Arkansas Football: The Razorbacks All-90s Team
Eventually, Danny Ford was hired and the former Clemson coach who helped the Tigers win the 1981 national championship helped steer the Razorbacks in the right direction, winning a SEC Western Division crown in 1995.
Houston Nutt was brought in at the end of the decade after things bottomed out with Ford, and closed out the century on a high note.
Today we will look at some of the best players from that decade across all positions.
Starter (QB)-Clint Stoerner
Clint Stoerner was one of the best quarterbacks in Arkansas history, and actually held most of the passing records when he left after the 1999 season until Ryan Mallett and Tyler Wilson came along and shattered them.
Unfortunately, Stoerner will be remembered most for his stumble and fumble against Tennessee in 1998 as the Razorbacks were trying to run the clock out in Knoxville when undefeated.
He did ultimately get redemption the following year against the Volunteers and they carried the goalposts down Dickson Street.
Reserve-Barry Lunney Jr.
Lunney was underappreciated, as he actually helped lead Arkansas to its first ever SEC road victory in Knoxville in 1992 and then its first division title in 1995.
The southpaw was elusive and could scramble, along with being scary accurate. His pass to J.J. Meadors in Tuscaloosa to seal the 20-19 win may have scooted off the grass, but luckily reviews didn’t exist back then.
Starter (RB)-Madre Hill
Madre Hill was the bellcow of the 1990s.
The Malvern native came in with tons of hype and delivered, as his 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns helped Arkansas win the 1995 Western Division title.
An ACL injury suffered on the Georgia Dome turf sidelined him for the next two years, but he came back and was a huge part of the 9-3 1998 team.
Reserve-Chrys Chukwuma
Chukwuma was a bruiser in the late 1990s. His 870 yards led the team in 1998 as the Razorbacks started 8-0 and vaulted into the national title conversation.
Reserve-Oscar Malone
Malone toiled in the backfield on some bad Arkansas teams in the early and mid 1990s.
Reserve-E.D. Jackson
Jackson had a nice spell in the early 1990s as a change of pace back. The teams weren’t great, but he had speed and lateral quickness.
Starter (WR)-Anthony Lucas
Lucas was a gamer. He was a possession receiver but also had breakaway speed. He caught everything thrown near him. An injury ended his professional career prematurely, and now he is the Pulaski Academy head coach.
Starter (WR)-Anthony Eubanks
Eubanks was Mr. Dependable. No matter who the quarterback was, if you needed a first down or a big play, just throw it up to Eubanks.
Reserve-Ron Dickerson Jr.
Originally a running back under the Ken Hatfield regime, Jack Crowe eventually moved Dickerson to wideout and he excelled, catching 32 passes for 457 and four touchdowns his final season.
Reserve-Emanuel Smith
Emanuel Smith took a lot of the load off Lucas during that ’98 season. Even though Lucas had 1,004 yards receiving, he was able to do it because he couldn’t be double teamed thanks to Smith.
Starter OL-Chad Abernathy
Abernathy protected his quarterback’s blind side with great acumen as a left tackle in the mid-1990s.
Starter-Brandon Burlsworth
He’s got a movie made about him. Don’t even need to type out the rest of the details. If you’re a Razorback fan, you know.
Starter-Grant Garrett
Grant Garrett was a dependable center that was part of those great late 1990s teams. He was right next to Burlsworth in the trenches.
Starter-Winston Alderson
Alderson was a behemoth, paving the way for Madre Hill to run for almost 1,400 yards in 1995.
Starter-Russ Brown
Brown was another one of those offensive guards who flourished in the late 1990s when Houston Nutt was hired to reignite the program.
DL Starter-Henry Ford
Ford made quite a bit of noise in the NFL, but don’t let that fool you that he wasn’t good in college. He was an absolute problem at DT.
DL Starter-Steve Conley
Conley, like Ford, excelled in the NFL but was a stalwart defensive end for the Razorbacks, helping them win the 1995 SEC Western Division.
Reserve-Melvin Bradley
Bradley made plays on both the 1995 and 1998 teams that won both outright and shared division titles.
Reserve DL-Ryan Hale
Hale was a run stopper on those late 1990s teams and flourished briefly in the NFL with the New York Giants.
Starting LB-Quinton Caver
You could make a case to put Caver on the 2000s list, but since he only played in 2000, we’ll throw him on the 1990s crew because he was a key contributor in 1998 and 1999. A bone-wrecker and great in coverage.
Starting LB-Darwin Ireland
Ireland had a mean streak, and it was important jumping from the SWC to the SEC to have someone on defense that didn’t mind taking an opponent’s head off.
Starting LB-Anthony Hicks
Hicks was a machine all over the field during his time, stopping the run and making tackles in space.
Starting DB-David Barrett
Barrett had two key interceptions in his career that everyone will remember, picking off Tim Couch in 1998 and returning it 62 yards to salt that victory in Little Rock over Kentucky.
The other was his game-opening 43-yard interception return for a touchdown of a Tee Martin offering in 1999 against Tennessee.
Starting DB-Kenoy Kennedy
Kennedy was one of those ball-hawking safeties who would probably get kicked out of most games nowadays via targeting.
His hit on James Whalen at the end of the 1998 Kentucky game is still etched in my mind.
Reserve-Zac Painter
Painter is most famous for picking off Tom Brady in the Citrus Bowl in 1999. But he made plays throughout his Hog career.
Reserve DB-Orlando Watters
RANK 3 Kns Tennessee Georgia Football
I’m including Watters because in addition to being a great defensive back, he was also a blazing fast punt returner. His touchdown against Tennessee in 1992 against the No. 4 ranked Vols helped Arkansas win its first ever SEC road game.
