Razorbacks Report: Nutt putting positive spin on 4-2 record

SCOTT CAIN
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Houston Nutt has waged a psychological war the past two weeks.
The coach has hammered his players daily on the 4-2 theme. That's the record. In other words, they're only two victories short of qualifying for a bowl and every SEC West team has two losses as the Razorbacks enter Saturday's game against 25th-ranked Auburn.
Arkansas lost its last two SEC games by a combined 65-14. Since then, Nutt has hinted several times that the media and talk radio callers have been unduly critical, and he wants his players to block out those potential distractions.
"It's hard for a lot of them because there has been a little bit of negative around where any time they read something they feel like, 'We don't feel like we're 4-2,' " Nutt said Wednesday on the SEC coaches teleconference. "But the biggest thing for our kids to know is, gosh, everybody has two losses. We're 4-2."
Nutt has mentioned the record and the team's SEC West standing to the media three of the last four days. He didn't do interviews Monday. The players have heard the same message daily, too.
"Every day I've been trying to tell them that we're in first basically," Nutt said after practice. "Everybody has two losses. If you look at it that way, you're in first place. We've won four out of six games.
"And it's so easy to pick up from the outside that there's something bad going on. Our guys are sometimes very, very gullible, and I want them [thinking] it doesn't matter anything except the two hours and 45 minutes on Saturday in Auburn, Ala. That's all that matters."
Technically, Arkansas is in last place in the West with a 1-2 record. Alabama, Auburn and LSU share first at 3-2 and Ole Miss and Mississippi State are 2-2.
But the spirit of Nutt's point is valid. Every team plays eight conference games. With two losses apiece, it's a dead-even sprint to the division title.
A victory on Saturday could spark momentum that the team has lacked, and Nutt wouldn't have to keep reminding the Hogs of their record.

RESERVE BEASLEY INJURED
Backup free safety Jimmy Beasley of North Little Rock, who also is the nickel back, bruised his arm and sprained his elbow early in practice.
Beasley is the latest in a bizarre excess of injuries to hit the team.
"You kind of grow numb to somebody going down, but hopefully it's not anything too serious," Coach Houston Nutt said.

BALL'S TOUR CONTINUES
Sophomore Nathan Ball of Rogers will make his fifth start Saturday at his third different position.
Ball started the Alabama and Georgia games at tight end, the Louisiana-Monroe and South Carolina games at left tackle and has moved to right tackle for the Auburn game.
The first move was made when left tackle Shannon Money sprained his ankle. Now Ball is needed at right tackle because Gary Hobbs has been suspended for the game and Money is healthy enough to play on the left side.
Switching sides shouldn't be difficult for Ball because he had to work both sides when he was at tight end, assistant coach Mike Markuson said. The only difference will be taking an open-ended stance when there is no tight end there and Ball has to pass block a defensive end.

TIGER DANIELS HOBBLED
Auburn's leading receiver, sophomore Ronney Daniels, likely will not be full speed Saturday because of a sprained ankle.
Daniels did not practice Tuesday and was not expected to practice Wednesday, Coach Tommy Tuberville said.
In just a season and a half, Daniels has cracked the school's career top 10 lists for receptions (85) and receiving yards (1,412). He has 29 catches for 344 yards and 2 touchdowns this year.

WORKING HIS WAY BACK
Senior tackle Brett Shockley will score a small but meaningful victory Saturday when he plays on the extra point and field goal units.
With the exception of a few plays against Georgia, a sprained arch has kept Shockley out this season. The injury continues to bother him, but he has returned to practice and he left smiling Wednesday at the prospects of contributing in the game.
"It's something," Shockley said. "At least I can be out there."

QB'S SURGERY SET
Reserve quarterback Jared McBride is scheduled to have reconstructive knee surgery Wednesday.
McBride, a junior from Nashville, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the Oct. 14 game against South Carolina. He should be able to rehabilitate and return in time for next season.
McBride played in four games this season, completing 3 of 10 passes for 15 yards.

INJURIES GO DEEP
At what point does the explanation for the injury epidemic go from coincidence to cursed? Perhaps when the walk-ons start going down.
Injuries to walk-ons and young scholarship players have poked holes in the scout teams, leading coaches to practice the first- and second-team offense and defense against each other this week. It helped that Auburn's defense resembles Arkansas'.
The latest misfortune struck walk-ons Marlon Moore of Crossett and Chris Clinton of Springdale. Moore had surgery Tuesday to repair a dislocated shoulder and Clinton had surgery Saturday to remove his appendix.

SIDELINES
Backup quarterback Zak Clark (sprained ankle) did minimal work Wednesday and would not have been able to play if it had been game time, Coach Houston Nutt said.... Bandit Derrick Johnson (sprained knee), who practiced about half the day, said he'll sit out today and see Saturday whether he's able to play.... Suspended tackle Gary Hobbs worked on the scout team.... Auburn is 11-0 under Tommy Tuberville when it scores at least 20 points.

This article was published on Thursday, October 26, 2000

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