By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com

FAYETTEVILLE — Playing safety runs in Arkansas senior Anthony Leon’s family. His cousin, after all, was the late Sean Taylor, an all-pro at the position with the Washington Redskins.

So it’s understandable when Leon admitted two weeks ago, after moving to linebacker, he would always be a safety at heart.

But Leon also had a small confession last Saturday night, minutes after the Razorbacks wrapped up their 44-3 win against Tennessee Tech. He kind of likes his new position.

“I’m at linebacker now, that’s what I’m going to do,” Leon said. “I’m going to try to be the best linebacker I can be.”

Leon’s debut at linebacker proved to be a smashing success in Arkansas’ big win. He was in the starting lineup and highly productive at his weakside spot, finishing with a team-high 8 tackles, four tackles for losses and two sacks.

Leon’s biggest play came early in the first quarter, when he helped Arkansas stand strong at the goal line by sacking quarterback Tre Lamb on a third-down play. It was just part of a night in which Leon played fast, aggressive and physical, leaving coaches and teammates to rave about his performance.

“It definitely surprised us,” Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette said. “He’s had to learn a new position and that’s tough, especially when you’ve got two weeks to learn it and you’re going to start when you do. He responded well.”

Said cornerback Ramon Broadway: “He lit up the stadium.”

It’s not that Arkansas was stunned by Leon’s potential.

Everyone knew the 6-foot-4, 227-pound Leon had plenty of talent. It just didn’t seem to fit well at the safety spot.

So Arkansas moved Leon to linebacker at the midway point of preseason camp in hopes he’d bolster a position still looking for consistent performers. The past two weeks have been challenging. Leon said he has never played linebacker and needed some time to adjust to his new position.

But Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino knew the move would work.

“The minute he stepped into that position it was like, ‘Wow, this guy has great instincts in there,’” Petrino said. “He’s tough. He comes on and takes on blocks and his quickness and his speed is different than from playing from the back end.”

And Bequette said Leon looked very comfortable in his debut.

“I think he was kind of thinking too much in practice,” Bequette said. “We just told him to cut it loose and he did.”

Tougher challenges will certainly come for Leon, who started alongside veterans Jerry Franklin and Jerico Nelson.

Opponents will get last Saturday’s game film and try to find ways to neutralize Leon’s strengths and take advantage of weaknesses. Leon will make mistakes, too. No one is perfect playing a position after three years, let alone three weeks.

But Leon — the life-long safety — sure looked like a natural fit at linebacker in Arkansas’ opener.

“I thought I did all right,” Leon said. “I could’ve done a couple things better, read my assignment, read my keys and stuff. But I thought I did all right.”

ARKANSAS VS. TENNESSEE TECH

REPORT CARD
Quarterbacks — A
Running Backs — B-
Receivers — A
Offensive Line — B+
Defensive Line — A
Linebackers — A
Secondary — A-
Special Teams — B+
Coaching — A