Arkansas legacy women now, which is pretty exciting.
[00:46:20] Speaker D: And those two know each other is whatever, Like, I guess they went to FHS at the same time. Romani was a really big volleyball player at FHS before she went to Parkview, and I guess they know each other really well is what I. Because I also heard that. That if it might not have, like, helped with, like, getting her, but it was just, like, a cool thing of, like, oh, look, we're back together. It's two athletes who played at FHS whose fathers were just legends around the same time for Arkansas men's basketball, and now they're playing women's sports here. It's like a. It's a cool thing to see it happen right now. I do think that there's, like, a. There's gonna be an instant, like, for why vet. She got asked about, like.
Like, there could be, like, a pressure there of, like, oh, you're Lee Mayberry's are. You need to step in and be like. Be like him or whatever. But I think that. I think it's gonna be, by and large, like, the opposite of just like, she instantly has fans, like, people are pulling for, and it's like, because she's Lee Mayberry's daughter, and I think that Romani. It's kind of the same way. It's like, people are gonna pull for you a little. A little harder just because they. They know that the history there, and they. They really, like, think it's cool that somebody who did so much for the program years ago that. That it's now a generational thing. That's what I think resonates the fans, and I think that it was a great. Yeah, like I said, just first edition for music. It's one of those that instantly gets people, number one, some name familiarity with the Mayberry last name, but also just, like, a understanding that, like, this is the type of player that she wants. And that's like a. I don't know. It's. It's. It was a win. Win on a PR standpoint for the. For the program and also just for, like, she is a good player. Like, people will notice that, too. Like, you don't start at Kansas on an NCAA tournament team like that, and you're not good. She's very good.
[00:48:00] Speaker B: Yeah, it's. It's interesting. I remember Anthony Christensen wrote a story on Romani Thurman last season for A Hogs Illustrated issue. She was on one of our covers and something that was interesting to kind of hear from that family about was her making her own way in sports and not being just Thurman's daughter, you know, just the latest Thurman. And it sounds like the same kind of thing with ybet, especially because she's in the same sport where it's not just, oh, she's here cause she's Lee Mae Mary's daughter. Like you said, she is talented. And then it. But it does make people excited to see that connection and that can be a good thing. And then she also can prove that she's gotten it on her own as well. So yeah, it's, it's cool to see and I'll be interested kind of how they use her. Especially because it seems like Coach Music really prioritizes defense and also has talked a lot about this kind of high octane offense that she likes to run. And I think that's going to be a departure from what we've seen for the last few years.
There's a lot of connections like you said, and I think that's why getting her as a first commit is so big, because of all those connections. For a new coach to have someone who has connections to the state, that helps a lot when you're building your foundation. And something else that she's done is retained a lot of staff. And she retained Nick Bradford, a Fayetteville guy, an AAU guy, really plugged in. So you know, you know more about Bradford than I do. But what does that kind of do for them retaining him and then the other pieces that they've kept on this staff from, from previous years.
[00:49:17] Speaker D: Retaining Nick Bradford instantly gets you connections in the local AAU circuit that you probably don't have otherwise. And if you're a Kelsey Music stepping into this new role, it's kind of vital to have. There's a lot of up and coming talent in this area that give it like the 26, 27, 28 classes get ready. There's like some real, real good basketball players in this area. In particular Farmington, Fayetteville, and you even stretch up into Missouri. It's like Nick Bradford has those connections and he can help you out in that aspect. And I, more than anything, I think it's knowing that there is that talent around and keeping a guy that can help connect you while you're having a change at the head coaching position.
It, it's like, it's an instant. Just like you need that, that person who can help you out there because it's. It's hard to establish relationships and like set yourself apart. But if you have somebody who can introduce you and all that, it helps. And then he's also really good at. I think he likes to work with the posts like and he can get on the court and help out with that development. It sounds like that's kind of. It's like a twofold thing there where he's gonna have a lot of shouldering some recruiting stuff. But also they like how he develops players. He was always like a big. Before their games this year, like get them in a circle and motivate them and get him ready to go. He's like kind of that player's coach, if that makes sense. Where it's. I look at him and I say recruiter, developer. Like, those are the two biggest boxes that I think that he checks. He. He can really develop players, I think. And that's both on and off the court from a perspective of like he is. He's been a player, I mean at a really high level at Kansas and he understands like. I mean obviously it's very different being a men's basketball player and women's. It's just like two different worlds. But like at the same time he understands like athletes. I think he's a father. He under. And I just think that he's a big players guy. I know players really like him. So I also think that they retaining Amber Shirey is there. They call it the dobo director of basketball operations. That's big because she's just. Her institutional knowledge of the program and she's been around for so long and she was a player here is like just valuable. She's adored in the coaching community. I mean if you watch LSU come to play Arkansas every single time before the game starts, Kim Mulkey walks out of the tunnel, she walks to her. Her bench, then she'll walk down and she's looking for Amber Shirey. And it's immediately hug and pat. It's like how many director of basketball operations in the country is like the one that. And that's. That's just one example because I know.
[00:51:44] Speaker B: That'S the whole friend of Kim Mulkey.
[00:51:47] Speaker D: I think that. I think the. I think the. She's a friend of just like pretty much she comes from the Gary Blair tree, which also can. Mulky does. So there's probably a lot there. But it's like how many people in that role like I see all the time with head coaches. It's like more often Than not Kristy Curry at Alabama does it like they come in there looking for Amber to talk to her. I think that she's just a very well respected in the whole coaching world. It's like she has a role that's like really like. Like it's like less I guess probably potential to have beef because I mean our job is just to like. I mean it's just operations, operational stuff. Exactly. But like people love her and I think that that helps you out that like you keep somebody on the staff that just by and large there's. I've never heard anybody say a bad word about Amber Shirey. It's just like there's not a bad thing to say. Like she's just like so nice and so like rooted in the university and she knows the program's history. I think that it's important to have that type of person on your staff that can just help you out with understanding things that every program. There are things that you're just like, I'm gonna need somebody to explain that one to me because it doesn't make any sense. That's any job honestly that you need somebody that's been around and understands. So that's who she is. She's just a great person like in general, like.
And I think that that really helps. And then Lacy Goldwire retained her. I think that goes back to. There's probably a lot of Oklahoma connection there because Lacy played at East Central, which is a D2 there.
Music was a player at a D2 in Oklahoma. Coach D2. I think there's probably a lot of overlap from back then, but Lacey's a good recruiter as well. I don't really know Lacey all that well, but well respected. So I think that, I mean that was like day one, Music was here. She's like, yeah, Lacey Goldbuyer, she said, she's saying. So I'm like, okay, y'all gotta have some sort of pre existing relationship. But I think that right now they have a core of staff returning that you gotta be probably excited about. They're gonna have to fill a couple. One more assistant spot and then one more, I think just player development role and we'll see who she brings in for that. But it's like a good core of staff returning that I think really helps you out with relationship building which that's so key.
[00:53:59] Speaker B: Yeah. Ethan will have updates on their transfer editions, staff additions, kind of tracking that new team coming together on whole hog sports.com over the next few months and. And once we get toward more toward the new basketball season as well. But before we go, I've got to mention gymnastics, because I was on that last night, and I know you had it on, too. Ethan and I will text sometimes during the gymnastics meets because he also will tune in and they advanced. Arkansas advanced to a regional final. It was. They had a really, really good meet, especially on vault and on bars, which are two events that have been up and down for them at times. They had two really, really high scores there, and that helped them when they had kind of a tough beam rotation, but they had a big enough lead to where even a stumble there, they were able to maintain a lead. They just needed to finish top two, and they did. So lsu, number one overall seed, finishes first. It doesn't really matter if you're first or second, as long as you're top two. And then they'll compete on Saturday against Michigan State and Kentucky, who won the other quad. And the top two teams from that quad on Saturday will then advance to Fort Worth to two NCAAs. So that was something that Arkansas did last year. They advanced out of regionals, and they're looking to do it again. But the big story last night was how the meet ended. It was. It was heartbreaking for Arkansas as Frankie Price, one of their stars, who, even if you don't follow gymnastics that closely, you've probably seen Frankie Price, even if you don't know it, because she's had the most exciting floor routine. She's closed out their floor, which at home is always the last event. She's closed out floor for them her whole career for three years. And she's the one that has the Snoop Dogg floor routine that you probably saw. It's gone viral a couple times on social media. She is a fan favorite, she is a program leader, she is a teammate favorite, and she gets injured on the final, Arkansas, final event of the meet. She is her first pass on floor, and I couldn't tell if it was an injury that happened on. On a takeoff or when she landed, but she landed badly. She has had a history of knee injuries. She basically tore everything in her knee as a senior in high school. And she still wears a brace after her recovery from that a few years ago. And I, you know, couldn't tell. Don't know right away if it's the same leg, don't know if it's a knee, don't know if it's. It's something else. It is lower body coach Jordan Weaver said. But it was. It was a very sad way to end the meet. And it was, you know, coaches, teammates, everyone was very emotional because this is, you know, one of their favorite people on this team. And it also means a lot for their performance on Saturday. You know, she anchors vault and floor for them, and they're going to have to find somebody to sub in. And whoever, especially on floor, whoever they put in for her on floor is. It's going to be their season debut in competition just because they've had some depth problems. They've had injuries early in the season with Lauren Williams and Leah Smith going out earlier in the year. And those were two really solid floor performers for them. So it changes a lot for them. It was. It was a hard way to end the meet.
I know a lot of people. There's been kind of an outpouring from the gymnastics fan community because people across college, gymnastics, people that follow it around the country, know Frankie Price because she's been such a big name for Arkansas for years. And so, you know, I had talked to her last month for a Hogs Illustrated issue, and she's just. She's a really cool person. You know, she has a really fun personality and how she, you know, the coaching staff loves her, her teammates love her, and, you know, it seems like it's going to be a severe injury, whatever it is, and it didn't look good if she was carried off the floor by. By one of the assistant coaches. And so it was. It was hard because they wanted to celebrate, and they did end up. One thing that was kind of cool to see was there a couple of individuals, performers. So there was a girl from, I believe it was Kent State who was performing as an individual on floor. And so she was the last person that was gonna go on floor. So she actually was gonna go after Price. Still did. There was a delay, you know, whatever. Arkansas, all of the girls on the team are very emotional, but they actually cheered on this. This athlete from Kent State throughout her floor routine. And it was. It was cool and fun to see them. It was something you saw kind of throughout the meet as some of the individuals from other schools, the schools on that rotation would cheer for them like they were their teammates, which was. It's something fun about gymnastics. I think that you. You. It's a very positive sport.
And it was. It was cool to see that from Arkansas. And then, you know, they did celebrate, you know, moving on to the regional final, and they talked about how they're going to try to do it for Frankie, and I think that's gonna be something that motivates them a lot. On Saturday.
[00:58:09] Speaker D: Yeah, I get the sense that she's just kind of like, she's been like the heartbeat of the team. I'd say, like, it's like, I mean, in the moment that it became reality of like she went down. Because, I mean, I'm like, I'm watching this out of the corner of my eye and I'm like, oh, goodness, what just happened? And I mean, you could just read it across coaches, teammates, like, it was devastating to all of them. It was.
[00:58:27] Speaker B: The arena was silent.
[00:58:29] Speaker D: It was so.
[00:58:29] Speaker B: Watching on the broadcast, it was like. I thought they had like, cut the sound.
[00:58:32] Speaker D: Yeah, no, it was pretty crazy. And you just felt horrible. I think, seeing that. And I think that having watched their team from like, kind of a distance this year, like, I watch, I tune in when I can. They've just been through a whole lot.
[00:58:45] Speaker B: Like, there's a lot of injury between.
[00:58:47] Speaker D: Injuries and then like their whole, like they couldn't get. They missed SEC is the one team to do it and they couldn't get granted to go try and improve their score elsewhere. It's like they've been through a lot and I know that, I mean, let's. I don't know what, what game will play, but if you've heard this one before, an Arkansas team has been through a whole lot with injuries and with like, just things not going their way and it's like, will it make them stronger because of it and how will they look the next time because of it? But I mean, that's really hard to shake off because it's like, like I said, she's like kind of the heartbeat of their team. So, yeah, it's a toughy for them. I hated to see it. And it was just like, yeah, seeing Jordan Weaver's reaction, it was like she instantly like, was just like, she fought through that.
[00:59:27] Speaker B: She stayed on that interview on the tv, on the ESPN plus broadcast and she did the on camera interview and she was emotional, which understandably. And she. I was like, I admired her for even doing the interview.
[00:59:36] Speaker D: Oh, yeah.
[00:59:37] Speaker B: Because the injury had just happened. Like the meet had just ended very fresh. And so, yeah, she, she fought through that interview and talked about how they wanted to do it to. To show their love for Frankie on Saturday. So they definitely still have a really good chance to advance. You know, LSU is probably going to place first, so it's kind of a battle for second between Arkansas, Michigan State and Kentucky. Anybody can have an off meet. You know, LSU had an off meet against Arkansas and Arkansas beat them in the regular season. Yeah, so you never know. But lsu, I mean, you would, you can presume that they are going to advance. So it's kind of a battle for that second spot. And Arkansas still has a really good shot.
[01:00:11] Speaker D: Midway through their meet yesterday, I was thinking that they might have, they were just doing so well.
[01:00:15] Speaker B: I was like, if they hadn't had a rough beam rotation, they could have actually scored higher than lsu. Getting first or second in that doesn't give you anything, but it would have given you some confidence.
[01:00:25] Speaker D: It would have been like, well, that was cool.
[01:00:26] Speaker B: Yes, it would have been very cool to say, finish ahead of lsu, twice, the number one team in the country, the defending national champion. That would be huge.
[01:00:32] Speaker D: They, they had a really good. It's like it's all going to be overshadowed by what happened at the very end. But like, they had a great meet.
[01:00:37] Speaker B: They really did and I think they needed that, especially after the time off that they had. But I believe they're at 3:00 on Saturday. I'll be covering that on whole hog sports.com that'll be on ESPN Plus. Again, just a lot, a lot going on still, even, even with basketball over, there's still so much happening and it's been fun to cover this spring, but we hope you'll follow along with everything that we're covering on whole hog sports.com Matt will be back in this chair to host on Monday and we will see you next week.
