Slusher Has Played Admirably In Relief of Injured Jalen Catalon

The most impressive part of having to replace an injured all-American Jalen Catalon has been the play of sophomore, Myles Slusher.

Thrust into action during the Auburn game, Slusher has started the previous four games and racked up 24 total tackles and a couple of interceptions. One of the best plays he made was just this past weekend at LSU as he trailed to the defender, jumped the pass and made a diving interception against LSU freshman quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.

The former four-star defensive back out of Broken Arrow, (Okla.) came to Arkansas after flipping for Oregon. He made a big Time fumble recovery last season against Georgia in the season opener but was seldom used after that in 2020 due to nagging injuries.

In relief of Catalon, Slusher received praise from the team captain during Tuesday’s meeting with the press.

“Slush has done amazing,” said Grant Morgan. “I was telling Coach (Michael) Scherer that how he has progressed in the games he has played in since Catalon has been out, you wouldn’t even know we had anyone missing back there.”

When you lose someone that’s a leader on that side of the ball it is sometimes detrimental to most defenses. However, Arkansas has been able to recruit that position very well as of late and it’s helped especially with the emergence of Slusher.

“(Slusher) has become a vocal leader back there for our defense. At the beginning of the year no one thought he could or would do that. But now, the way he’s been demanding and vocal shows he ain’t a young buck no more,” said Morgan.

Alabama has weapons all over the field on offense. The crucial part for the Hogs to have a chance to win against the Crimson Tide this Saturday they’ll need another stellar performance from their defense. Jameson Williams, John Metchie, Cameron Latu, Brian Robinson and Slade Bolden all can cause problems for defenses. Slusher says Arkansas is up for the challenge.

“They’re a great receiving core theirs no doubt about it. They’re fast, quick twitch but as long as we handle our assignments we will be fine,” said Slusher.

The Arkansas Razorbacks are set to play the Alabama Crimson Tide this Saturday at 2:30 PM. The game will be nationally broadcasted on CBS.