Arkansas Football: 2017 Season preview and predictions

Defense

Arkansas was not a sound defensive team last season. That’s a problem when you play in the SEC West, which, although being known for its defensive prowess, boasts some of the nation’s most efficient offensive units as well.

The Hogs are going to have to find a way to improve without their leading tackle from a year ago. Brooks Ellis, who has since moved on to the NFL, was responsible for 257 tackles in three season as a full-time starter for the Razorbacks. Also departing is sack-leader Jeremiah Ledbetter and the Hogs’ senior leader in the secondary, Jared Collins, who led the team with 12 passes defended

That’s a lot of big places to replaced for a team that finished 85th nationally in scoring defense, 94th in rushing defense and 58th in rushing defense. They’ll try to mask some of those deficiencies in 2017 by transitioning to a 3-4 for defense. They have the requisite big man up front in Bijhon Jackson and will surround him on either side of the defensive line with relatively new faces: McTelvin Agrim and T.J. Smith.

More: Projected 2-deep depth chart for Arkansas in 2017

Linebacker is another concern. Last year the Hogs dealt with injuries forcing the Hogs to mix and match down the stretch. They’ll added JUCO transfer Gabe Richardson and true freshman Hayden Henry to the mix, but hope to not have to rely on either to carry the bulk of the load in 2017.

The truth is this defense is going to have to succeed with a “bend but don’t break” style of play. They’re not deep enough at anyone position to shut down a high-caliber offense for four full quarters, but they’re going to find ways to be disruptive and keep the Razorbacks in games. They forced 21 turnovers a year ago, which put them right around the middle of the pack in the SEC. Keeping that pace, with one or more big plays should allow the offense to keep this team competitive in 2017.