Jordan Young settling into ‘Hog’ role in Arkansas secondary

When Arkansas recruited and subsequently signed Jordan Young last offseason, his role was clear.

The coaching staff saw him at the “Hog” position, which is essentially a cornerback in the middle of the field. Young said Thursday he was on board with the role immediately because of the experience he has in it.

Most SEC teams have a position similar to the Hog, they just call it something else. For example, Florida calls it the “Star” position. Young has experience playing there at one of his previous stops, so the position fit like a glove for him.

“I got recruited here to be a Hog, but I was definitely open to playing anything in the secondary to help the Hogs win, and that just happened to be the Hog position,” Young said. “So I guess I’m very excited. It was something that I did prior in practices and stuff when I was at the University of Florida, then I switched over to corner for two years at Cincinnati. I was just happy to get back and get rolling.”

The opportunity to play the Hog position is one of the reasons Young chose to come to Arkansas, but he also said the fanbase, along with the coaching staff, played a big role in his decision.

“The main reasons I chose the University of Arkansas was the coaching staff, my position, how I’m going to be used,” Young said. “I felt like it suited me better for the next level, and just the fanbase as well. Like, you can’t ask for a better fan base here at the University, there’s only us here, and everyone takes pride in being a Hog, and so now that I’m a Hog, so do I. So I say that those are the main reasons for me choosing this school.”

Competition at outside corner

The Razorbacks have several different options that they could use on the outside corner spots, with names like Selman Bridges, Jaheim Singletary, Keshawn Davila and Kani Walker all getting reps with the first team in practice.

Young said the competition at those spots has been really high.

“There’s a lot of experience back there, and even the younger guys with the experience that we bring to the table and that they bring to the table and bringing them along as well,” Young said. “They’ve been playing like the older guys as well. So everybody’s just been competing their butts off, and it’s been great, and I’m excited to see it and excited to suit up with them.”

Young feels family connection at Arkansas

Throughout the preseason, the connection between players and coaches alike has been talked about heavily. Young said he feels the family connection at Arkansas.

“Since the day I got here, it felt like home,” Young said. “It felt like a real family…We don’t just talk about ball. We talk about life. We have manhood meetings with Coach T-Will and sometimes we even start our meetings off with Coach Wood and Coach Perry, just talking about life.

“So I feel like, from day one, it felt like a family. It felt like I know everybody. We hang out in the facility, outside the facility and most of the time during camp and stuff you just get tired of being around everybody, because you see them so much, but that’s never been the case. We all enjoy being around each other, so just the camaraderie and brotherhood that we built, I feel it’s been great.”