Korliss Marshall steals show for Arkansas offense in spring game

By Kevin McGuireApr 26, 2014, 6:32 PM EDT

If there is one thing a Bret Bielema-coached team tends to do well, it is run the football. If Saturday’s spring game for Arkansas is any indication, Bielema will have some tools to work with on the ground in 2014. The first-team offense rushed for 252 yards and recorded four touchdowns in the process. Korliss Marshall, who had been on the defensive side of the football, showed why he belongs on the offensive side of the ball by stealing the show with 99 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Last year’s leading rusher, Alex Collins, and second-leading rusher, Jonathan Williams, split reps with Marshall on the first-team offense, which means Arkansas could have a three-headed monster developing for the fall. Collins led the Razorbacks with 1,026 yards and four touchdowns in 2013. Williams notched 900 yards on the ground along with four touchdowns. Marshal appeared in eight games on offense, with 17 rushing attempts for 146 yards. Expect Marshall’s numbers to go up in the fall if the spring game is considered a preview of things to come.

The strength on the ground should be of little surprise tough. Arkansas finished a dismal 2013 season ranked third in the SEC in rushing offense. The first-team rushing offense may have been dialed in, but on the flip side of the conversation you can suggest the Razorbacks have some holes to plug on defense. Last year the Razorbacks were 11th in the SEC in rushing defense, allowing 178.42 yards per game. Alabama and Auburn combined for 585 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in back-to-back games against the Razorbacks, and LSU ended the season by rushing for 238 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-27 victory against their Arkansas rivals.

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Vick, Fitzgerald and Suggs among stars on College Football Hall of Fame ballot for 1st time

Associated PressJun 5, 2023, 9:04 PM EDT

RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Vick, Larry Fitzgerald and Terrell Suggs are among the college football stars who will be considered for induction to the Hall of Fame for the first time this year.

The National Football Foundation released Monday a list of 78 players and nine coaches from major college football who are on the Hall of Fame ballot. There also are 101 players and 32 coaches from lower divisions of college football up for consideration.

Vick, who led Virginia Tech to the BCS championship game against Florida State as a redshirt freshman in 1999, is among the most notable players appearing on the ballot in his first year of eligibility.

Vick finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1999. He played one season of college football before being drafted No. 1 overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 2001. Vick’s professional career was interrupted when he served 21 months in prison for his involvement in dog fighting.

Fitzgerald was the Heisman runner-up in 2003 to Oklahoma quarterback Jason White. He scored 34 touchdowns in just two seasons at Pitt.

Suggs led the nation in sacks with 24 in 2002 for Arizona State.

The 2024 Hall of Fame class will be chosen by the National Football Foundation’s Honors Court and announced in January. Induction into the Atlanta-based hall is the following December.

Alabama freshman DB Mitchell says he wasn’t sure he’d get to play again after arrest

Associated PressJun 5, 2023, 8:59 PM EDT

Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama defensive back Tony Mitchell said he feared his football career was over after his arrest on a drug charge.

The Crimson Tide freshman said in a video posted Sunday on social media that he knew “something much bigger could have happened.”

A judge in Holmes County, Florida, sentenced Mitchell to three years of probation with a fine and community service on May 24 after Mitchell pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of more than 20 grams of cannabis.

“I didn’t know if I’d be able to play football again, but I continued to work out and stay close with the Lord and those who love me unconditionally,” Mitchell said. “During those times, it helped me to keep my mind off it. But when I was by myself looking at social media, what everybody had to say about it, it just felt like it happened again.

“I didn’t sleep at night.”

He was suspended from the Alabama team following the arrest, but Mitchell’s father, Tony Sr., posted on Facebook last week that the defensive back had been reinstated. An Alabama spokesman declined to comment on Mitchell’s status.

Tony Mitchell Sr. shared his son’s video on Facebook, saying it was filmed during a talk to youth.

“I was doing things I knew I shouldn’t to try to fit in,” the younger Mitchell said, “but not everybody’s your friend.”

Mitchell, who is from Alabaster, Alabama, was a four-star prospect and the 15th-rated safety in the 247Composite rankings.

He had been charged in March with possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell after a traffic stop when authorities said he drove over 141 mph (227 kph) while trying to evade deputies in the Florida Panhandle. A deputy had spotted Mitchell’s black Dodge Challenger traveling 78 mph (125 kph) in a 55 mph (88 kph) zone on a rural highway north of Bonifay.

He also received 100 hours of community service and paid a fine of $1,560.

Mitchell and a passenger were both charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to sell or deliver, according to a Holmes County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. The other man also was charged with carrying a concealed gun without a permit.