Here is the only recent article I could find on Peyton and the Hogs. I sure hope Mustain gets the starting nod by season's end. They need help bad at QB. It is sick to see Peyton listed now only as FB. The coaches play him at HB sometimes, but maybe H back is a more appropriate description of him on some running plays. He's got the best hands on the team and shows it every game. He could the team in receiving yards this year. Of course, he's an awesome blocker too, but thats a waste for his talent.
UA home lineup has fans fired up
BY BOB HOLT
Posted on Thursday, May 25, 2006
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FAYETTEVILLE  Arkansas is coming off a 4-7 football season, but ticket sales never have been more brisk.
Through May 18, Arkansas had sold 43, 585 season football tickets for its six games in Fayetteville in 2006.
That's 66 more season tickets than Arkansas sold for its four Fayetteville games all of last season, when the total was 43, 519 by September.
Sales for 2006 are 27 percent ahead of where they were on May 18, 2005, when sales were approximately 34, 000.
"We've had some new customers, but most of it seems to be that people are more excited about renewing [their orders ] earlier this year," Arkansas ticket manager Mark Scobey said. "Usually we end up calling them and sending a lot of reminders. But so many people got on the bandwagon and started sending theirs in early."
On May 1, a deadline to guarantee the same seats as past years or the opportunity for improved seats, Arkansas had its first "million dollar day" for ticket sales, Scobey said.
"We've had other days where we might have sold $ 500, 000 or $ 600, 000, " he said. "But [on May 1 ], we sold $ 1. 1 million through [orders ] online, over the phone and in the mail."
Arkansas has approximately 50, 000 season tickets for sale each year  excluding the allotments for students, visiting teams and skyboxes  and Scobey said they might be sold out by June.
Scobey said there have been very few fans who didn't renew their ticket orders or who decreased the number of tickets they ordered. Many fans have increased their orders.
"They've either been renewing at the level they were at or buying more tickets," Scobey said. "That's what has made it really good."
Why the rush to buy tickets when the Razorbacks suffered their worst record in Coach Houston Nutt's eight seasons ?
"I don't think it's just one thing," said Harold Horton, a vice president for the Razorback Foundation who has spoken with many fans. "I think it's a combination of a bunch of things."
That combination includes: a Fayetteville schedule featuring games against Southern California, Alabama, and Tennessee, which have won a combined four national championships since 1992. Nutt's decision to hire Gus Malzahn, who as Springdale High School's coach led the Bulldogs to a 14-0 record in 2005, as offensive coordinator and turn over the play-calling duties. An impressive recruiting class led by Springdale quarterback Mitch Mustain  the Parade, Gatorade and USA Today national player of the year  and wide receiver Damian Williams. The return of 19 starters from last season, led by All-SEC tailback Darren McFadden, tailback Felix Jones and fullback Peyton Hillis.
"You see a lot of new people coming in and getting involved in the program that hadn't been a part of it before, and you see a lot of people that had been contributing at a lower level that have now increased their level of giving to try [to secure better seats and parking ]," Horton said. "There is no question there's a great amount of interest, and there's a great amount of anticipation that we're going to have a good year.
" I don't think I've ever seen the level of excitement of what we're going through right now. It is big out there. The electricity is in the air."
In addition to hiring Malzahn, Nutt also hired a new quarterbacks coach, Alex Wood, who has NFL experience.
"It helped me when I made some coaching changes, and I guess it's helping Houston, too," said Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles, who coached the Razorbacks for 19 seasons from 1958-1976. "Changes create interest and create optimism and create hope.
" I don't know of a time when I made a change that it didn't create more interest. That's what Houston has done."
USC, which opens Arkansas ' season on Sept. 2 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, is 37-2 the previous three seasons. The Trojans fell short of winning a third consecutive national title when they lost to Texas in the Rose Bowl last year.
Tennessee is back on Arkansas' schedule for the first time since 2002 and Alabama has been the SEC's marquee football program for decades.
Arkansas' Fayetteville schedule also includes Ole Miss, which was a rival before the Razorbacks joined the SEC.
The Razorbacks' Little Rock schedule is highlighted by a game against LSU, which shared the 2003 national championship with USC.
"When have we ever had a schedule of this magnitude in the state of Arkansas ?" Horton said. "Our fans have never had anything like this before."
Four of Arkansas' losses last season were by a combined 13 points, including a 23-20 loss at SEC champion Georgia and 19-17 loss at West champion LSU in the last game.
"I think the fans are excited about the way we finished the season, and they're excited about the players we've got coming back and the players we've got coming in along with some new coaches," Nutt said. "Our fans are hungry, our players are hungry, and our coaches are hungry times 10."
Malzahn's addition is making fans excited about the possibilities on offense, plus Reggie Herring returns for his second season as defensive coordinator after the Razorbacks showed steady improvement.
"Reggie's still hot," Horton said of the reaction Herring draws at Razorback Club meetings. "The fans love listening to him. He gets their hair to stand up on the back of their necks. They're ready to play when Reggie is finished with his talk."
Malzahn also has been a popular speaker at Razorback Club meetings.
"Gus is well-received," Horton said. "People want him to come and speak to them. They ask for him."
Broyles said he can't remember the last time there was so much anticipation about an upcoming season.
"There's excitement and passion with our fans, and that's why we're selling tickets faster than ever before," Broyles said. "It shows our fans know we don't stay down for very long."
