Believe it or not, officials from the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission are asking people to be on the lookout for jackrabbits. If you see one anywhere in Arkansas, they want to hear from you.

Jackrabbits are native to Arkansas, but they’re fairly scarce. They stand out from cottontails and swamp rabbits because they are considerably larger and can jump as high as 3 feet and as far as 9 feet.
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Thank you, Chuck, for making me aware that among my “Week 0 Thoughts,” I failed to mention anything on county-school football.

In an effort to right this wrong, I’d like to take some time to acknowledge the feel-good story that was Arlington’s 21-7 victory over Germantown last Friday at Arlington. After three years of preparing for their first full varsity season, the Tigers made a statement before their home crowd Friday, limiting Germantown to zero passing yards and zero second-half points. With 32 seniors, including highly sought offensive tackle Alex Hurst and standout middle linebacker John Michael Bryant, Arlington will be anything but a pushover this season in 5A football.

A hot topic that is on the minds of many Tigers fans and Memphians in general is the Liberty Bowl and future stadiums. This is a crossroads decision in my ever so humble opinion. It is going to be about what we as Tigers fans and supporters want for our future in athletics.
Here are my 10 reasons for getting an on-campus stadium. Please take the time to read them and make up your own mind. Then make your opinion known to whomever you feel you need to.

1. Memphis is the only D-1 school in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi that does not have an on-campus stadium. Most understand that the larger SEC schools have one. But fellow C-USA member Southern Mississippi has the Rock. And yes, even Middle Tennessee and Arkansas State have on-campus football stadiums.

2. Memphis is only one of three C-USA schools that does not have an on-campus facility. UAB and Tulane are the other two. Both of those schools will never be mistakened for having a large fan bases. Here’s the breakdown of on-campus stadiums.

C-USA
East
East Carolina Dowdy-Ficklin Stadium 43,000
Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium 38,016
Southern Miss M.M. Roberts Stadium 36,152
UCF Bright House Networks Stadium 45,301

WEST
Houston John O’Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium 32,000
Rice Rice Stadium 47,000 expandable to 70,000 if needed
SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium 32,000 possible expansion to 45,000
Tulsa Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium 35,542
UTEP Sun Bowl 51,500
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ALABAMA

Starting nose tackle Brian Motley is out indefintely after reportedly breaking a bone on the outside of his ankle Tuesday. Motley, a 6-foot-2, 280-pound freshman, was hurt during practice Tuesday afternoon and was carted off the field for X-rays. Motley was recovering from surgery during preseason camp to replace a broken bone in his right hand. He had only recently returned to full contact work in practice and was expected to play Saturday against Western Carolina with a cast on his forearm. Sophomore Lorenzo Washington, who is listed behind Motley on the depth chart, is the likely replacement. Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday from the Murphy Athletic Complex . . .

A look at some offensive changes (and non-changes) to the Tiger depth chart as the U of M prepares for Saturday’s opener against Ole Miss:

OFFENSIVE LINE: The biggest change here — and biggest being the key phrase — has been the progress of left guard Dominik Riley. Riley, 6-4 and 300 pounds, opened fall camp as a backup, but his solid play forced the Tigers to relocate Michael Denning from starting left guard to backup to Andy Smith at right guard.

RECEIVER: To emphasize the depth and experience here, the depth chart is virtually unchanged from the opening of camp.

QUARTERBACK: It’s Martin Hankins, Will Hudgens and Matt Malouf, another unchanged position. And with Hankins earning praise from Tiger coach Tommy West (West said he has as much confidence in Hankins as he did in Danny Wimprine), there’s not likely to be much change here.

BACKFIELD: Joseph Doss, recently named to the Doak Walker Award watch list, is solidly entrenched at No. 1. He’s backed by T.J. Pitts and Miguel Barnes, who have shown flashes of adding power and speed respectively. West said junior college transfer Curtis Steele has potential to be a productive tailback, but West would like to redshirt Steele and toss him in the mix next year with Pitts and Barnes.

CENTRAL FLORIDA: George O’Leary begins his fourth year for the Knights. Year one was a winless disaster. Year two brought about a bowl game. Year three saw a backslide. What’s in store year four?

UAB: It will be tough enough for the Blazers to open the season on the road against Big 10 foe Michigan State. It will be tougher without playmaker Will Dunbar, a starting safety who was suspended for the opener by new coach Neil Callaway.

EAST CAROLINA: Ditto for the Pirates, who may be without starting quarterback Rob Kass, who was arrested over the weekend with a reported blood alcohol content of .019, twice the legal limit in North Carolina. Skip Holtz has not made a public announcement of his decision on how to punish Kass before the Pirates’ first game against Virginia Tech on Saturday.

MARSHALL: It’s not like the Thundering Herd have an easy opening task either. Marshall will visit Miami. The challenge has some Florida natives excited.

HOUSTON: Kevin Kolb, the 2006 Conference USA player of the year, is gone. Who replaces him under center for the Cougars? It’s anybody’s guess, but it will be Art Briles’ decision.

RICE: Under Ken Hatfield, the Owl’s defense worked against the Owls’ option offense daily in practice. Hatfield’s gone, a passing offense is in place. But the Rice defense will need to remember those practices when it tangles with Nicholls State.

Now that we’re done previewing the 2007 season and finally playing games, I thought we might take a look back at the weekend that was Week 0.

Hunter is special: It doesn’t take a football expert to tell you Kingsbury’s Gabriel Hunter may just be the next big thing in terms of Memphis’ next high-profile running back recruit. I liken Hunter, who rushed for 229 yards, three touchdowns and four 2-point conversions Kingsbury’s win Friday over Central, to former Melrose running back Graig Cooper, who’s now at Miami (Fla.). Cooper’s greatest asset was his field vision, and that just may be Hunter’s, too.

Spartans off and running: If there was any question whether White Station has come far enough football-wise to be ranked No. 1 in The Commercial Appeal’s Preseason Dandy Dozen, that question was answered Saturday, when the Spartans ran over Covington, 46-6, in Game 2 of the Bridges Kickoff Classic. Things could have been worse for Covington had it not been for a Justin Calloway interception return in the fourth quarter. In all, White Station totaled 363 yards (199 rushing, 164 passing) and limited the Charger offense to eight first downs.

CBHS down, but not out: The Purple Wave managed just 28 yards and two first downs in its first-ever Bridges Kickoff Classic loss, an 18-0 defeat Saturday at the hands of Melrose. However, don’t count out the Brothers yet. CBHS was without several starters in that game, including its starting quarterback, and star sophomore running back Eric Watson fumbled three times, with two of them leading to two Melrose touchdowns. Bottom line: The Purple Wave is a much better team than Saturday’s effort indiciated. Check back in Week 4, when CBHS opens its league schedule against MUS. That’s when things will really matter.