NCAA Football Arkansas Razorbacks SEC Preview 2008: It is cleat that with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones in the NFL, and with coach Bobby Petrino at the helm, Arkansas will be throwing a lot more this season. Which means that now all the pressure will be on quarterback Casey Dick to lead this offense. BetUS.com has the Arkansas Razorbacks’ betting odds to win the SEC in 2008: +5000.
With two superstar players in the backfield, the Razorbacks didn’t throw much last season, and thus, they are not sure how consistent of a passer Dick really is.
Even though the Razorbacks did loose some key players from last season like RBs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, LB Weston Dacus, Marcus Monk, and WR Robert Johnson, they still have some pretty good returning leaders from last year’s squad:
RB Michael Smith 303 yards rushing, QB Casey Dick 1,695 passing yards, WR Lucas Miller 157 catching yards, LB Freddie Fairchild’s 79 tackles and 4.5 sacks, and CB Jerell Norton’s 5 INTs.
Arkansas’ strengths are indeed on the O-line and D-line. Center Jonathan Luigs is the key component for an offensive line, which only surrendered 1 sack per game last season.
Also the key returns of Malcolm Sheppard and Jose Valdez, this makes the O-line a very difficult one to beat, and thus, the strength of the team. The weakness for the Razorbacks is also on the offensive side.
Even if Dick can prove to be a good accurate QB, he is going to need receivers to throw to, now that most of last year go-to guys are gone.
