Chris Lykes wants to do two things: play basketball and win. He rose to basketball prominence in the same hotbed that produced Kevin Durant, and spent the first four seasons of his college career at the University of Miami. So how did Lykes end up here? A season-ending injury renewed his desire to achieve more. After testing the NBA waters, Lykes decided it was in his best interests to return for another year in college. And it was obvious what the perfect fit would be. Lykes is ready to learn w...
Nov 24, 2021•35 min
Anna Podojil is a scorer. How else would you describe someone who’s scored 34 goals in three seasons for a Razorback soccer team that has become a top-25 mainstay? What separates her is a desire to be the best. That drive helped Podojil become one of the most sought-after high school talents, attracting interest from the best programs in the nation. But she had her heart set on the Razorbacks, and helping the Arkansas program reach new heights. And Podojil has been at the forefront of the Razorb...
Nov 17, 2021•48 min
Treylon Burks isn’t like other top players in college football. Hailing from Warren, Ark., Burks would rather spend time in the woods than playing Fortnite. And he grew up as a water boy for a high school team featuring three future NFL players—Jarius Wright, Chris Gragg and Greg Childs. On the field, Burks always had potential. So much that his youth league made a rule to slow him down. But becoming a superstar wide receiver almost didn’t happen. Burks suffered a nearly catastrophic knee injury...
Nov 10, 2021•54 min
Few coaches are as obsessed with learning and getting better than Mike Neighbors. For proof, look no further than the fact that he keeps track of every mistake he makes in an effort to learn from them. It’s that attention to detail that has the Razorbacks on the rise. Arkansas has finished back-to-back seasons above .500 in SEC play for the first time in school history. And now, they’re holding their own against the nation’s elite. Last season, Neighbors led the program to the NCAA Tournament fo...
Nov 03, 2021•36 min
Razorback basketball hit high marks last season that hadn’t been seen in 25 years. The first Sweet 16 since 1996. The first Elite 8 since 1995. And the program’s best winning percentage since the Hogs came within a game of back-to-back national titles. In short, Razorback basketball was fun again. And that’s just the way head coach Eric Musselman likes it. Old school or new school—whatever you want to call it—it’s working. In just two years, Musselman has revitalized a program. His 45 wins throu...
Oct 27, 2021•41 min
As easy as she makes things look on the golf course, you’d think Brooke Matthews was always destined for greatness. But it wasn’t always that way. In fact, growing up as a multi-sport athlete, golf was more of an afterthought. But once she decided to focus her full attention on the golf course, the Rogers native starting winning junior events, and caught the eye of her home-state Razorbacks. And while playing for Arkansas was a dream for Brooke, things didn’t go as expected in the beginning. On ...
Oct 20, 2021•44 min
For KJ Jefferson, there are two things that have always been intertwined as part of his life: sports and family. That family and the Sardis, Miss., community saw something in KJ: the potential for something more. And they helped him stay on the right path. Eventually, KJ saw that opportunity to escape to better things, and bought into himself. At the center of it all is KJ’s relationship with his biggest supporter: His mom. KJ is a self-admitted momma’s boy, and she has no problem holding him ac...
Oct 13, 2021•49 min
Positionless basketball is a buzzword in the sport today. Having guys capable of playing any position creates flexibility and matchup nightmares for the opposition. And that’s what Eric Musselman is doing at Arkansas. And so Au’Diese Toney, a senior transfer from Pitt, seems like the perfect fit. Last season, he averaged career highs of 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 16 games before a car crash and a concussion knocked him out for the season. After that disappointing end to his junior se...
Oct 06, 2021•32 min
Despite what he may say, Bumper Pool is unique. There’s the name: Bumper, which began as a nickname but is now his legal first name. There’s the fact that he chose to live out his dream at Arkansas over so many top programs. And there’s the fact that he’s the latest in a line of great Arkansas linebackers from Texas. None of that would matter, though, if it wasn’t for his high school coach convincing him to give up playing quarterback and make the move to defense. Since then, Bumper has enjoyed ...
Sep 29, 2021•46 min
According to the NCAA, only 3 percent of high school football players make it to Division 1. And of those players, less than 2 percent make it to the NFL. Getting there is hard enough. Locking down one of only 32 long snapper spots seems impossible. So how did Brett Goode go from snapping against the goal posts in high school to walking on at Arkansas, lasting a decade in the NFL and winning a Super Bowl title? To him, it was just hard work and a determination to live out a life-long dream. And ...
Sep 22, 2021•49 min
Hayden Henry understands that he’s probably not the first member of the Henry family that comes to your mind. You might think of his older brother, Hunter, a tight end for the New England Patriots. Or Hudson, his younger brother and tight end for the Razorbacks. Or maybe even his dad, Mark, a pastor in Little Rock and former Razorback himself. But now, Hayden is making a name all on his own. And when he hears his name called, he's reminded his final season as a Hog almost never happened. When yo...
Sep 17, 2021•36 min
Arkansas running back Trelon Smith is on a path to be a big-time playmaker for the Razorbacks. But if it wasn’t for football, his life might’ve taken a different turn. A Texas high school football standout, the sport gave him the opportunity he wanted. But after a couple of seasons at Arizona State, Smith entered the transfer portal—landing him an Arkansas offer he was quick to accept. It might not have been that easy at first. He had to sit out a year due to transfer rules. And he was behind Ra...
Sep 08, 2021•38 min
Make no mistake: Sam Pittman is fired up to be Arkansas’ head coach. And that passion for the Razorbacks has united the state behind the Head Hog, led to T-shirts and catch phrases, and has Razorback fans excited to see what’s next after a solid debut season. While it’s refreshing—and incredibly important—to have a head coach who embraces the state and relates to the people the way Pittman has, it’s not the only thing that matters. This is a proud program that wants to win games. And Pittman kno...
Sep 01, 2021•31 min
Ask most Razorback fans, and they’ll tell you that Year 1 under Sam Pittman was a resounding success. There were SEC wins—something the Razorbacks had gone two full seasons without—but more than that, the fight, effort and toughness had returned to a proud Arkansas program. The season wasn’t without its ups and downs, but Pittman took it all in stride and wouldn’t change a thing. He knows there’s a lot to build on. And so as Pittman and his staff enter Year 2 at Arkansas, where are the Razorback...
Aug 25, 2021•31 min
When it comes to new Razorback tight ends coach Dowell Loggains, you’d be forgiven for thinking time is a flat circle. Yes, he’s back at Arkansas, where his football dream began. But that’s about it when it comes to history repeating itself—he’s no longer a backup quarterback or holder extraordinaire. No, he’s an accomplished and well-traveled coach, who has led offenses at the highest level in the game. That resume has granted Loggains incredible opportunities and a great career in the NFL. But...
Aug 18, 2021•46 min
Casey Dick had some huge moments in his Arkansas career. He took down Tennessee when College GameDay came to town. He had back-to-back legendary victories over LSU—including a triple OT win & the Miracle on Markham 2. But his career wasn’t all big moments. He was in the middle of one of the biggest QB controversies in Razorback history when Mitch Mustain came to campus. On top of that, he went through one of the most drastic coaching changes a quarterback could imagine when Bobby Petrino too...
Aug 11, 2021•44 min
Arkansas wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton has had a rapid rise through the coaching ranks of college football, landing his first Division 1 assistant job before he turned 30. But before he was a coach, he was a boy who wanted to make his dad proud playing the sport he loved. After being lost on the depth chart at Ohio State, he began to stray from the ideals and work ethic his father had instilled in him. He hit a crossroads—continue down his path and likely transfer, or redefine himself and re...
Aug 04, 2021•33 min
When people in the basketball world hear the name Keith Smart, they think of the Indiana guard that made 'The Shot' to win a national title, a long-time NBA coach and a former JUCO star. But apart from all of his on-court accolades, Keith Smart is something more. He's a cancer survivor. We sat down with Coach Smart to talk about how battling and beating a rare form of skin cancer changed his perspective on life and coaching forever. Want more? Follow The Hog Pod with Bo Mattingly on social media...
Jul 28, 2021•41 min
NCAA Champion. World Champion. Olympic silver medalist. All of these things describe former Arkansas track star and professional pole vaulter Sandi Morris. Before she arrived on the Hill, she was just a little girl who paid a boy a quarter to race her, and fell in love with track forever. Morris' journey at Arkansas and professionally has been a ride: From finding a coach that changed the entire approach to the sport, to helping the Hogs win their first-ever national title in a women's sport and...
Jul 21, 2021•40 min
Heading into the 2020-21 school year, no one even knew if college sports were going to be a thing. But universities found a way to safely allow their student-athletes to compete in the sports they love. Arkansas excelled in that area: Despite millions in revenue loss and the safety concerns that came with the pandemic, the Razorbacks were successful both on and off the playing field. We sat down with Arkansas Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek to break down how Arkansas navigated a global pan...
Jul 14, 2021•29 min
The 2020-21 athletic year was one of unprecedented success across Razorback sports: 10 SEC Championships, 10 SEC Coach of the Year awards, eight top-10 finishes, All-Americans, a national player of the year, a program of the year award and a national title. Of Arkansas' 19 programs, 18 made post-season appearances. We sit down with Arkansas Director of Athletics, Hunter Yurachek, and take a look back at an incredible season and what went into making it happen—as well as looking forward to what i...
Jul 07, 2021•31 min
Arkansas baseball had an incredible year: they broke program records, won an outright SEC Title for the first time under Dave Van Horn, won the SEC Tournament for the first time in history and had the most dominant player in the country. It was a season to remember that ended just short of Omaha. The Razorback skipper takes us behind the scenes of how everything went down and answers some burning questions: what did he tell Kevin Kopps when he took him out in the 9th inning vs. NC State? What wa...
Jun 30, 2021•46 min
Arkansas is widely known as "The Track Capital of the World" and has attracted some of the top talents, including distance star Katie Izzo. But Izzo's journey to national success included more than just a bump in the road. How? Well, while at Cal Poly, Izzo broke her leg in the middle of a race, leaving her stranded on the course before help finally came. After having a metal rod inserted in her leg and two years without competition, she found her way to Fayetteville where she came back with a f...
Jun 23, 2021•33 min
Johnny Ray & legendary head coach Norm DeBriyn take us through the story of two-time all-Southwest Conference performer. Johnny Ray, an MLB All-Star & Silver Slugger award winner has one of the most storied careers in Razorback history. The JUCO transfer struggled early in his life after losing his father in an accident while in college. The tragedy shaped Ray into the person and player he came to be. He helped build the bedrock of Arkansas baseball as he helped take the Hogs to their fi...
Jun 16, 2021•38 min
Kevin Kopps has been a Razorback for six years, but his final season with the Diamond Hogs is one for the history books—and so is his story. The sixth-year senior and pitching coach Matt Hobbs take us through Kopps' journey—how reaching out to Arkansas himself as a high school pitcher, experiencing one of the worst years of his life, and considering not returning for the 2021 season all led to him becoming the best pitcher in college baseball.
Jun 09, 2021•39 min
Arkansas fans never expected to have their starting catcher behind the plate this season. Heading into the 2020 campaign, Casey Optiz was expected to go pro following the season. But after the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season abruptly, the standout catcher was given an option to return to the Hill for one final year. Opitz takes us inside his decision and what this unexpected season has meant to him.
Jun 02, 2021•39 min
MLB All-Star catcher Tom Pagnozzi spent one season at Arkansas in 1983. Before that year, he had never caught a game in his life. Former Razorback coach Norm DeBriyn took a chance on a guy transitioning to a new position and it changed the trajectory of his career forever. Pags went on to catch for 12 years in the Majors with the St. Louis Cardinals, winning three Golden Glove Awards. After an illustrious career, he chose to come back to where his catching career started, Fayetteville, Ark. He n...
May 26, 2021•42 min
Christian Franklin was a preseason All-American and is a projected first-round draft pick for the 2021 MLB draft—but players like him don't come around that often. Coming to Arkansas from Kansas, Franklin brought an unmatched love for the game and a commitment to one thing: being the best. From his dedication and preparation to his study of the game, he's a unique player. Franklin had big shoes to fill as a center fielder for the Hogs following names like Fletcher and Benintendi—but he never shi...
May 19, 2021•36 min
There are two things Robert Moore has been around for most of his life: baseball and winning. The son of Royals general manager Dayton Moore, Robert grew up on the diamond and has been a part of everything from an All-Star Game to a World Series win. And when you’re around ballparks and baseball all the time, it gives you an identity early in life. But what happens when you lose that identity? It was early on in Moore’s freshman year when he had that crisis. So how did he overcome it and become ...
May 12, 2021•47 min
In college athletics, the head coach is the unquestioned leader and face of the program. Most assistant coaches are completely anonymous. But that’s not the case for Arkansas women’s golf coach Shauna Taylor and assistant Mike Adams. You don’t get one without the other. The friendship dates back to Taylor’s days in junior golf, when Adams was her instructor, and continued through her college and professional playing career. And it was Adams who was there for support when Taylor’s playing days ca...
May 05, 2021•48 min
