“If I don’t read my soul gets lost. Ain’t nobody’s fault but mine.” Blind Willie Johnson
During my decades long obsession with Razorback athletics over the years, I have seen good players, great ones, and then those who were truly special. Those that, when they had the ball in their hands, you knew things would work out – difference makers. Players as good or better than advertised, and the U of A has certainly had its fair share.
Here is a fraction of modern-day Razorback folk heroes who I saw dominate like few others. I could go on forever, but my editor only allows so many words, and I’m usually pushing it, as it is.
Darren McFadden – #5, outta Oak Grove High School. Shoulda won at least one Heisman Trophy during his time on the Hill. Dude could flat burn. If he got around the corner on you, forget it, cuz he was gone. Heck, he barely made it to campus with all 20 of his toes. If not for some fancy foot surgeon down in the Rock who was able to re-attach his thumb toe after he nearly kicked it off in a late-night brawl a week before summer practice began, he wouldn’t have ever become DMAC and broken all those rushing records.
Matt Jones – no doubt the elusive #9 makes the list. There were so many times when Jones went out and ad libbed some miraculous, late-game shizzle and saved the day. The “Miracle on Markham” is one example. You shoulda seen the looks on folks’ faces after Decori Birmingham hauled in that long pass that night, plus the seven-overtime victory over Ole Miss. I saw both of ‘em in person, and they were pure magic. Shoot, he even played ball one year for coach Richardson. Nolan said after Jones checked into his first basketball game, “I thought Elvis Presley had entered the building from the sound of the applause.”
Joe Adams #3 – the quickest person I’ve ever seen move. He would be gone in the blink of an eye – SNAP! Coach Petrino dialed up and designed some beautiful plays for the speedster from North Little Rock – running, catching and throwing (lefty). Then, there are those punts he returned for touchdowns that words can’t describe – his goal was to never let one guy bring him down, and that was definitely the case that one time vs. Tennessee.
Scotty Thurman – the smack-talking gunslinger from Bastrop, La., who never shied away from any jumper, ‘specially a game-winner. The bigger the stage, the better Thurman performed. He showed up on campus, a 17-year-old freshMAN ready to roll. His shooting touch was so smooth and his range already so ridiculously long, that he quickly developed a rep during summertime pickup games in Barnhill Arena before ever playing one minute as a Razorback.
Current pitcher, Hagen Smith, has recently ascended to this elite club of must-see Razorbacks. He delivers like clockwork at levels not ever seen before. He is un-hittable in the same manner as Randy Johnson and Nolan Ryan were in their heyday.
Smith struck out 10 LSU Tigers in another six innings of ho hum work Thursday night at Baum Walker Stadium, as the Hogs won the first game of the series 7-4. The cream of the Tiger lineup got to the Razorback ace a couple of times early on, hitting back-to-back homers in the second inning (the first earned runs Smith’s surrendered since his first outing in December), but his teammates rallied and picked up the slack, carrying Arkansas to the victory.
Dave Van Horn and his top-ranked troops won the last two games against LSU 4-3 (10 innings) and 7-5, sweeping the SEC rival and improving their record to 20-3 (5-1).
Arkansas State comes to town on Tuesday for one game, before DVH and his Razorbacks host a weekend series against Ole Miss.
WPS!