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Sutton Smith is bright spot for Arkansas offense
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- Sutton Smith is bright spot for Arkansas offense
(Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images)
There are lots of reasons for Arkansas football fans to be concerned after Saturday's season opener against North Alabama . We are going to be talking about those concerns all week. However, we can set aside time and space for one clear positive from the Hogs' season opener: Sutton Smith .
The Arkansas offense has a lot of limitations and not a whole lot of upside, but Sutton Smith is an exception to those dynamics. Smith showed he is a smart and decisive runner. He displayed this capability on his punt return, which was called back due to an illegal block. Smith made defenders miss in the open field in one-on-one situations. He can change direction very quickly. He has burst. He has great lateral movement in addition to being a forceful, straight-ahead runner. His skill set is balanced and well-developed. On an offense which largely failed to impress, Sutton Smith impressed. "Now that guy can play." That's the instant reaction Smith inspires. Few others on the Arkansas offense generated that kind of response against North Alabama.
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This sets up a situation in which Utah (this week in Game 2) and other future Arkansas opponents are going to game-plan to stop Sutton Smith. Ryan Silverfield and his staff will need to be creative in finding ways to get Smith the ball and scheme him open in the passing game. Defenses will key on him. Arkansas will need to do a lot of homework to ensure its best offensive player can break free and make plays.
The other obvious and important challenge facing Silverfield, offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey, and the rest of the Arkansas staff is to find a clear Plan B, a player who can be Robin to Sutton Smith's Batman. The Hogs' offense has to find a second solution, someone who can take the defense's attention away from Smith and balance out the field so that defenses can't load up exclusively on stopping Smith.
We didn't see Arkansas try to throw the ball down the field. Having more of a passing game threat which can spread the field and push back the linebackers in coverage would be of great benefit to Sutton Smith. Hitting some deep shots early in a game would change the way defenses play the Hogs and Smith. Can Arkansas create openings by doing other things with the ball when Sutton Smith isn't involved?
We can all see why Ryan Silverfield valued Sutton Smith. Now Arkansas has to do things to help Sutton Smith maximize his value to the Hogs in 2026.
