Arkansas Football Recruiting Report with Otis Kirk (9-8-24)

Another Sunday which means another Arkansas football recruiting report that's Otis Kirk I'm Jacob Morris and Otis we'll get to the recruiting but I think what's on everybody's mind is Arkansas and the loss yesterday on the road at Still Water 3931 in double overtime brutal in every possible way Arkansas flashed really well Arkansas also flashed really poorly what were your big takeaways from I I mean just one of the more brutal losses I can remember for anybody any game that I was at Arkansas should have won that game and it probably should have won it by two or three touchdowns oh goodness I had I had him by two touchdowns you know and I really feel like it was justified I mean I thought going in I told you last Sunday Arkansas I picked Arkansas but two two two touchdowns and I really believe that Jake it wasn't like a homer pick or anything I I I just think Arkansas's got a really good team this year but in my Friday story before it when I was in Tulsa I five keys to beating Oklahoma State one of them was eliminate pen turnovers and penalties and and you know I could have put I could have put one key and left it at that you know if Arkansas just done that forget the other stuff if they had just eliminated the turnovers and penalties they would have won that game and W of e uh they Sam's got to figure this thing out I mean look I don't think it was so much tactical areas Errors By Sam that they got beat you I guess if it's when they're 2121 I believe it was and they chose to go for fourth and four fourth and five instead of take a field goal but with the field goal kicker struggling I didn't really question that I mean I don't know I mean I I didn't think it was really anything Sam did but I the the pick six the drop the the drop Punt and uh fumble p and then the two the other fumble but quter you just can't have that Jacob and this team this is a good football team but they're not going to win if they don't stop beating themselves and that's what happened yesterday aransa went to the number 16 team in the country and outplayed them but they lost they beat him in every category except the score and uh you know Arkansas's got to figure out a way Tay makes a lot of good things happen with his arm and legs but he's got to eliminate the mistakes the turnovers uh he threw another one when he was down the ground he could have been could have been intentional grounding it could have been you picked off I mean you you know sometimes you just got to take the sack go and hey it's hard to be critical of a kid who's trying to make something happen I get that and then on the the one thing that bothers me and I you know I'm gonna ask Sam tomorrow and I haven't gone through the transcript I was there but I didn't go down yesterday but on the punts is there some way that I Isaiah can alert the people block is there some way the people blocking for him to be he alerted that he's calling a fair catch because what they're doing they're moving back and they're getting blocked into him and that's one reason I think he fumbled I mean and that happened another time or two I mean it's so crowded when he catches the ball on fair catch maybe he needs to scream fair catch you know and those guys just get out of the way I mean there's no need to block for a fair Catch and there's got to be some way to alert those kids blocking for him that that uh you know don't do that because that's that was a costly turnover and it but it was so Arkansas you know we've come to expect this the last couple of years they find they find ways to lose close games and I had just told Jerry and Jason in the Press Box I said I hope Isaiah doesn't fumble this before the punt and guess what was your fault I felt it coming man I felt it coming it's just so Arkansas but uh this is a good football team I I stand by what I've said about being a good football team but they're not good enough to make mistakes and come out and beat another team they're just not and they've got to figure out a way tailon and jindon got to play with them themselves because they're really good players man I think jindon is better than Oly G Oly Gordon yeah he certainly was yesterday and I thought that going in and uh but uh you know those fumbles and those turnovers just got to be eliminated you know and if they if and you we'll see we'll see what happens with the kicker battle because I know in the last SC second scrimage Jacob they the other guy was like four or four and Ramsey didn't make any and we asked Sam and Sam said he was hurt but I was really surprised last Thursday Thursday before last one he tried out Ramsey on the at the uapb game and I asked him this past Monday is Ramy for sure K he says to be determined but I don't know we'll have to see but I know they're in a bind there because cim was they thought Kim was coming back and they commitment from another ticker high school kid but they've got to get that F out I know people talk about you don't want three you want touchdowns yeah but you don't want zero that's what you don't want yeah you got get some touchdowns but you sure don't want to get down there and come up empty-handed and you probably if they to hit their field goals the makeable field goals they'd won that game and I really can't question I don't know about you Jacob but I can't question Sam a whole lot when it was fourth and four or fourth and five for going for instead of kicking a field trying to kick a field goal there because it was just uncertain if that kid would if proba what amazes me KY Ramsey was didn't miss a single field goal under 50 yards last year he was perfect between 40 and 49 missed one field goal all year I I don't know what's happened because even the ones he makes that one he made was just barely over the bars and I I don't know they've got to get a lot of things figured out and and these are winnable games the rest of these games in September are all very winable you know norre Dame went to A&M and won and norre Dame Northern Illinois Auburn got beat at home by C these are winnable games UAB got beat 32 to six I believe it was yesterday by Luciana Monroe so you know so uab's one in one they beat alorn state so yeah I mean but these are all winnable games but you can't keep giving them away Jacob and that's I feel like that's what Arkansas did no one will convince me that Oklahoma State's a better football team than Arkansas I don't believe that for one yeah they won but the best team doesn't always yeah that's what made it so frustrating is you go on the road to the number 16 team in the entire country and you are the bigger team you're the faster team and you are the better team in every single possible way every facet in that way except for self-inflicted mistakes I'm going to ask you for the floor here for you got about 10 minutes because I went back through I skipped through the game from what I remembered and I wrote down every single self-inflicted mistake for Arkansas you got about 10 minutes you ready for this started on the first drive Arkansas goes down to the OSU 27 it's third and three taen gets sacked pushes him out of field goal range now they had a great punt set up the field position battle you could say that was a that positive f one yard line yeah so then we skip forward 14-0 midc quarter Arkansas with a chance to push it to three possessions taon makes one of the best plays I've ever seen rolls out throws off one foot falling out of bounds Tyrone Broden drops a touchdown two plays later Blackstock blows a block on the right side taen gets blown up pick six so just like that now Arkansas is back it's 217 Razer backs respond you're feeling good Jem single T interception 115 to go you've got a chance to double dip here you could push this to three possessions going into the half and you get the ball coming out of half time what do you do you called it taon rolls out doesn't throw the ball out takes a brutal sack Bobby rightfully so sits on the ball we go to half it's 21 to7 now you get the ball back you got a chance still we're going to push this to three possessions punish them on the road we're not close to getting done you punt on the first drive of the third quarter Oklahoma State comes down gives you a gift block below the waist it's 21 to1 so you're still feeling good jindon Jackson drops a pitch play fumble you put the ball on the ground self-inflicted there was nobody within three yards of it Oklahoma state gets the ball back drives down the field another field goal 2113 great response by the offense you drive down the field second and n on the OSU 19 low snap tailon takes his eyes off the ball drops it third and 14 first missed field goal of the game so now you're saying all right it's 2113 but hey still feeling good you get the ball back you come down next possession you stop OSU you're feeling good defense puts together a great performance punt goes up Isaiah SATA fumbles the punt OSU scores a touchdown 21 21 we're not close to done I got I got notes here we're not on the second it was self-inflicted man self-inflicted 21 to 21 OSU gets the ball back they run the trick play the fullback wide open wide open nobody within 30 yards of him runs down 28-21 Arkansas comes back it's 28 to 28 you think all right everything's good 28 to 28 OSU gets the ball back you're asking Alan Bowman who struggled the whole entire game to beat you you give him 30 yards of defensive pass interference calls to get Oklahoma State down the field he finally makes a good throw he celebrates and this is where it gets really bad for me quite frankly so now Bowman stops the clock with 140 to go Otis and we call timeout Arkansas calls timeout instead of saving the three timeouts meaning you get the ball back with 50 seconds instead of 140 on the clock the clock was already stopped I don't know somebody was out of possession or out of position or whatever you stopped the clock so now you get the ball back with 45 seconds then two-minute situation it's great that Arkansas gets down ties the game with a field goal but oh is they blew 10 to 15 seconds not knowing just to clock the ball when they're going up to the line of scrimmage so that's 10 to 15 seconds there overtime rolls around you still Force overtime through all of this against the number 16 team on the road you get another missed field goal in the first overtime and then in the second overtime that's when it all goes to you know what personal foul right I mean we know Deno Slaughter and xaven Sor the whistle blows you throw him down there could have been three or four more other calls there it was bad the whole game and then in the overtime people forget Rodney Hill wide open on that wheel route taen just missed him clean pocket wide open that would have been a touchdown and then fourth and one I know jinon Jackson is he's cramping and all the above but you run a play Power set six offensive linemen two tight ends in and I get it I get Rodney Hills your backup I get they feel really good about him he's also 510 186 and they run a play to the weak side and he gets stuffed so all of that you take maybe two of those and they win the game against the number 16 team in the entire country I had to get on my soap box I'm sorry Otis we were talking on the sideline the analogy we used is you know Pistol Pete the Oklahoma State mascot he's rolling around big big hat and all that stuff we said Arkansas walked up to Pistol peep said can I borrow that pistol and can I shoot myself in the foot with it because that's what Arkansas did it was ridiculous it was flat out ridiculous and I like I get it you feel positive because this team is different but you cannot out gain Oklahoma State by 300 yards and lose that game like that I got two pages of self-inflicted mistakes I probably missed some so that's my soapbox rant I'll give it back to you it was ridiculous no you're right on all accounts it and that was exactly my feeling J it wasn't so much they lost I mean if AR number 16 team in the country and got their rear kicked you know you could live with that I mean you would say hey they wanton but just the way they Lo and despite all that it still took two over times to beat them you know despite all the gifts I mean they lined up Chris Christmas prence under Oklahoma State's tree and stacked them to the waist you know all way around stacked up the waist and still you know I mean they gifted a lot of stuff you had two sheets paper I mean and it's said you probably missed something I mean yeah Rodney Hill I mean Tay had him wide open wide open that ball down I don't but you know they've got to get all this figured out and when they do they could beat I mean look they can beat they can beat any team on their schedule yeah but but but if you do that you may be lucky to beat any team you just can't they're not so good I've said all along I think it's a good team but they're not so good that they can do that and win game they are very fortunate that it they only lost by one touchdown and two in two overtime because the way they played yesterday had they not been a better team they would have got blown out of the stadium goodness all those gifts but and it's like I said you can't really point a finger and say well Sam pipp and blew it I don't I don't see it that way but but he's the head coach and he can't keep losing these one possession games it it's not going to work because you you've got to figure out a way to win those to win your share of them you're not going to win them all but you got to figure out a way to win your share of them and they're not winning their share of them and this is the third year in a row this is going on Jacob and uh they've got a tough schedule but they've got a manageable schedule but if you don't beat if you don't if you beat yourself it's GNA be a long season if you come out and clean all this stuff up I don't know if they can or not but if they do they're going they're a dangerous team if a team has to work be Arkansas it's going to be tough but Oklahoma State got a lot of gifts to them yday and goodness and Arkansas's a better team than Oklahoma State but but you know all that and a couple of bucks will get you a Coke over at the restaurant you know you know my opinion a couple dollars get you a Coke but I don't know Jacob it's just frustrating because you see a better team on the field and and and you're one in one when you should be two and 0 because they're they have a chance to do pretty good this season but they've got work to do to clean stuff up yeah yeah I mean this is where they got to find a kicker I don't know what and they may not have one they may not have one and they went and got two guys out of the portal Ramsey and and the and both of them had great stats at where they were at last year but uh but one of them's got to come through I mean this the SEC and kicking is kicking and they've got to figure it out because you I know I I hear people all the time you don't want to settle for a field goal well you don't but you'd rather have three than nothing if Arkansas got three earlier in the game yeah that game would gone to overtime so that's my point three is better than seven is better than three three is better than nothing it's that simp it's just simple math Jacob yeah yeah and and we were talking after the game and I think Alyssa said it best she said you know after the season that they played last year and you bring in all the new pieces you've got nine 10 11 new guys starting on both sides of the ball right she said this team has to learn how to win football games it sounds stupid it sounds simple but it's the truth it's just this team hasn't been in a position like that it's a different brand of football to close a game like that and they have to figure it out well okay the end the game you've got okay in this game you've got need figure out how to win it or you got to figure out or you've got to figure out how not to lose it and so far they haven't done that they this team is is is it's got to figure out how to win these it's goes back to what I said about these close games I'm not put on any one player one coach or anything but ultimately Sam pitman's the head coach so he's got the I'm not blaming Sam for yesterday I'm not but it doesn't matter he's the head coach they one1 and and he's they got didn't Ste a winning how to win in there you're rightless is right I mean and I said the same I said the same thing on the way home I said they find ways to lose games when was the last time we say man they found a way to win that game I mean it's the same same thing Jacob you you you you either find a way to win it or you find a way to lose it and if you don't find a way to win it eventually you're going to be out of the game so I mean that's what Arkansas's got to do you've got Bobby Patrina you got Travis Williams you've got good coordinators but you've got and you got Sam got all these assistants you've got ton green I think's a very good quarterback but he's he made some mistakes at boisey last year when he did make mistakes we saw what happened in the confence championship game when he killed you v a good team yeah and so you know similar player similar players to what he had at Boise State and he Mur I mean he just wiped him out you know he's he's very good but he's big and he's fast and I think J Quinton I personally think J quinon is better than Oly Gordon or rocky Sanders but he's got to protect the football I mean the P hit right in the hands and yeah I felt like one time Tay tayen dropped that St I felt like he was trying to run before he caught it you know he talk lost his ation for just a second those two guys are really talented but they're also the two that t have a tendency to scure you at times because they're careless at times with the ball or whatever I don't know if that's fair to say they're careless with ball but they've got to clean it up and if those two can eliminate their because that's two guy that's two guys that's gon to have the ball as much as anybody other than the center they're gonna have the ball in their hand if the Arkansas's gonna win it's gonna be in tayen green and and uh quinty Jackson Andrew Armstrong Luke has those guys yeah but those those two right there are the two that's going to have the ball probably more than anybody and they've got to make wi they've got to make winning plays if they do that this team's still gonna be fine I'm convinced of that but uh but I'm not convinced they'll clean it up we got to see it because they like I said Jacob we you we were talking the way home from from steel I said when was the last time AR you you looked up after the game you talked your friend or your coworker and you said man Arkansas found a way to win that game it just it hasn't said that and that's what's got to be said and if they do this is gonna be a good hey I'm standing by why I said this is a good football team I'm not backing down a bit on that in fact in fact yesterday probably made me feel more confident that they're good Jacob yeah because I mean like I said earlier in the week they I picked them to win but they could have gone over there and lost but if You' have told me there were the yardage and all the stats if you'd gave me all those stats except turnover during the week I might have said three or four touchdowns and so yeah it's crazy we this Saturday I know they're playing UAB that doesn't matter they've got to start cleaning the stuff up go out there on the field where it's an not where it's Razorback Stadium Auburn steelwater uh Arlington and say we're going out here we're gonna win this game today and and believe it and then do it execute it if they do that people are gonna be happy at the end of the season with this team but this loss is still going to come back it don't matter if you go 84 93 75 you're going to look back at the end of the year and say boy that lost bit them in the butt it's going to bite them in the rear somehow it will I mean more the ways in one but I mean you're going to look back and still think the end of year that is one they should have had in this column it might be the difference between going to a minor bowl and going to to a good bow somewhere yeah yeah no and this is where all the all the coach speak you always hear re really comes in here because again the reason why it was so frustrating is because you saw the glimpses of how good this team can be so this is when you hear those football cliches got to flush this one you got to learn from this one that's where this stuff really comes in because you flush it you learn from it this could ultimately become a awesome positive but if it's a sign of things to come outside of UAB and Louisiana Tech you make the type of mistakes you made on Saturday you're going to lose all the other games as well and UAB is really the last opportunity because after that SEC the SEC slate starts and as we know it gets really tough for the Razer backs but hey we got to talk some recruiting maybe lower our blood pressure a little bit and buy lower RS I mean mine lower the blood pressure a little bit I know you want to talk about Colton yro Grayson Wilson as well as a couple visitors for the Razer backs coming up this weekend yeah toon will be at grabit Friday night Jacob seven o'clock they play gravit gra gravit is two and0 they beat Jay 42-6 Jay Oklahoma s Friday night Durant's 0 and2 but they've lost to AA and they've lost to Broken B Oklahoma if you're from that area you know those are very broken B's always got a good team uh but Co to be there committed to Arkansas fourstar number one player in Oklahoma 2026 we've gone over that a milon time but and he was on here but CH go out there and watch him play Friday night I'll be there uh uh Conway played Bentonville Friday night Conway beat him uh beat them 55 to 21 racing was uh racing uh pass for 200 or I'm sorry 337 yards four touchdowns and rush for left yards he's a really good quarterback uh yeah they they won that game J Javon Gilmore the quarterback South Carolina who's committed AR so we've already also I mean had on here they won they're two and 0 jayv having a good year and uh and Kee Archer they won they beat uh they beat uh North Side like 50 58 to nothing the thing I look at when I look at Grayson Wilson jvon Gilmore and and Kee Archer they have in six games two each three three two G six gamees two each they have no interceptions Jacob none none of the three have an have thrown an interception yet that's impressive okay and then for people ask in yeah they'll be recruits Saturday this first game they well no I'm sorry they did have recruits at little roong but they couldn't talk this is the game where they can talk to them they can have them down uh they'll get them you know take meet the coaches this is a great great opportunity for our s to make some inroads especially with younger kids U talk to them let them see the product on the field hopefully they can see a good product but uh you know all not lost with that lost it seems like it it it it it it it's it ex said it's a blood pressure razor but but Arkansas's got a chance to redeem itself this week and start with a uh UAB and then you know they're GNA go on the road for a couple weeks before they get a tough team here in FA they look good yesterday they look real good I got home in time to see the uh a little bit of the fourth quarter that Colorado but Tennessee looks really good they really do they' be a pretty good North Carolina State team like in Fr yeah uh but main thing is go out if you get a chance if you're in the area Friday night and you're looking for something to do before Arkansas's game Saturday go out there grab it watch coach yper play and I you'll be impressed with what you see I'm looking forward to it I'm excited about it I hope it's good weather I haven't seen Dan's long range forecast I've been G I haven't seen anything but uh I was out of town Thursday and Tulsa Friday and still water Saturday so I've been all over the place uh but yeah I'm looking forward to I'm hoping Dan has good Dan scof has some good news for us on the weather and but whatever good weather bad weather whatever at least I I was shocked at the weather yesterday and still it was not I know now I'm in the Press Box see but John got some on the side it it was warm but it wasn't anything like I thought it might be you about three weeks ago I asked Sam are you ready for like you got hey one thing real quick before we go J let me say this Arkansas's got to figure out a way to get some pressure on the other quarterback too man they did not even they did not any pressure on Bowman and I mean that's got to change I mean I don't know if they've got to get some blitzes or what they're what's going on but they've got to figure out a way to get some pressure on these other quarterbacks man Bowman's got all night back there and that's one thing that uh you don't really take into count the uapb game because they were just so over match man that game is that was one that was another disappointment of mine with the fact Arkansas could not get any pressure on Bowman I mean none yeah yeah I said the same thing it was they did such a good job against the Run especially in the front four you know what I mean containing Gordon but they couldn't they couldn't touch Bowman I mean he was dropping back and he had a free pocket to go but regardless a get right opportunity for the Razer backs coming up against UAB on Saturday but that's all the time we have on this week's Arkansas football recruiting report that's Otis Kirk I'm Jacob Morris we'll talk to you next week