Hicks named Hogs’ quarterback for season opener
Razorbacks take on Portland State Saturday at home
www.arkansasrazorbacks.com
Arkansas head football coach Chad Morris has named senior Ben Hicks the starting quarterback for Saturday’s season opener against Portland State inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Hicks joined the Razorbacks in the spring and led the Hogs through spring drills after a stellar career at SMU, where he played for Morris and offensive coordinator Joe Craddock.
Hicks left SMU as the school’s all-time leader in passing yards (9,081), total offense (8,977), TD passes (71), TDs responsible for (74), completions (718) and 300-yard games (12).
In other Razorbacks News:
• Ahead of Saturday’s opener, three members of the Arkansas football team have been named to a pair of freshman All-America watch lists.
Defensive back Greg Brooks Jr. and wide receiver Trey Knox were recognized by the Football Writer’s Association of America (FWAA) on its Preseason Freshman All-American Watch List, while wide receiver Treylon Burks picked up the distinction from ESPN.
Brooks and Knox enrolled early after signing with the Razorbacks in December 2018, going through spring ball and playing in the annual red-white game. Burks arrived on campus with the rest of the freshman class for summer workouts. All three were rated as fourstar prospects coming out of high school.
• Hog fans looking to get inside the mind of Arkansas Coach Chad Morris will want to tune in for “Razorback Football with Chad Morris,” the official television show of Arkansas’ head football coach debuts Sunday and will air statewide and throughout the region this season on numerous television affiliates.
Each week, the Voice of the Razorbacks Chuck Barrett will join Coach Morris to recap the previous week’s game and provide fans a behind-the scenes look into the Razorback Football program. This week’s season preview show will help prepare fans for the 2019 season with team breakdown segments with Coach Morris and interviews with key Razorback players.
A total of 12 one-hour shows will air in Arkansas on Sundays on affiliates in both Central and Northwest Arkansas. KATV in Little Rock will air the show at 10:30 p.m., following the 10 p.m. news. KFSM in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley will also air the show at 10:30 p.m.
following its 10 p.m. news cast. In addition, KFSM’s sister station, KXNW will air the show at 9:30 p.m.
on Sundays.
The show will also be available on a pair of regional networks. Fox Sports Southwest will feature the show on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. while Cox Sports Television will air the show on Tuesdays at 6 p.m.
• And if you’re headed to Fayetteville this weekend or any other home game this season, be sure to hit up the festivities at “HogTown,” the all-new pregame destination for Razorback fans of all ages, will transform Maple Street just north of Donald W.
Reynolds Razorback Stadium between Razorback Road and Stadium Drive, into a street festival mecca on football game days.
This free event will begin four hours prior to each home game and conclude 30 minutes prior to kickoff to allow fans time to enter the stadium to enjoy the ‘Best in Sight and Sound’ Marching Band pregame performance.
Jukeboxx, an eight-piece energetic party band that provides an exciting mix of funk, R& B and Top 40 music, is slated to perform at the inaugural event on the iHeartRadio music stage.
Arkansas opens the second year of the Morris era at 3 p.m. on SEC Network against the Vikings.
