Arkansas Razorbacks News: Final Updates Before Alabama

If you go back to Bret Bielema’s time with Wisconsin, he and Nick Saban have the most wins as a head coach among current SEC coaches. The two have been very successful coaches despite doing things in very different ways. ESPN talks about those differences yet both still have success. This matchup is a fun contrast of personalities that will only get better if Arkansas can really make Nick Saban sweat this weekend.

Keon Hatcher sat out the game against Alcorn State due to a hamstring issue. He sounds pretty optimistic about being able to go against Alabama. Arkansas’ depth at wide receiver allows for some injuries without much of a drop off, but against the Tide, Arkansas will need all of their weapons ready to go.

Under Paul Rhodes, the secondary has shown some improvement in 2016. One player who is quietly having a good season is Jared Collins, and a nice feature was written about him here. He has gotten high praise from coaches for doing a solid enough job on coverage to force the ball to the other side. He will face his biggest test of the year when Calvin Ridley lines up on the other side of the field.

The news of Frank Ragnow’s father passing away has been has hit the team hard and has kept him away from the team the past few days. Both Jen and Bret Bielema took Ragnow home to Minnesota after they heard the news last weekend. Bielema says it’s up to Ragnow whether or not he plays on Saturday. You’d have to think that if Ragnow returns to Fayetteville before they game, he’ll probably want to play, but if not, the team is preparing in practice with Zach Rogers under center.

The MLB Playoffs have started and while Eric Hinske is on the Cubs coaching staff, Andrew Benintendi is the only former Razorback on a postseason roster. He is one of a few young guys that have Boston buzzing about the future and tonight is his first shot at making some postseason waves.