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30 Arkansas Football Sunday, August 26, 2018 Arkansas Position Analysis Special teams De'Vion Warren is one of the Razor- backs' top weapons back for his soph- omore season after ranking 11th in the nation (second among freshmen) with 26.4 yards per kickoff return. Warren, who led the SEC, had a 100-yard touch- down return vs. Auburn. The top punt returner could be one of several play- ers, including senior Jared Cornelius, who has 28 career returns under his belt. Deon Stewart and Jarrod Barnes and possibly others could also factor in. Left-footed junior Connor Limpert appeared to hold the edge at placekick- er over freshmen Preston Stafford and Matthew Phillips during week two of camp, based on the practice periods open to media. At punter, incumbent Blake Johnson, coming off a sub-par season, is vulnerable and is being chal- lenged by freshmen Reid Bauer and Phillips. Johnson's 38.6-yard average was No. 101 among 107 ranked FBS players. NWA Democrat-Gazette/BEN GOFF • @NWABENGOFF De'Vion Warren (right) was ranked 11th in the nation with 26.4 yards per kickoff return his freshman year and looks to be top weapon for the Razorbacks this year. T H E F O R E C A S T FAYETTEVILLE — Word up to Chad Morris and the new Arkansas Ra- zorbacks coaches: This is our annual light-hearted game-by-game projections we call The Forecast. Some of the events described here- in are meant to be taken in a humorous vein, most certainly the "quotes" and preposterous scenarios. The actual out- come of the games is meant to be our best guesses. Now on to the reckoning. The Fore- cast went 8-4 straight up last year, a re- versal of the Razorbacks' real record of 4-8. The crystal ball produced clear vi- sions by picking victories over Florida A&M, New Mexico State, Ole Miss and Coastal Carolina and by predicting loss- es to TCU, Alabama, Auburn and LSU. All of the missed games were losses by the Hogs: vs. Texas A&M, at South Carolina, Mississippi State and Missou- ri. We picked a bowl game in error, and what a bowl game it would have been, if T.J. Hammonds had thrown a half- back pass that was tipped by Cheyenne O'Grady into the arms of La'Michael Pettway for a game winner over Texas Tech and feisty Coach Kliff Kingsbury in the Texas Bowl. Alas, no bowl game for the Razor- backs, who underwent a regime change to Coach Chad Morris and are widely picked to go about 6-6. We're thinking the same, but we'll see how that plays out. Best run of picks last year was a 5-0 stretch that started with a predicted 34- 17 loss at Alabama (actual score: 41-9) and ended with a 17-14 loss at LSU (33- 10), with a home loss to Auburn, a road victory at Ole Miss and a projected 45- 17 rout of Coastal Carolina (actual near catastrophe: 39-38) in between. The worst run, which paralleled the Hogs' actual descent, was projecting back-to-back home wins over Missis- sippi State and Missouri to end the year. Instead of defeating Mississippi State 54- 46 and Missouri 31-24 as the crystal ball saw, the Hogs blew double-digit leads in both games and fell 28-21 to the Bulldogs and 48-45 to Missouri, with Coach Bret Bielema's pink slip delivered minutes later. Most accurate prediction: a 33-31 vic- tory at Ole Miss. Real score: 38-37 on Connor Limpert's 34-yard field goal, one stroke of good fortune in a season laced with the other kind of luck. Worst pick: There were a few, but probably a 24-14 victory at South Car- olina. The Gamecocks won 48-22 with the aid of three defensive touchdowns. Memo to self: If we keep picking Ar- kansas to beat Texas A&M, IT WILL HAPPEN at some point. Stay tuned for that. Seven wins projected for Hogs under Morris TOM MURPHY ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE SEPT. 1 ARKANSAS 41, EASTERN ILLINOIS 17 FAYETTEVILLE — Devwah Whaley has touchdown runs of 19 and 4 yards and Chase Hayden breaks off a 65-yard score as the Ra- zorbacks roll in the season opener. Ty Storey and Cole Kelley combine for 288 passing yards and three touchdowns, to Jar- ed Cornelius, Cheyenne O'Grady and La'Mi- chael Pettway as the Razorbacks defeat the Panthers, led by former Arkansas receiver Kim Damron. "I tell you guys, the hammer was down tonight," says Chad Morris, who became the ninth con- secutive full-season Arkansas head coach to not lose in his debut since Frank Broyles' first team fell 12-0 to Baylor in 1958. Not lose? Ken Hatfield's debut in 1984 produced a 14-14 tie with Ole Miss. SEPT. 8 ARKANSAS 30, COLORADO STATE 26 FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Ryan Pulley returns an interception 55 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:15 remaining, then Dre Greenlaw stuffs a fourth-and-1 run at the Ar- kansas 25 to seal the victory. Gary Cross grabs a 70-yard touchdown pass from Cole Kelley on the final play of the first half and Grayson Gunter catches a 12-yard score from Ty Storey. "We had to pull into that left lane and pop the clutch right at the end, but that's OK," Chad Morris says. SEPT. 15 ARKANSAS 34, NORTH TEXAS 24 FAYETTEVILLE — The Razorbacks struggle v Continued on next page