Ron Roberts on LaNorris Sellers after Hogs couldn’t bring down Brown

Ron Roberts got asked about a lot of South Carolina players Tuesday, but his answers kept circling back to the quarterback.

LaNorris Sellers is the guy the Arkansas defense has to figure out Saturday, and Roberts wasn’t hiding how much he respects him and Monday Ryan Silverfield has a lot, too.

Roberts called him “a phenomenal player” and “a top-tier talent in the country.”

Then he compared Sellers to Byrum Brown. Yes, that Byrum Brown, the Auburn quarterback who spent the second half last week dragging Razorbacks defenders around like a sled.

“He’s probably faster,” Roberts said of Sellers. “Probably just as physical running the ball.”

He said Sellers might have “a little better arm,” too.

So that’s fun. Brown was the guy Arkansas couldn’t bring down last week, and Roberts spent a good chunk of Tuesday explaining why.

Roberts wants the Hogs to grab cloth

Roberts didn’t sugarcoat the tackling. He said you can’t drop a big quarterback just by lowering a shoulder into him, and he wants more than one guy showing up when the ball carrier is that strong.

“They’re big. They’re strong,” he said. “You’re not going to shoulder them and knock them down. You got to grab cloth and you got to take his tail to the ground.”

“You got to get multiple people to the point of attack,” Roberts said.

Brown’s late touchdown pass is the play Roberts can’t shake. The Hogs had him for a sack and didn’t finish it.

“We hit him. We bounced off,” Roberts said.

Brown stayed up, and the play went for a big one. There’s no room for slip-ups against a player like that, and Roberts said as much.

Roberts said facing players like Brown means “you need to play at elite level.”

“You can’t make mistakes,” he said.

Halftime felt good for Arkansas

A reporter pointed out the Auburn game followed a familiar script for this team: good first half, then things got away in the second. Roberts didn’t push back on it.

Roberts said he “felt really good about things” at halftime.

His group was tearing off blocks, getting after the passer and handling screens on the perimeter. He also had a pretty good idea of what Auburn would do next and told his players as much.

“If I’m them, I’m putting the ball in Brown’s hands every snap,” Roberts said he told the players. “So get ready.”

Auburn had the same idea. Roberts counted about 18 designed quarterback runs in the second half, and he said most of them came from a couple of looks.

“Everything was Q counter, QG lead,” he said.

He felt the defense handled the G lead, but Auburn got the better of it on the counters. The zone reads hurt the most. Roberts said one defender didn’t take the quarterback on one of those plays.

“He goes for 40,” he said.

Draws and blitzes didn’t help

Auburn also ran three draws, and Roberts said Arkansas blitzed into two of them. On one, the Razorbacks had two players on Brown and still couldn’t finish.

“We had two on one, and I can’t get him down,” Roberts said.

He also brought up the field goal Auburn kicked before halftime. Roberts said those three points gave the Tigers a little hope going into the third quarter, and Brown took it from there. Roberts put some of the blame on himself, too.

“You got to question every call,” he said.

He wondered whether he should’ve sent six- or seven-man pressure more often and said that’s something the staff has to look at. He also tipped his cap to Brown.

“He put the ball on his back and carried his football team,” Roberts said. “That’s what great players do.”

Sellers and South Carolina run game

Sellers can do the same thing. The bigger worry might be what he does for everyone else on South Carolina’s offense.

Roberts said Sellers “demands a lot of attention,” and that opens the door for everybody else on the field.

That puts the focus on the ground game, where Arkansas has to win first.

“We got to stop the run,” Roberts said.

After that, he said, the Hogs have to “be able to deal with him” when Sellers turns a play into backyard football.

A reporter noted all four of South Carolina’s running backs are averaging more than 5 yards a carry. Roberts said the top one has been hurt for a few weeks.

He said the next two are “both about 215” and called them “downhill hard-nosed runners.”

Nyck Harbor and Briles offense

The offensive line in front of all of them is rolling, too. Roberts likes the right guard and pointed out a freshman at right tackle.

“They’re playing on a pretty elite level right now,” he said.

Sellers has help on the outside as well, and Arkansas fans may notice a theme with this next one.

Roberts called receiver Nyck Harbor a “big, physical, fast guy” and said “getting him down isn’t easy.”

Roberts plans to mix up the coverage with help inside, outside, underneath and over the top. He also knows Sellers’ arm gives South Carolina a constant deep threat.

“You can’t give them the same look all the time,” he said.

Roberts has faced offensive coordinator Kendal Briles several times. He said Briles wants to run the football first and make sure his athletes get touches.

He also liked what Briles did with a quarterback who was “on the rocky edge of things.” “That’s a sign of a good coach,” Roberts said.

Brylan Green, Danny Beals earn more snaps

Arkansas played more guys last week. Roberts said playing time goes to whoever is practicing and playing best, and a couple of players earned bigger roles. Brylan Green started at safety after a rough few weeks. A hamstring cost him practice time, and then he had his wisdom teeth pulled.

“He’s very twitchy. Good tackler in space,” Roberts said. “Got really good coverage skills.”

A good tackler in space sounds pretty handy this week. Roberts said Green has been banged up most of the season, and he’s hoping that’s behind him now.

“He’ll be a huge plus for us,” he said.

Danny Beals earned more time, too. Roberts said he’s gotten better at reading runs and cleaning up mistakes, and he’s practiced harder every week.

“Great kid,” Roberts said. “Does a great job of learning, taking coaching and just improving every week.”

Four quarters or bust for Arkansas defense

This Razorbacks defense can hang with good teams. It just hasn’t done it for very long

Against the better teams on the schedule this year, the Hogs haven’t put together four solid quarters on defense nearly enough, and Auburn was the latest example.

Something has to give against South Carolina.

Sellers isn’t a quarterback you can catch up to late, and a sharp first half won’t mean much if the tackling slips after the break again. This would be a good week to finally see all 60 minutes.