Arkansas plans for Missouri’s elite tight ends
Posted on Wednesday, December 26, 2007
The current football lexicon is lacking an accurate description for Missouri's tight ends, Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman.
In the Tigers' wide-open Spread offense, the two players rarely line up tight to the tackles. They're usually split out, like wide receivers. Because they are both big and fast," hybrid "would better describe the pair of pass catchers.
Rucker (6-6, 255 ) and Coffman (6-6, 245 ) have used their rare combination of size and speed to create unfavorable mismatches for opposing defenses. Few linebackers have the agility to cover them, and most defensive backs aren't big enough.
Such is the dilemma facing Arkansas when it takes on the No. 6 Tigers on Jan. 1 in the Cotton Bowl. Despite the problems Rucker and Coffman present, Arkansas' senior middle linebacker Weston Dacus wasn't fretting last week after practice in the Walker Pavilion.
"We're not really worried about it right now," Dacus said. "We've played a lot of big, fast tight ends this year, and we're going to play [Rucker and Coffman ] the same way we've played all the others."
Dacus said the Razorbacks plan to put a cornerback on Rucker, the faster of the two hybrids.
"The only mismatch is with [Rucker ]," Dacus said. "He's like a wideout lined up at tight end. We're going to have a corner covering him most of the time. It's not really going to be a mismatch. We've got packages for it.
"[Coffman ] is a big guy. He doesn't run as well as [Rucker ], but he's still got decent speed. They're both talented tight ends."
Both players have been key cogs in a Missouri offensive machine that's produced 40 points per game and 492. 7 yards per game, which respectively ranks seventh and fifth nationally.
Rucker is the first consensus All-American tight end at Missouri since Kellen Winslow in 1978 and was a finalist for the John Mackey Award, honoring the top tight end in the nation. His 81 catches led the team, and his eight receiving touchdowns ranked second. Coffman had 51 catches for 523 yards. His seven receiving touchdowns ranked third on the Tigers.
Being locked up in single coverage, Arkansas' cornerbacks will be at a considerable height disadvantage. Only three of them are 6 feet or taller - Jerell Norton (6-0 ), Matterral Richardson (6-0 ) and Jamar Love (6-1 ).
At 6-3 and 215 pounds, senior strong safety Matt Hewitt would seem better ited for the assignment, but he's been given a different task.
"I wish it would be me, but we've got a different package with the cornerback on [Rucker ] just to make it a little bit easier on the safeties to stay back there free and roam the backfield," Hewitt said.
Hewitt said the Razorbacks' scheme will be a dramatic departure from the way most defenses have played the Tigers. Rather than laying back, the Razorbacks plan to be aggressive.
"Usually teams that go against this offense use soft coverages, and guys are getting open easily out there," Hewitt said. "They're going to get a rude awakening Jan. 1, because they're going to see the press man and a lot of blitz schemes coming after them.
"They forget they're going against an SEC team. It's going to be a great match."
Jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage and rerouting them isn't a new discipline for Arkansas'defenses. It's the same strategy they've relied on the last three years under defensive coordinator Reggie Herring, who's serving as interim head coach during the bowl game.
"Don't we always do that ? We do that every single week," Hewitt said. "There's nothing different we're doing. We're going to stick to the same game plan like we usually do every game."
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
