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Fans like to think categorically when analyzing players. There are good players, great players and all-time great players, but the last category has to be really selective for it to hold ground.
That’s where Mount Rushmore comes in. The massive sculpture in South Dakota contains the faces of the four presidents who, at the time, were considered America’s greatest by Mount Rushmore artist Gutzon Borglum and the United States Congress, which paid Borglum for the project.
Other really good presidents were left out, but there’s no denying that four is a selective number.
If Arkansas were to create such a monument for its football program, Jerry Jones would be a viable financial alternative to Congress. The Dallas Cowboys owner won a national title with the Razorbacks and has donated millions to Arkansas athletics.
But the architects of Razorbacks football – the record-setters who helped define on-field success – had more sterling playing and coaching careers than Jones. They’re the people who fans would do anything to meet in person, and whose reputations continue to fuel the program’s legacy.
Arkansas has a long and rich football history, but only four men can be sculpted as the all-time greats. Assuming Jones doesn’t finance the project, we’ll just list Arkansas’ all-time Mount Rushmore in text form below:
WHO’S IN?
Billy Ray Smith Jr.
Maybe the Smith family should have their own Mount Rushmore. Billy Ray Sr. was an all-conference defensive lineman at Arkansas, and his son became Arkansas’ greatest linebacker.
Smith Jr. was a back-to-back consensus All-American in the early 1980s. He had almost 300 tackles in a career that saw him named captain and leading the Razorbacks to a 9-2-1 record in 1982. Smith Jr. was picked fifth overall by the Chargers in the next year’s draft and played 10 seasons in San Diego.
Key stat: 63 tackles for loss, still untouched by another Arkansas defender.
Steve Atwater
Before the Smiling Assasin became the most feared hitter in the Southwest Conference, Atwater was a quarterback.
Arkansas coach Ken Hatfield, himself a defensive back under another member of the Arkansas Mt. Rushmore, moved the multi-sport high school athlete to safety. There, Atwater built a career in the secondary that would propel him to All-American status, NFL stardom and a Super Bowl ring.
Key stat: 14 interceptions, which Atwater compiled during the course of four seasons.
Frank Broyles
It’s no wonder that one of college football’s top coaching awards is named after him.
Broyles won seven Southwest Conference titles and the 1964 national championship after coming to Fayetteville from Missouri. His clashes with Texas and Longhorns coach Darrell Royal were epic, and Broyles became a coaching personality before such a term was widespread.
But Broyles did so much more for Arkansas than coach football. He was named athletic director in 1974, coaching the football team for three more seasons before guiding the athletic program to 43 additional national championships. He left that position in 2007, having become a larger-than-life figure in Fayetteville.
In addition, his coaching tree is extensive, with Barry Switzer, Jimmy Johnson and Joe Gibbs, among others, working with Broyles.
Key stat: 144 wins, the most by an Arkansas coach.
Darren McFadden
This all somehow had to return to Jones, didn’t it? The Cowboys owner was a fan of McFadden long before he signed the free agent running back this offseason, and for good reason.
Run DMC arguably was college football’s most electrifying player in 2006 and 2007, excelling in the innovative (yet old-school) Wildcat formation. He became the first sophomore Doak Walker Award winner, then won it again. He was a two-time Heisman runner-up, his candidacy falling just short due to two championship quarterbacks and other talented Razorback runners chewing up carries.
Key stat: 1,830 rushing yards, the most ever by an Arkansas player in a season. McFadden broke Madre Hill’s record during his 2006 sophomore season, then broke it again as a junior.
Mike Shaw is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Missouri, Texas A&M and Arkansas. Follow Mike on Twitter @michaelvshaw
