RazorBloggers Network » Darren McFadden

Best Razorback Games Of 2007-08 — Instant Classic

TipsterHog — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:05:45 +0000

After it was over, here’s how we described the game that is #3 on our countdown of the best Razorback games of 2007-08:

You know…just another Razorback Saturday. The stadium field gets a name; the legendary Keith Jackson stops by to ‘Call the Hogs’; Felix rushes for 174, DMac rushes for 321 and we completely steamroller Steve Spurrier. Ho hum? Yeah, right. It was a magical night. What an honor it was to be there to see an ‘Instant Razorback Classic’ in person.

And thanks to YouTube (and GTHogFan), there’s really no need to say anything more.

Felix Jones 40 Yard TD

Felix Jones 72 Yard TD

Casey Dick TD Lucas Miller

DMac TD to RoJo

DMac 80 Yard TD

Raiders Draft McFadden With Fourth Overall Pick

TipsterHog — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:30:49 +0000

Hogwired.com: McFadden Selected No. 4 in NFL Draft by Oakland Raiders

Arkansas’ two-time Doak Walker Award winner and Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden was selected with the No. 4 pick of the 2008 National Football League Draft by the Oakland Raiders.

Also:

AP: Raiders take McFadden at No. 4 in NFL draft, McFadden: ‘I just surround myself with family members’
Alex Abrams: McFadden Headed To Silver and Black, Fans Boo Raiders’ Pick of McFadden
Mark Lelinwalla: D-Mac in silver and black
Bob Holt: UA backs make 1st-round splash
The Oakland Tribune: Raiders get their man by picking McFadden

Updated 4/27/08 10:20 a.m.

Speed Of Light Squared

TipsterHog — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:05:59 +0000

“Wow.” — “Oh my.” — “Hellooooo!” — “Oh…my.”

D-Mac 40 yard dash!

Also:

The Slophouse: McFadden is fast…really fast
Chris Bahn: McFadden Wows At NFL Combine
Tom Murphy: Showing his stuff
Jason Cole: McFadden’s quick recovery

McFadden And Jones Declare For NFL Draft

TipsterHog — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:52:56 +0000

Hogwired.com: McFadden and Jones Forgo Senior Season for NFL Draft

Arkansas’ junior tailback combination of All-American’s Darren McFadden and Felix Jones announced their decisions to forgo their senior seasons and declare for the NFL Draft on Monday at a press conference inside the Broyles Athletic Center.

Also:

ESPN.com: Arkansas loses bulk of backfield in McFadden, Jones
RBN: Darren McFadden Photos, Felix Jones Photos
Chris Bahn: McFadden, Jones Opt for NFL
Alex Abrams: Going Out Together
Tom Murphy: It’s official: They’re gone
Wally Hall: Hogs fans should be grateful for 3 superb years
Nate Allen: Big league decision

Updated 1/15/08 8:10 a.m.

McFadden Finishes As Heisman Runner-Up Again

TipsterHog — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 04:35:20 +0000

ESPN.com: Florida QB Tebow is first underclassman to win Heisman

Tim Tebow needed only two years of college to graduate to Heisman Trophy winner, putting the sophomore in a class by himself.

[...] He beat out Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, the first player since 1949 to finish second in consecutive seasons. Tebow received 1,957 points and 462 first-place votes to McFadden’s 1,703 points and 291 first-place votes.

Also:

ESPN.com: Maisel: Tebow defies history, runs away with the Heisman
ArkansasSports360.com: Heisman Again Eludes Darren McFadden
Alex Abrams: Twice, Not So Nice, Ole Miss Helps Nutt Be With McFadden
Tom Murphy: Tebow takes trophy, McFadden 2nd again
Marty Cook: Heisman Trophy telecast report
Rainer Sabin: Second again
Joe West: McFadden taking wellworn path to greatness

Updated 12/9/07 8:30 a.m.

McFadden Wins Camp And Walker Awards

TipsterHog — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:02:30 +0000

Hogwired.com: Darren McFadden Named Walter Camp Player of the Year

After a regular season in which he gained a school-record 1,725 yards on the ground and led the Southeastern Conference in rushing, Arkansas’ Darren McFadden was honored with the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award.

Also:

Hogwired.com: Darren McFadden Wins Second-Straight Doak Walker Award, Razorback Jonathan Luigs Wins Rimington Trophy
AP: McFadden picked as Walter Camp Player of the Year
YouTube (Video): Frank Broyles Honored – Part 1, Frank Broyles Honored – Part 2
Robbie Neiswanger: McFadden Has Company In Awards Spotlight, Broyles Honored For His Contributions To College Football
Tom Murphy: Taking center stage, UA center captures Rimington, Recognition leaves Broyles happy Hog
Nate Allen: Luigs takes award as nation’s top center, Broyles discusses awards show, Arkansas’ ongoing coaching search

Updated 12/8/07 9:35 a.m.

Arkansas 50, LSU 48 (3OT)

TipsterHog — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 00:20:02 +0000

Hogwired.com: Arkansas Upends No. 1 LSU, 50-48, in Three OTs

Darren McFadden rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another to lift Arkansas to a 50-48, three-overtime victory over top-ranked LSU on Saturday.

Also:

Hogwired.com: Game Stats (PDF), Post-game Notes
ESPN.com: McFadden, Arkansas stun No. 1 LSU in triple OT
Chris Bahn: Arkansas Beats No. 1 LSU, 50-48 in Triple OT

Video and Photos

ESPN.com: Arkansas Shocks No. 1 LSU in 3rd OT
YouTube: Arkansas vs. LSU Highlights, Houston Nutt / Darren McFadden Post-game Interview
TodaysTHV.com: Houston Nutt Post-game Press Conference
AP Photos / Getty Images: 2007 Arkansas vs. LSU Photos
ArkansasOnline Focus: Arkansas vs. LSU Photos

The Morning News

Alex Abrams: Bayou Beatdown
Robbie Neiswanger: McFadden Proves Heisman Mettle, Richardson Comes Up Big In Clutch
Nathan Allen: LSU Fans Not Sure About Miles’ Future
Kurt Voigt: Tigers No. 1 No More
The Morning News: Fans In Frenzy
Harry King: Arkansas Wins In Third OT

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Tom Murphy: Toppling the Tigers, Fullback huge for Hogs
Chris Givens: Unleashing WildHog was part of plan
Bob Holt: Stopping slant seals it for UA, Razorbacks hoping to be picked by Cotton, Instant replay
Rob Keys: LSU ‘sick’ after title shot trampled
Democrat-Gazette: The No. 1 victories, Working overtime
Wally Hall: Razorbacks came out to play in Death Valley
Nate Allen: Hogs boot LSU
Matt Jones: McFadden overcomes slow start to power Hogs past No. 1 LSU

Other Sites and Blogs

Dennis Dodd: LSU loss opens doors across the country
Ivan Maisel: Razorbacks add another chapter to crazy 2007 story
Memphis Commercial-Appeal: Hogs stun LSU, Big man on campus
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Razorbacks enjoy revenge, Trampled hopes, Tigers defense suffers vs. Arkansas, Finney: This time, big plays belong to Razorbacks
The Shreveport Times: No. 1 LSU is done, Defensive back comes through for Hogs, Arkansas defense shines in first half, LSU defense falters against Arkansas, Allen: Low on the hog
Razorback Expats: Did We Have a Game Today?
The Hog Blogger: He Got That BOOOOOT!!
Heisman Pundit: Wild Friday
Get The Picture: Tebow vs. McFadden for the Heisman
Best of the SEC Blogs: Who’s your daddy now?

Updated 11/24/07 12:15 p.m.

McFadden Featured On Sports Illustrated Cover

TipsterHog — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 23:18:43 +0000

Hogwired.com: McFadden Featured on Cover of Sports Illustrated

Arkansas junior Darren McFadden is featured on this week’s edition of Sports Illustrated. McFadden is one of five regional covers for the publication’s college football preview issue on newsstands this week.

[...] McFadden becomes the first Razorback football player to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated since Ben Cowins and Ron Calcagni joined former Arkansas coach Lou Holtz on the cover of the magazine on Sept. 11, 1978. McFadden becomes only the second individual football player to grace the cover by himself in school history. Harry Jones was Arkansas’ first cover boy on Nov. 8, 1965.

Also:

SI.com: The Best Back in the Land, A Special Run of Covers

CBS SportsLine’s Dodd on McFadden and Malzahn

TipsterHog — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 23:34:34 +0000

Dennis Dodd: It’s messy in Arkansas, but McFadden is running clean

You couldn’t have written a screenplay to accurately chronicle Arkansas football the past two months. Mustain, the quarterback, transferred — to where, no one knows yet. That was only after his former high school coach, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, left for Tulsa.

Broyles, the iconic AD, resigned (effective in December) under pressure. There was a rumor two weeks ago that Nutt was going to be bought out for $7 million. That’s after winning 10 games and Nutt leading the Hogs to a Jan. 1 bowl for the fourth time in nine years.

That’s where somebody, definitely, screwed up, because the best thing about Arkansas football is currently in that weight room at the crack of dawn.

Dennis Dodd: Malzahn gets to run his full-tilt O now — at Tulsa

Gus Malzahn was asked to give the best examples of his hurry-up, no-huddle offense last season at Arkansas.

Actually, there was only one example.

“The closest thing to it last year was a drive we had against USC when Mitch came in,” Malzahn said. “That was pretty much it.”

Also:

YouTube Video: Mitch Mustain First Drive

McFadden Finishes Second In Heisman Voting

TipsterHog — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 03:15:51 +0000

Alex Abrams: McFadden Pulls Off Upset To Grab Second In Heisman Race

Darren McFadden pulled off a mini-upset by beating out [Brady] Quinn to finish as the Heisman runner-up behind [Troy] Smith. McFadden was considered the darkhorse among the three finalists, and the popular assumption was that the sophomore would finish behind Smith and Quinn in the Heisman race.

Also:

AP Photos: NYC Tour 1, NYC Tour 2, NYC Tour 3, Times Square 1, Times Square 2, Press Conference 1, Press Conference 2
Getty Images: Press Conference
Hogwired.com: Smith Wins Heisman Trophy; Arkansas’ McFadden Finishes Second
Bob Holt: Troy’s Trophy, Southern bloc elevates McFadden

Updated 12/10/06 8:50 a.m.

McFadden Wins Doak Walker Award

TipsterHog — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 01:53:25 +0000

Hogwired.com: Darren McFadden Wins Doak Walker Award

Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden won the Doak Walker Award, an honor bestowed annually to the nation’s top running back, it was announced on ESPN at the 2006 Home Depot College Football Awards show.

Also:

AP Photos: Darren McFadden (12/8/06), Darren McFadden 1 (2/15/07), Darren McFadden 2 (2/15/07), Darren McFadden / Houston Nutt (2/15/07)
Alex Abrams: McFadden Named Nation’s Best Running Back
Bob Holt: It’s official: McFadden runs away with honor
The Dallas Morning News (2/15/07): Doak Walker winner strong willed

Updated 2/15/06 9:55 p.m.

McFadden Named Finalist For Heisman Trophy

TipsterHog — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 23:50:59 +0000

Hogwired.com: McFadden Named Heisman Finalist

Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden was selected as one of three finalists for the 2006 Heisman Memorial Trophy it was announced Wednesday evening on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

[...] McFadden is the first player in Arkansas history to be named a finalist for college football’s most prestigious honor. He is also a finalist for the Doak Walker Award given to the nation’s top running back and was named the unanimous SEC Offensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press and the SEC coaches.

Also:

RBN: Casting The Mold
Alex Abrams: McFadden Headed To NYC As Heisman Finalist
Harry King: Heisman vote cast, McFadden No. 2
Bob Holt: New York next stop for UA’s McFadden
Scott Cain: Heisman hopeless

Updated 12/7/06 9:00 a.m.

McFadden Named Finalist For Doak Walker Award

TipsterHog — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 20:12:47 +0000

Hogwired.com: McFadden Named a Finalist for the Doak Walker Award

Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden is one of three finalists for the 2006 Doak Walker Award it was announced by The Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum on Tuesday. Michigan’s Mike Hart and West Virginia’s Steve Slaton join McFadden as finalists for the award presented annually to the nation’s best running back.

[...] “It is a tremendous honor for Darren to be named as a finalist for this prestigious award,” Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt said. “Darren has quietly gone about his business in a humble manner. He is always quick to credit his teammates for his accomplishments. He has had a fantastic season and deserves to be in contention for an award recognizing the best running back in the nation.”

Also:

Bob Holt: Hogs tailback award finalist
RBN: Casting The Mold

Updated 11/22/06 9:15 a.m.

Practice Reports – 8/26/2005

TipsterHog — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 03:34:20 +0000

Hogwired.com: Razorbacks Continue to Keep Concentration

The depth chart for the Missouri State game was released on Friday, revealing sophomore Peyton Hillis as the starting tailback, while senior De’Arrius Howard is second. UA is not lacking talent at the position with Felix Jones and Darren McFadden following, respectively.

“Peyton Hillis will go out there first, but it depends because there are a couple formations where you could have De’Arrius Howard and Peyton in there at the same time or Dedrick Poole and Peyton,” Nutt said. “We still have a little flexibility. I think De’Arrius missing that week hurt him a little, but he’s fighting back strong. We’re going to need all of them.

“It’s a good problem to have (depth at the tailback position),” Nutt said. “We just want to keep them healthy and we’ve had years where two or three of them go down. We have different roles for them and they have good attitudes. That’s how you win.”

Also:

Dudley Dawson: Friday Grid Report, 8-26 (subscription)
Chris Cocoles: Razorbacks Report
Mike Capshaw: Johnson: “Close To 100 Percent”

Updated 8/27/05 8:05 a.m. – Added additional links.

My Scrimmage Thoughts

TipsterHog — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 05:23:52 +0000

Mortensen and Barthel were just okay. The thing that Mortensen appears to bring to the table over Barthel (and maybe all the QBs?) is that he seems to be smart enough to not make mistakes that cause turnovers. If it’s not there, he’ll throw it away or get out of bounds. My guess on Barthel is that he plays ten times better under the lights than he does during practice. But that guess is about the only comparison to Matt Jones that you might make about any of these quarterbacks.
Felix Jones was very impressive…especially at the beginning of the scrimmage. Yes, he did have a fumble. But I’ve seen many (and more highly touted) freshman RBs in the past that never showed the promise that he did last night.
I’ll admit it…when I first saw Darren McFadden at the scrimmage, I was a little concerned. During his first few rushing attempts, he did the infamous Cedric Cobbs “bounce outside” and get tackled for a loss. But all of the sudden, on about his third or fourth carry, he completely blew a guy up. Now…not a stiff arm, mind you…he ran over the poor guy like Cobbs never did when he was here. My very quick (much too quick I’ll admit) impression of him changed immediately and he proceeded to get better and better until the scrimmage ended. And, as advertised, he has tremendous breakaway speed.
We ran a lot of timing routes and very few (if any) running back screens. The timing routes were of the “take a two step drop and hit a receiver running an out and up” variety. And even though we haven’t seen much of that during the past few years, the QBs and WRs seemed to execute these plays surprisingly well. As for the RB screens…well…apparently HDN removed them from the playbook when Mark Pierce (and Adam Daily) left town. Here’s hoping he’s just saving those plays for Peyton Hillis (who didn’t play last night because of illness).
Special teams is a mess. We seem to have several decent kickoff guys, but the best punter last night (Skinner) takes forever to kick the dang ball. Michael Coe will be okay as the punt returner…but there’s room for someone else to step up. As for field goals, well, I disappointingly say that none of the new kickers looked good and the old ones looked the same (i.e. adequate). I think all the field goal blocks that happened were a good thing. I’d much rather those happen last night than two weeks from now and beyond.
The biggest question still left is the defense. Don’t get me wrong…there are still lots of big questions. But because many of the first team defense didn’t play, a lot of questions are still left to be answered. Will we tackle better? Can we stop the run? Are we going to be better at linebacker? Will the secondary be adequate? Only time will tell.
Reggie Herring’s defensive unit pre-game warmup is worth arriving early to a game. It’s impossible to describe it fully in writing…you have to see it. But the first thing I thought when I saw it was “military boot camp.” And when plays are over with this season, it’s possible the Hog defense may get a penalty for knocking the opposing offense down one more time just because they’re sprinting to get back into formation. Compared to what I saw last night, every other defense in the country “loafs” around. I love it.

Overall, my impression of this team improved after last night. I’m still not ready to say they will have a winning season. But if the offensive line is as good as everyone says, and the impressive freshman running backs help compliment last year’s returning backfield, we will be able to run the ball. And if that’s combined with the defensive questions being answered positively, this team could surprise many people with its ability to compete in the SEC. It may not be very pretty…but it might be enough to win some games.

Practice Reports – 8/10/2005

TipsterHog — Thu, 11 Aug 2005 03:09:48 +0000

Robbie Neiswanger writes about the three new freshman running backs: Felix Jones, Darren McFadden and Michael Smith. While watching practice on Tuesday, HogBlogger and I thought Jones looked extremely impressive and Smith was very quick…but potentially a little too small to be a durable SEC back. We didn’t see enough of McFadden to get a read on him.

Trey Biddy wrote yesterday about the threesome (subscription required) as well.

Also:

Hogwired.com: Freshmen Impress at Practice
Trey Biddy: Wednesday practice cool for Razorbacks (subscription)
Dudley Dawson: Wednesday UA Grid Report, 8/10 (subscription)
Bob Holt: Razorbacks Football Report

Updated 8/10/05 10:45 p.m. – Updated Hawgs Illustrated link.
Updated 8/11/05 9:35 a.m. – Added additional links.
Updated 8/11/05 10:15 p.m. – Updated Hogwired.com link.