Razorback legend Anthony Lucas describes motivation behind breakout performances against Tennessee
Any season over the last quarter century when the Tennessee Volunteers are up next on the schedule for the Arkansas Razorbacks, there is one name that typically comes to mind without skipping a beat: Anthony Lucas.
The 2020 Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inductee had some of the best performances of his record-setting career against the Vols, most notably the 1999 redemption game.
During the previous season, the Hogs were 8-0 and ranked 10th nationally with their next game at top-ranked Tennessee that ended in a historically heartbreaking 28-24 loss for Arkansas after quarterback Clint Stoerner tripped, put the ball on the ground and Tennessee recovered and quickly scored to seal the victory.
However, the next year Arkansas hosted the Volunteers and flipped the script when Stoerner pushed the boulder off his back he’d carried all offseason by connecting with Lucas in the back of the end zone for the go-ahead score that ultimately won the game, this time 28-24 in the Hogs’ favor.
“That was a game we had circled on our schedule, for sure,” Lucas told HawgBeat regarding his final game as a Razorback against the Vols. “Just because we literally beat Tennessee that whole day (in 1998) except for that last play.
“When Tennessee week came, well, I’ll tell you the focus went up another level.”
Lucas finished the redemption game with six catches for 96 yards and that crucial touchdown.
Mixed motivations for breakout performances
Now more than a quarter of a century removed from his Razorback career, Lucas is still near the top of multiple receiving categories in the Arkansas record books and was the first ever pass catcher for the Hogs to record 1,000 receiving yards in a season in 1998.
Lucas did not play in the 1996 Tennessee game due to injury, but in four other matchups he totaled 21 receptions for 430 yards (20.4 YPR) and five touchdowns, two of those contests in which he logged over 100 yards and averaged more than 20 yards per reception.
As a heralded high school prospect from McCall (La.) High in the mid-nineties, Lucas played prep football in Louisiana at the same time as Isidore Newman High and future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, who had signed with Tennessee and was thrusted into the starting QB role his true freshman season.
Along with the Razorbacks and LSU, Tennessee was one of the programs recruiting Lucas so Manning already playing there was enticing.
“When we came out in high school we were some of the top players in the state,” Lucas said. “They did this big deal, the top 24 players in the state of Louisiana that featured me and him. And I had a chance to meet him. I just would always keep up with him with his (passing) numbers and everything that he did because he and my quarterback both had good years.”
Tennessee ended up backing off of Lucas due to his ACT scores not meeting their standards.
While he went on to have his historic career catching passes from both Stoerner and Barry Lunney Jr., getting passed over by the Vols added an extra chip.
“It was motivation,” Lucas said. “And that was a school I was interested in, but my ACT score kind of deteriorated them and they backed off me. So then I decided to move on.”
Arkansas wide receivers coach Fitz Hill, who was no stranger to recruiting success in Louisiana, found Lucas and the rest is history.
“If it were not for God and Fitz Hill I would not have gone to the University of Arkansas,” said Lucas, who has made a home in Arkansas since graduating from U of A. He is now in his fifth year as head coach of the Pulaski Academy Bruins in Little Rock where he has won two state championships.
Same score, different victor
The loss to Tennessee in 1998 was an extreme blow to the Razorback fanbase but more so to the members of the team, particularly Stoerner.
Good or bad, quarterbacks tend to get the bulk of the blame for a team’s performance and Stoerner even to this day is reminded of it at times. His reaction when Arkansas took the lead for good in the redemption win over the Vols showed it all.
Lined up in the ace formation, Stoerner sent his tight end in motion and faked a handoff to Cedric Cobbs, then found Lucas who beat his man is one-on-one coverage on a post pattern in the back of the end zone.
The play? Race deuce, hop hex pass 26 X double post. Lucas as the outside receiver on the left, along with Emmanuel Smith in the slot, each ran posts. Stoerner had connected with Sanders moments earlier underneath, so Tennessee made sure to cover him up.
“We ran that a few plays earlier in that series and he hit Emmanuel
on the skinny post so the safeties flew down (on the touchdown catch),” Lucas recalled. “So coach Nutt called the same play again. Clint pump faked and the safety came down.
“We were not going to let what happened the year before happen again in ’99.”
Lucas mentioned that there is not a ton of reminiscing between members of that team when Tennessee week rolls around, but most of them still remain in contact. Just as they rallied around each other to earn redemption against the bright orange in ’99, there is still a solid support system in place after all these years.
“Man, you know, life happens,” Lucas said. “Most of us all have each other’s numbers and try to keep each other updated. But, I do know this, if one of us ever needs each other for anything then we are just a phone call away.”
The 21st all-time meeting between the Hogs and Vols kicks off at 3:15 p.m. CT on Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. The game will air on the SEC Network.
