Stinson has done what it takes for Hogs

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

LAS VEGAS -- Rod Stinson hasn't played more than 40 snaps in any game for the Arkansas Razorbacks this season, but he might get twice that many or more in Thursday night's Las Vegas Bowl against UNLV.
Stinson, a fifth-year senior from Pine Bluff, is Arkansas' only proven fullback with the loss of sophomore Adam Daily, whose career came to an unexpected end earlier this month when fluid was discovered in his spinal cord.
Stinson also plays on three special teams -- punt coverage, kickoff return and field-goal attempt -- so it's conceivable he could be on the field for 75 to 80 snaps in the bowl game.
"This is my last game, so I just want to leave it all out on the field and play every snap as hard as I can," Stinson said. "Hopefully I'll be in for a lot of plays, because that means we'll be scoring a lot of points."
Stinson has rushed 9 times for 35 yards and caught 4 passes for 18 yards this season, but Arkansas quarterback Robby Hampton said those modest numbers don't reflect Stinson's contributions at a position where blocking is crucial to help make the offense effective.
"Rod's definitely underrated," Hampton said. "He's quiet and he just goes about his business, but he gets the job done for us.
"You love to have a guy like that, a guy you can depend on. You can drop back and know he's going to pick up his block. It's nice to know you can hand it off to him and he's going to run it hard. He's got good hands as a receiver, too."
Stinson has played on every special team at some point in his career in addition to starting at tailback and fullback in some games and playing as a backup bandit on defense.
"He's a very valuable and unselfish player who has helped us win a lot of games," Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt said.
After Stinson redshirted in 1996, he was Arkansas' leading rusher in 1997, the last season for Danny Ford as the Razorbacks coach. With Madre Hill and Chrys Chukwuma were sidelined by injuries, Stinson returned from an early season elbow injury to rush 111 times for 413 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Hill and Chukwuma returned in 1998, and Stinson saw limited time at tailback, moved to bandit, then suffered a hip injury. His snaps also were limited last season with Chukwuma and Cedric Cobbs getting most of the work at tailback. But this season Stinson was moved to fullback, where he split time with Daily.
Stinson, 5-9, bulked up to 215 pounds when he moved to fullback after playing tailback at 195.
"It's a big adjustment moving to fullback because you've got to take on 6-5, 300-pound linemen," Stinson said. "I'm not the biggest guy, so I really have to stay focused on what it is I need to do."
Arkansas linebacker J.J. Jones, a fifth-year senior from Magnolia who first was Stinson's teammate at the 1996 Arkansas High School All-Star Game and then became his roommate their first two years in Fayetteville, quickly learned about Stinson's toughness.
"Rod wasn't a very big guy. So when we were practicing for the All-Star Game, I decided I'd give him a bump just to let him know I'm here," Jones said. "Then he almost ran over me and I was like, 'Whoa, he's got some bricks in his britches.'
"He was a lot tougher than I thought. He's one of the toughest runners I've seen, so I don't have any doubts he can carry the whole load for us [at fullback] in the bowl game."
Stinson will be making his seventh start of the season but won't be able to split time with Dailey as he did previously.
"Adam is a big loss for us, but Rod's just going to step it up," Hampton said. "He's been playing well all year, and nothing is going to change now. He'll just get more of an opportunity to shine."
While Stinson hasn't gotten the chance to be in the spotlight since starting at tailback in 1997, he said he has prided himself on being a team player and contributing wherever the Razorbacks needed him.
"I've played on every special team and on offense and defense," he said. "I've always tried to do whatever [the coaches] ask and give it my best."
Stinson, who will graduate this spring with a degree in kinesiology, said it's difficult to believe he'll be playing his last game as a Razorback on Thursday night. It doesn't seem that long ago when he and Jones first arrived on the Arkansas campus in the fall of 1996.
"I remember the first time we went through two-a-days and everything else we've gone through, and now it's almost over," Stinson said. "I try and tell the young guys to play hard and take care of your books, because your time here will be up very soon.
"I'm really going to miss all the guys and playing for Arkansas, but hopefully we can play well in the bowl game and go out with a win."
The Razorbacks will be counting on Stinson to play well for as many plays as they need him.
ROD STINSON'S CAREER STATS
YEAR RUSH ATT YDS TDS REC YDS TDS
1997 111 413 2 6 51 0
1998 11 31 0 0 0 0
1999 7 12 0 0 0 0
2000 9 35 0 4 18 0
TOTALS 138 491 2 10 69 0

This article was published on Tuesday, December 19, 2000

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