FAYETTEVILLE — Julius Coates received loads of praise from teammates and coaches in the preseason.
They raved out his size and physicality and the immediate impact he was sure to make after arriving from East Mississippi Community College. Things did not go according to plan, though, the first few weeks of the season.
Against Georgia, Coates totaled one tackle. At Auburn, one more tackle. The Saturday in-between those games, he did not travel with the Razorbacks to Mississippi State for an undisclosed reason.
Others on the defensive line, particularly at defensive end, were simply outperforming him.