Drew Sanders Showed Hogs’ Problems Landing Top Talent

Transfer linebacker spectacular in lone season with Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas linebacker Drew Sanders got another All-American award Tuesday.

By now that's getting to be a daily occurrence and nobody can question a single thing about it. He's earned every honor he gets.

The stats are one thing. They were really interesting with 13.5 tackles for loss, but what he did was frequently disrupt opponents' quarterbacks.

In this day and age, that's huge. The 9.5 sacks are just part of it. He also broke up five passes and hurried the quarterback six more. He also had an interception.

Add it all up and Sanders created 21.5 problems on pass plays.

Arkansas Razorbacks linebacker Drew Sanders leaps to snag an interception in a 42-27 win over the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday night, Nov. 19, 2022, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. (Ted McClenning / allHOGS Images)

Nobody else came close to that for the Razorbacks.

Sanders delivered everything hoped for when he chose the Hogs after deciding to leave Alabama where he played some, but wasn't a regular starter.

It is a glaring example of the Hogs' recruiting, whether anybody wants to admit it or not. Getting Sanders certainly wasn't a mistake.

The fact a back-up linebacker for the Crimson Tide can come to the Hogs and become the first consensus All-American at that position since Ronnie Caveness in 1964 shows just how big of a talent gap Sam Pittman is trying to overcome in landing players.

At this point for the program, it's passed the trend stage and is now pretty much a fact.

Arkansas has not now, nor really never has been able to haul in the number of highly-rated recruits to consistently play at the level of being one of the top teams in the game every season.

The Hogs' success has come from a bunch of over-achieving players combined with great coaching. That was the case before and during Frank Broyles' time and has never changed.

That great coaching is not just calling the right pass or run. It's a delicate mix of developing a lot of players and getting them motivated to play better than they ever thought they could perform.

All of that is personified in Sanders.

Arkansas Razorbacks linebacker Drew Sanders grabs LSU quarterback Jayden Danels Saturday at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. (Ted McClenning / allHOGS)

From the moment he hit the field back in spring practice, every person who interviewed him talked about how he practiced at a different pace and level than they had seen and that carried right over into games.

Now Pittman and his staff have a model to use that actually was a Hog.

They just have to get more players up to that level.

HOGS FEED:

HORNSBY'S BEST CHANCE AT THE NFL WAS TO STAY IN FAYETTEVILLE

MIKE LEACH GAVE COLLEGE FOOTBALL FANS PLENTY TO REMEMBER HIM BY

IMPENDING MOVE BY TREY KNOX TO SOUTH CAROLINA GOOD FOR EVERYONE

HOGS FALL IN LATEST COLLEGE BASKETBALL AP POLLS

TIGHT END TREY KNOX FOLLOWS POSITION COACH OUT THE DOOR AT ARKANSAS

RAZORBACKS' DOWELL LOGGAINS REPORTEDLY HEADED TO SOUTH CAROLINA AS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR

LONGHORNS' COACH CHRIS BEARD ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY CHOKING A FAMILY MEMBER

BRACKETOLOGY TELLS MUCH ABOUT QUALITY OF HOGS SCHEDULE

FOUR AREAS WHERE ARKANSAS BASKETBALL QUIETED CONCERNS AGAINST OKLAHOMA

FORMER MORRILTON QB JACOBY CRISWELL COMMITS TO RAZORBACKS

DIGGING UP DISGRACED SEC HEAD COACHES TREND ARKANSAS MIGHT COULD FOLLOW

SHOULD HOGS BE LOOKING AT SOMEONE THAT'S NEVER BEEN A DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR TO REPLACE BARRY ODOM?

ISAIAH SATEGNA'S NIL DEAL SHOWS VALUE OF SOME OF THESE MINOR BOWL GAMES

STATUS OF TREVON BRAZILE UPDATED AND THE OUTLOOK ISN'T GOOD

KEY STAT SHOWS HOGS MISSING INGREDIENT PAST TEAMS HAD IN ABUNDANCE

BARRY ODOM APPARENTLY HEADED OUT OF TOWN AFTER ALL ... TO LAS VEGAS

SAM PITTMAN, LANE KIFFIN HAVE DIFFERENT APPROACH LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS

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