Tailback takes big strides for Hogs

ROB KEYS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- Running backs coach Danny Nutt isn't altogether surprised that Fred Talley has rushed for 375 yards in Arkansas' past two games. What is a surprise to Nutt is the manner in which Talley has gained a lot of those yards -- by running into the teeth of opposing defenses.
"It's surprised me a bunch," Nutt said simply.
Nutt's surprise stems chiefly from the fact that, at 5-9, 190 pounds, Talley doesn't exactly evoke images of fellow Texan Earl Campbell. Just because he doesn't look rough-and-tumble, however, doesn't mean Talley is shy about meeting defenders head-on.
"They look at me and think, 'Well, he's going to need to run around me or put a move on me,' " Talley said. "But I've got the mentality of a tough guy. I like running inside and I like contact. I mean, I don't like taking it, but I like delivering it. Sometimes I'll try to run over somebody just to prove my size can be deceiving."
There is nothing deceiving about the numbers Talley, a sophomore, has put up in Arkansas' past two games. His 375 rushing yards are the most gained in back-to-back games in school history. His 214 yards in Saturday's loss to Ole Miss were the most by an Arkansas running back in 13 years, and the most by any running back in an SEC game this season.
Even more impressive is that Talley is playing on an offensive unit that has used four quarterbacks in its past three games and started six offensive lines in eight games.
Talley is perhaps the biggest bright spot in what has become a stormy season for the Razorbacks.
By carrying the football 55 times in the past two games, with touchdown runs of 80, 30 and 69 yards, Talley also has answered one of the preseason's most popular questions: Can he carry the ball 25 times a game and still be productive?
The catch is that question was being asked about much-ballyhooed sophomore Cedric Cobbs, not Talley. In fact, Nutt said he planned to give Talley only 10 to 15 carries a game at best when the season began.
When Cobbs went down with a shoulder separation in the third game of the season, though, those plans were scrapped. The only problem for Talley was that he broke a hand in the same game.
Talley returned three weeks later and gained 46 yards on 15 carries at South Carolina, then had a breakthrough performance two weeks later at Auburn, rushing 26 times for 161 yards and a touchdown.
"He's a natural," Nutt said. "He finds the hole and hits it. Then when he gets through it, he's so quick that he can get outside in a hurry. He can turn on a dime, and then he's gone."
It's true that Talley possesses blazing speed. While in high school in Longview, Texas, Talley won a 100-meter state championship in 10.43 seconds.
"Any time you're going to give me Fred Talley and a defensive back in a footrace, I'm putting my money on Fred," center Josh Melton said.
But as he has proven the past two weeks, Talley is not a one-dimensional back.
"If you look at Fred, you really think of a finesse-type running back," Melton said. "But he's got a little bit of bull in him, and if there's not a big hole there, he'll stick his head in there and get what he can get. It's almost like he's got a little bit of an O-lineman's mentality in him."
Talley also is a self-described "student of the game." He says he learns each lineman's blocking assignment for each play because "I know what those guys have to go through ... so I try to make their job as easy as possible."
That makes Talley popular among the linemen, as does his constant on-field trash-talking.
"I talk trash after every play," Talley said, "even if I get tackled in the backfield. I let them know that ain't nothing. My linemen kind of like that."
Arkansas likes that it has a tailback it can rely on to earn the tough yards as well as the easy ones. Talley's durability is sure to be tested further Saturday, though, when Arkansas plays at Tennessee.
The Volunteers lead the SEC and rank second nationally in rushing defense, allowing just 68.2 yards per game and 2.25 yards per carry. In its past two SEC victories, over Alabama and South Carolina, Tennessee held teams that were leading the SEC in rushing entering the game to 44 and 24 yards, respectively.
Predictably, those numbers don't faze Talley.
"We're going to fight to the end," Talley said of an Arkansas team that must win two of its last three games to become bowl-eligible. "I know a lot of people have probably counted us out, but I think there's going to be something special this weekend."
It will be a surprise if Arkansas, a two-touchdown underdog, can knock off Tennessee. Then again, Talley has been full of surprises lately.

This article was published on Thursday, November 9, 2000

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