FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas interim coach Bobby Petrino’s relationship with new defensive line coach Jay Hayes dates back decades.
The strongest bond was during Petrino’s days as head coach at Louisville (2003-06, 2014-18), when Hayes was a longtime defensive line assistant for the Cincinnati Bengals under coach Marvin Lewis, but well before that came the Idaho connection.
Petrino, 64, was quarterbacks coach (1989-91) and offensive coordinator (1990-91) at the University of Idaho for three seasons about a decade after Hayes, 65, played defensive line for the Vandals (1978-81).
“Jay Hayes I’ve known for years and years and years,” Petrino said at his Monday news conference. “I guess we first became friends because he played at the University of Idaho and obviously I coached at the University of Idaho. So that was one of the things that I guess brought us together.”
Petrino also brought up the 13-year stint Hayes served with the Bengals (2003-15), who held their training camps from 1997-2011 in Georgetown, Ky., about an hour’s drive from Louisville.
“He coached with the Cincinnati Bengals for a long, long time,” Petrino said. “Marvin was the head coach there and we’ve had a really close relationship for a long time, since we met … many, many moons ago.
“And then we used to go up and watch them practice at Georgetown College when I was at Louisville. So I’ve known him, watched him coach, watched him practice.”
Petrino said Hayes reached out to show interest quickly after Petrino fired defensive coordinator Travis Williams, defensive backs coach Marcus Woodson and defensive line coach Deke Adams early last week.
“He’s a really good football coach, so when he reached out and said he would be really interested in it, it immediately caught my interest,” Petrino said.
Hayes drove up from St. Petersburg, Fla., on Saturday night and got hard to work on Sunday learning personnel, watching video and making notes to be ready for Monday’s practice.
“I think the advantage that he has is how many years he’s coached professionally and the athletes that he’s been with and helped develop and help give an edge to,” Petrino said. “And that’s kind of what we were looking for here is somebody to come in and give our players a little edge, a little something new that they haven’t had.”
On the field
Petrino is moving back to the sidelines after spending the first five games in the booth alongside tight ends coach Morgan Turner. Petrino spent the 2024 season — his return to Arkansas as coordinator — on the field.
“I went upstairs this year, I thought maybe I could get a better look at it and to be honest with you, get away from the officials and just be able to focus on offense,” Petrino said. “I’ve got to do a good job of just keeping my poise on the sideline and focus on calling the plays and seeing the defenses and really understanding what’s going on out on the field.”
Turner will stay in the booth, but Petrino didn’t opt to move running backs coach and interim offensive coordinator Kolby Smith up to the box.
“I’m not going to move Kolby up there because he has responsibility on the sidelines that he’s been doing a great job with. So, we’ll just keep it the same guys.”
Availability report
Arkansas got cornerback Kani Walker back for the Notre Dame game and receiver Antonio Jordan was also cleared, making their injury report relatively light outside of players who are out for an extended period, such as receivers Ismael Cisse, Monte Harrison and Jalen Brown.
Tennessee’s injury situation is more complicated. All-America cornerback Jermod McCoy appears closer to action in his recovery from surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered during offseason training in January, but the Knoxville News-Sentinel reported Monday he has not yet been medically cleared.
“Somebody told me there was a report out there of a certain ballgame that he’s focused in on as far as returning,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said Monday. “I think that’s unfair. Whoever put that out there, I don’t think truly understands Jermod and the situation. He’s done a really good job. He’s got more to go.”
Heupel said freshman offensive tackle David Sanders Jr., a 5-star recruit in the 2025 class, might be cleared for more action in his return from a shoulder injury after he made his collegiate debut in the fourth quarter of the Volunteers’ 41-34 overtime win at Mississippi State on Sept. 27. Sanders came in when right tackle Jesse Perry suffered a lower left leg injury.
“David’s cleared to play,” Heupel said. “I’m not ready to say (if he’s starting), but David’s going to play. We’re going to need all those guys.”
Tee times
The Arkansas Razorbacks’ home game against Texas A&M on Oct. 18 will kick off at 2:30 p.m., the SEC announced on Monday.
The final five games afterward are awaiting start times, though Auburn on Oct. 25 and at LSU on Nov. 15 are in the early window, Mississippi State (Nov. 1) is afternoon, at Texas (Nov. 22) is anywhere from 2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Missouri (Nov. 29) will be at night.
Reinforcements
Arkansas wide receiver Jalen Brown had surgery Sept. 27 to repair his broken tibia and fibula suffered in that day’s 56-13 loss to then-No. 22 Notre Dame. With Brown out for the season, Petrino pointed to Courtney Crutchfield and Andy Jean as candidates who must provide more contributions.
“CJ [Brown] has played both inside and outside, so if we were going to run out there today and start, he would start at Jalen’s position,” Petrino said. “And [Raylen] Sharpe would go inside, where CJ’s been starting. … Andy Jean’s got to help out on the other outside receiver. He had a really good couple weeks of practices and got in and made a nice play the other day.”
The 30-year-old Monte Harrison was Arkansas’ second receiver to go down after breaking his foot in September. Stanford transfer Ismael Cisse had surgery for torn wrist ligaments in the summer.
Arkansas’ depth chart lists O’Mega Blake, CJ Brown and Sharpe as its starters. Jean is second to Blake, Crutchfield is second to CJ Brown and Kam Shanks to Sharpe in the slot. Blake leads the team in catches (30), receiving yards (399) and touchdowns (3). Blake, CJ Brown, Jalen Brown and Sharpe are the four most frequent pass-catchers.
Jean played his first two seasons at Florida, transferred to Pittsburgh for the spring, and then entered the transfer portal again to land at Arkansas in April. The redshirt sophomore didn’t have a reception last season with the Gators and caught his first as a Razorback for 21 yards in the Notre Dame loss.
Jordan’s name slid down the list after a severe high-ankle sprain in camp delayed his start to the season. But Petrino highlighted the 6-6, 234-pound rookie’s size and aerial playmaking.
“It’s still bothering him a little bit,” Petrino said. “I’m thinking this week, three days off might help him a lot, but there’s no question he’s going to be a tremendous player here.”
Fitness
Crutchfield spent 2024 with Missouri and transferred to Arkansas prior to this season. The 6-2, 195-pound receiver from Pine Bluff didn’t have a catch in two appearances with the Tigers and doesn’t have one with the Hogs yet. Petrino said he was out of shape when he arrived and had too much belly fat.
“I was really proud of the way he came back in the summer,” Petrino said. “You looked at a guy that had a hard time going five plays in a row fast. Now he’s going eight plays, nine plays in a row.”
Blake’s 30 catches more than triple Shanks (4), Jean (1) Harrison (1) and Johnson (1) combined. They’re the other four receivers with catches beneath Blake, CJ Brown, Jalen Brown and Sharpe. Crutchfield is yet to crack the board and Petrino noted he was slow learning the offense, which can be harder for younger players.
“But I do feel extremely excited about Courtney and his abilities and now he has the understanding of the offense,” Petrino said. “I’m looking for him to get out there and make plays for us.”