The Hog Pod with Bo Mattingly

Arkansas wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton has had a rapid rise through the coaching ranks of college football, landing his first Division 1 assistant job before he turned 30. But before he was a coach, he was a boy who wanted to make his dad proud playing the sport he loved. After being lost on the depth chart at Ohio State, he began to stray from the ideals and work ethic his father had instille...

When people in the basketball world hear the name Keith Smart, they think of the Indiana guard that made 'The Shot' to win a national title, a long-time NBA coach and a former JUCO star. But apart from all of his on-court accolades, Keith Smart is something more. He's a cancer survivor. We sat down with Coach Smart to talk about how battling and beating a rare form of skin cancer changed his persp...

NCAA Champion. World Champion. Olympic silver medalist. All of these things describe former Arkansas track star and professional pole vaulter Sandi Morris. Before she arrived on the Hill, she was just a little girl who paid a boy a quarter to race her, and fell in love with track forever. Morris' journey at Arkansas and professionally has been a ride: From finding a coach that changed the entire a...

Heading into the 2020-21 school year, no one even knew if college sports were going to be a thing. But universities found a way to safely allow their student-athletes to compete in the sports they love. Arkansas excelled in that area: Despite millions in revenue loss and the safety concerns that came with the pandemic, the Razorbacks were successful both on and off the playing field.  We sat down...

The 2020-21 athletic year was one of unprecedented success across Razorback sports: 10 SEC Championships, 10 SEC Coach of the Year awards, eight top-10 finishes, All-Americans, a national player of the year, a program of the year award and a national title. Of Arkansas' 19 programs, 18 made post-season appearances. We sit down with Arkansas Director of Athletics, Hunter Yurachek, and take a look b...

Arkansas baseball had an incredible year: they broke program records, won an outright SEC Title for the first time under Dave Van Horn, won the SEC Tournament for the first time in history and had the most dominant player in the country. It was a season to remember that ended just short of Omaha. The Razorback skipper takes us behind the scenes of how everything went down and answers some burning...

Arkansas is widely known as "The Track Capital of the World" and has attracted some of the top talents, including distance star Katie Izzo. But Izzo's journey to national success included more than just a bump in the road. How? Well, while at Cal Poly, Izzo broke her leg in the middle of a race, leaving her stranded on the course before help finally came. After having a metal rod inserted in her l...

Johnny Ray & legendary head coach Norm DeBriyn take us through the story of two-time all-Southwest Conference performer. Johnny Ray, an MLB All-Star & Silver Slugger award winner has one of the most storied careers in Razorback history. The JUCO transfer struggled early in his life after losing his father in an accident while in college. The tragedy shaped Ray into the person and player he came to...

Kevin Kopps has been a Razorback for six years, but his final season with the Diamond Hogs is one for the history books—and so is his story. The sixth-year senior and pitching coach Matt Hobbs take us through Kopps' journey—how reaching out to Arkansas himself as a high school pitcher, experiencing one of the worst years of his life, and considering not returning for the 2021 season all led to him...

Arkansas fans never expected to have their starting catcher behind the plate this season. Heading into the 2020 campaign, Casey Optiz was expected to go pro following the season. But after the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season abruptly, the standout catcher was given an option to return to the Hill for one final year. Opitz takes us inside his decision and what this unexpected season has meant to...

MLB All-Star catcher Tom Pagnozzi spent one season at Arkansas in 1983. Before that year, he had never caught a game in his life. Former Razorback coach Norm DeBriyn took a chance on a guy transitioning to a new position and it changed the trajectory of his career forever. Pags went on to catch for 12 years in the Majors with the St. Louis Cardinals, winning three Golden Glove Awards. After an ill...

Christian Franklin was a preseason All-American and is a projected first-round draft pick for the 2021 MLB draft—but players like him don't come around that often. Coming to Arkansas from Kansas, Franklin brought an unmatched love for the game and a commitment to one thing: being the best. From his dedication and preparation to his study of the game, he's a unique player. Franklin had big shoes to...

There are two things Robert Moore has been around for most of his life: baseball and winning. The son of Royals general manager Dayton Moore, Robert grew up on the diamond and has been a part of everything from an All-Star Game to a World Series win. And when you're around ballparks and baseball all the time, it gives you an identity early in life. But what happens when you lose that identity? It...

In college athletics, the head coach is the unquestioned leader and face of the program. Most assistant coaches are completely anonymous. But that's not the case for Arkansas women's golf coach Shauna Taylor and assistant Mike Adams. You don't get one without the other. The friendship dates back to Taylor's days in junior golf, when Adams was her instructor, and continued through her college and p...

There is one thing no coach ever wants to do: follow a legend. The pressure to succeed is unmatched, and many coaches aren't able to escape the shadow left behind. But that's exactly what Chris Bucknam did. The Arkansas men's track & field coach did what most would believe to be impossible—he took over for the most successful coach in NCAA history and was able to find success. Why did he want the...

Charles "Bubba" Carpenter, a Northwest Arkansas native, grew up in small towns south of Fayetteville—something he never let affect his baseball dreams. From practicing with his dad on a small field in Winslow, AR to being called up to the big leagues—baseball has always been the center of his life. Bubba was a 3-time All-Southwest Conference player at Arkansas. Though successful with the Hogs, he...

Brady Toops owns one of, if not the most well-known and monumental moments in Baum-Walker Stadium since its construction. Toops' grand slam vs. Wichita State in 2004 has stood as a defining moment for Arkansas baseball. Being a part of such a shining moment fits Toops very well. He has always possessed an intrigue for the spotlight—from appearing on TV at the CWS, playing minor league baseball, to...

The Arkansas men's basketball team had a historic season—the likes Hog fans hadn't seen since its hay day in the 90s—and it was one to remember. Eric Musselman's second season with the Razorbacks had it all: tough losses, a team gut check, come from behind victories, historic runs, the highest seeded NCAA bid in over 20 years and an Elite Eight appearance. We sat down with Coach Muss to talk about...

Senior shortstop Braxton Burnside is Arkansas' single-season home run leader and the glue that holds the Razorback softball team together. But it took her a while to find a home with the Hogs. The small-town Paragould, Ark., native set the high school home run record in the state, but was passed over by the Hogs during the recruiting process, only ever receiving a single letter from her home-state...

Nate Thompson is considered by many to be perhaps the best hitting coach in NCAA baseball. During his time at Arkansas, the Razorbacks have led the SEC in nearly every offensive category and have produced first round talent such as Heston Kjerstad. His success started from unlikely beginnings, as Thompson never played a single baseball game in high school. But Thompson always knew he wanted to be...

Arkansas fifth-year senior guard Destiny Slocum had several stops before landing on the Hill. The Idaho native spent a year at Maryland, where she was National Freshman of the Year. Then she went back west to play at Oregon State for two seasons, where she earned two-time All-American honors. But her cross-country playing career wasn't always what she envisioned: The inconsistency mirrored a child...

Kayla Green is the starting catcher for the Razorback softball team and one of Arkansas' top talents—but it was a long road to get here. Growing up with parents struggling with addiction, Kayla's childhood norm was waking up every day not knowing if there would be food to eat. She stepped into a parental role for her two younger siblings before she was even a teenager. And for Kayla, there was onl...

Todd Schaefer is the associate head coach of the Razorback women's basketball team.  Throughout his 20+ year career he's done it all: high school, JUCO, D1, assistant coach, head coach, he was even on the scout team for his college football team – all of which perfectly prepared him for a career he never even knew he wanted.  Growing up, Schaefer always thought he would be a lawyer, but coaching o...

A year ago, Justin Smith was finishing up his junior season at Indiana. Today, he is a standout on the court and team leader for the Arkansas Razorbacks. After graduating in three years with a degree from IU's prestigious Kelley School of Business, Smith was looking for the next spot to take his game to the next level. Coach Musselman immediately impressed Smith. Even though Arkansas wasn't even o...

In the last few decades Arkansas baseball has risen from practicing on the old fair grounds in North Fayetteville into a national powerhouse, winning regionals and making frequent trips to Omaha. But what does it take to get there? Great coaches, players, winning and facilities all play a part. The Hogs weren't always postseason regulars. That changed with the Brady Toops grand slam in 2004 that h...