What Jaxson Dart and the Rebel offense will see from the Arkansas defense

OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss offense is coming off of a game where they scored 55 points and totaled over 700 yards of offense. Seemingly, the Rebs had no issues with an extremely talented LSU defense, but what new challenges will the defense of Arkansas present?

Arkansas began this season 2-0 but later fell to BYU, LSU, and Texas A&M. The Tigers beat the Razorbacks 34-31, while the Aggies won, 34-22.

We looked at the Arkansas offense earlier this week, so now let’s take a look at the Razorbacks’ defensive unit.

Linebacker

The most impactful defender on the field for the Hogs has been junior linebacker Jaheim Thomas who leads the team with 48 tackles, five tackles for loss and three sacks. The Cincinnati Bearcats transfer has slowly evolved into one of the significant leaders on this defense, standing next to the second-best tackler, linebacker Chris Paul Jr. Both of these names are worth noting, especially on Ole Miss’ run plays in between the tackles.

Cornerback McGlothern questionable vs. the Rebs

Arkansas cornerback Dwight McGlothern’s status for today’s game vs. the Rebels is unclear. McGlothern, who is in his second season with the Razorbacks after transferring from LSU, suffered a concussion in the first half of the team’s 34-22 loss to Texas A&M last Saturday. Arkansas media reported he was inactive in portions of practice open to reporters Monday and Tuesday.

Arkansas looking like the better team early against LSU

Dwight McGlothern picks off Jayden Daniels to set up the Hogs for another drivepic.twitter.com/5mUbvgqAZt

— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) September 23, 2023

According to Pro Football Focus, McGlothern is the Razorbacks’ highest-graded defensive player (89.9) and he owns a coverage grade of 89.7, which is No. 1 among SEC corners. Keep an eye out on whether or not he’s in the lineup today.

The rest of the Arkansas secondary

Freshman Jaylon Braxton and junior Lorando Johnson were the first-team cornerbacks this week in practice. Braxton is the highest rated recruit in the Arkansas class according to 247Sports, as he was the No. 8 cornerback in the country. Johnson, a former four-star recruit, is a redshirt junior who transferred in from Baylor.

The next three players who have impressed week in and week out are all safeties. Jayden Johnson has notched 22 tackles this season, while safety Alfahiym Walcott has tallied 21, and Hudson Clark, 18. Clark and Johnson also each have an interception.

To put that number in perspective, LSU only has one corner with more tackles than those three players. Arkansas is a much more physical group and are all upperclassmen, so they’ve got experience. 

In the air, when LSU played Arkansas, Tigers’ QB Jayden Daniels decimated the Razorbacks’ secondary and threw for 320 yards and four touchdowns. Texas A&M backup quarterback Max Johnson also threw for two touchdowns and averaged 7.5 yards per throw. Even as both quarterbacks found success against Arkansas, each also threw an interception. Fortunately, that has not been a problem for Ole Miss this year as Jaxson Dart has only thrown two picks this whole season. But it’s something to keep an eye on with the Razorbacks’ experienced secondary.

The Rebels are the only team in the country with both a 500-yard passing (524, vs. Mercer) and a 300-yard rushing game (317, vs. LSU) in 2023. The Arkansas defense won’t have any easy time keying in on any particular player as the Rebels have offensive firepower all over the field now that wide receivers Tre Harris and Zakhari Franklin and tight end Caden Prieskorn have returned from injury.

Defensive line

One of the stark differences between facing Arkansas and LSU, however, is the defensive lines. The Hogs’ previous two opponents — LSU and Texas A&M — did a solid job of establishing the ground game against Arkansas as the Tigers ran for 189 yards and the Aggies for 204. That will be one of the keys for Ole Miss. If the Rebels can run for 200 yards or me, they will have a sizable advantage in this game. 

Hogs’ defensive end John Morgan, a transfer from Pitt where he played in 53 games over 5 seasons for the Panthers, was injured in the loss to A&M last weekend and was rushed to the hospital with neck soreness. Head coach Sam. Pittman updated media this week on Morgan’s status and said he is doing well and could possibly play vs. Ole Miss. Morgan’s 14.0 career sacks are the most on the Arkansas roster.

Defensive end Landon Jackson is 6-foot-7, 281 pounds. The team captain is a transfer from LSU. He has recorded 7.0 tackles for loss this season and two sacks.

HUGE stop for Arkansas with Landon Jackson on the sack. pic.twitter.com/oWrAKsDf02

— Mason Choate (@ChoateMason) September 17, 2023

Final thoughts

It is obvious Arkansas is a very physical unit, but they have struggled to translate it onto the field at certain times due to the number of points they have given up both at home and on the road. Ole Miss is coming off of its best offensive game of the year and it should be interesting to see how they handle this Arkansas team who manhandled the Rebs in 2022.

This rivalry has been filled with crazy close finishes in recent years. In the last six seasons, the teams have split, 3-3. Five of the last eight games have been decided by four or fewer points. So fasten your seatbelts, Rebs!

Hotty Toddy!