Greg McElroy stresses Arkansas' need for improved secondary

The Arkansas secondary was not great during the 2022 college football season. In fact, the Razorbacks gave up the most passing yards per game of any Division I team in the country.

The defensive backfield particularly started to struggle when standout safety Jalen Catalon, who has since transferred to Texas, picked up an injury.

ESPN analyst Greg McElroy talked about Arkansas recently on his Always College Football with Greg McElroy podcast, explaining how the secondary needs to find some answers in spring ball.

“Because when Catalon got hurt early last year, the secondary fell apart,” McElroy said. “It was long documented. They were [one of] the worst secondaries in America. They have got to get that position ironed out. Does seem like they’ve made it a high priority. You go out. You get a corner from Baylor in Lorenzo Johnson. You also get another Baylor safety in Al Walcott.”

CLICK HERE to WIN March Madness Prizes in On3’s Bracket Challenge

Johnson and Walcott were both important transfer pickups for the Razorbacks. Johnson started 12 games last season for the Bears as a redshirt sophomore. Walcott was a Second-Team All-Big 12 according to the Associated Press and Pro Football Network.

Their additions to the Arkansas secondary will likely made the position group both deeper and better but there is still work to be done. McElroy said that with the SEC is looking this forthcoming year, a subpar defensive backfield will lead to some disappointment.

“You have to make sure that that secondary is shored up because if they’re not, they’re gonna be they’re gonna get crushed again in the backend because of some of the passing attacks they will see in not just the SEC West, but the SEC as a whole,” McElroy said. “The passing game is really good scattered throughout the league. You don’t want to be weak in the secondary and you don’t want to be weak with your pass rush. It does feel like things are gonna be okay for Arkansas. They did an adequate job of plugging some voids, but there are some legit question marks heading into this spring.”