Top Tackler Bumper Pool Returns, But He'll Need Some Help

Defensive coordinator Barry Odom knows he'll need more at biggest question mark stopping other teams

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Now Barry Odom has to draw up some magic schemes on defense without two of the most important pieces.

The Arkansas defensive coordinator's schemes worked well for two years with a pair of walk-on linebackers in Grant Morgan and Hudson Henry making big plays at the right time.

Now he's down to Bumper Pool, the leading tackler, but those other two guys helped make everything come together ... and they are slap out of eligibility.

Odom hopes he has the players to go with Pool. The problem is hope ain't a great plan.

Razorbacks linebacker Bumper Pool during a drill at spring practice in Razorback Stadium in March. (Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images)

Chris "Pooh" Paul, Jackson Woodard, freshmen Jordan Crook and Kaden Henley are names on the roster right now. They may be great, but nobody knows. Few freshmen are in the SEC.

Drew Sanders transferred to the Razorbacks after starting at Alabama and probably will be starting, also bringing additional techniques and experience from back-to-back national championship games.

Even with Sanders and Pool, the Hogs will need more.

"It’s really really hard to go a 12-game regular season just with two linebackers," Odom said after Saturday morning's practice. "The physicality of the league, the number of snaps that you play, all those different things go into it."

Figuring it all out is going to be linebackers coach Michael Scherer's main problem.

"He’s been in the system as a player, now as a coach," Odom said. "He understands it."

Andy Hodges / USA TODAY Sports

Injuries have also cut into that experience in the spring.

Paul had a concussion in an April 2 scrimmage and still hasn’t made it back. Mani Powell, a freshman from Fayetteville, is still recovering from a torn ACL surgery his senior season.

That's a lot of inexperience at one position.

"Once we get a guy defensively I don’t look at what year he is," Odom said. "Is he a senior or is he a freshman? He’s our guy. Let’s get him coached up and ready to go play winning ball."

He has to look at things that way. What else is he going to say? Odom knows the reality.

"We’re yelling and screaming at them and they ought to be going to biology class in high school," Odom said.

Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images

They look good in practice, but that's not facing SEC offensive coordinators designing things to take advantage of what they haven't seen yet.

It's the one position development may still be part of the equation in November.

"They’ve shown so far in nine practices they’ve got an opportunity to get in position to help us this year in some role in some capacity," Odom said.

Now he's got to figure out what that might be.

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