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16 NWA College Football Preview 2019 Sunday, August 25, 2019 Arkansas position analysis By Tom Murphy Defensive line The Razorbacks have two of the most experienced tackles in the league in McTelvin Agim and T.J. Smith, and they're flanked by what is mostly an unproven set of ends. Seniors Dorian Gerald and Gabe Richardson are the expected starters there, but neither is the prototypical, long-armed, pass-rush specialist. Jamario Bell, also a senior, fits that description, but he's yet to match his outstanding physique with compa- rable statistics. Last chance for that trio. They're backed by the freshman group of Mataio Soli, Zach Williams, Eric Greg- ory and Collin Clay, and some of those rookies will have to contribute. Agim, a solid presence for three years, has a chance to break out inside, just as Ar- mon Watts did last year. He has an agility edge over most guards. Jonathan Mar- shall, the strongest player on the squad, is the top reserve inside with the loss of Briston Guidry, followed by Isaiah Nich- ols. Between sophomore David Porter, redshirt freshman Nick Fulwider, and true freshmen Taurean Carter, Marcus Miller and Enoch Jackson, there is prob- ably room for a few spots in the rotation. P O S I T I O N A N A L Y S I S C O N T I N U E S T H R O U G H P A G E 2 1 Linebackers De'Jon Harris led the SEC with 118 tackles and 62 solos last year while play- ing most or all of the games at "Mike." Defensive coordinator John Chavis would like to see Harris' snap count go down markedly and his production stay on an even keel. Bumper Pool, an emerg- ing talent, should take over at "Will," where he started four games last year. Grant Morgan and Hayden Henry, who is likely to start at "Sam" in the opener, are the top subs, and they're joined by Deon Edwards, D'Vone McClure, An- drew Parker and others in what coaches say is a deeper rotation. Zach Zimos, the lone linebacker signee, is expected to earn time on special teams and possi- bly defense. Oh, the places this defense could go if it could run six or seven deep at these spots. Secondary This will be one of the youngest secondaries in the country, led by junior free safety Kamren Curl. The good news is much of the incoming talent sports above-average speed, starting with Greg Brooks, who is in line to start at nickel back, and cor- nerback Devin Bush. True freshman safety Jalen Catalon made a splash early in camp with a pair of pick-six- es. The likely starting cornerbacks — Montaric Brown and Jarques Mc- Clellion — are both sophomores, but they exude confidence and should play faster this season after taking some lumps a year ago. Strong safe- ty Joe Foucha played minimally last year. If he can read and react better, he can start flashing his reputation as a hard hitter. Top depth appears to be Ladarrius Bishop and Bush at CB, and Myles Mason and Catalon at safety. Having a consistent pass rush would help this group take a step forward. NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo/J.T. WAMPLER McTelvin Agim takes part in practice on March 7. NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo/ANDY SHUPE Arkansas linebacker Bumper Pool (right) takes part in a drill as assistant coach Steve Caldwell watches March 5 in Fayetteville. NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo/J.T. WAMPLER Arkansas free safety Kamren Curl hits the tackle ring Aug. 7 during practice in Fayetteville.