This fall, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will close out nonconference play at home against an in-state foe coming off its best season in four years.
UAPB will host Central Arkansas at 6 p.m. Sept. 21 at Simmons Bank Field in Pine Bluff.
UCA went 7-4 last season with several competitive losses. The Bears lost 27-13 at Oklahoma State and 49-31 at FCS powerhouse North Dakota State.
UCA also went 4-2 in the United Athletic Conference with its two losses coming by a combined 4 points.
This campaign was UCA’s second-best under coach Nathan Brown. The Bears went 9-4 in 2019, his second season, winning a share of a conference championship and reaching the second round of the FCS playoffs. UCA won five games each of the next three seasons before last year’s seven-win performance which saw it tie for second in the UAC’s debut season.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Bears boasted the UCA’s top defense last season, holding opponents to 23 points per game. UCA’s offense ranked fourth out of nine teams, scoring 31.5 points per game.
That defense brings back several key players. Although UCA loses its leading tackler, the next three tacklers all return. Demetrius Charles, a linebacker, made 72 tackles with one interception. Defensive back Tamaurian Wilson intercepted two passes and made 64 tackles, 5.5 for loss. Edge rusher David Walker led the team with 8.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss.
But other than Walker, who played as a hybrid linebacker and defensive end, UCA must replace its entire starting defensive line. To address that, the Bears added one of UAPB’s starting linemen from last season, Kendarius Clark, from the transfer portal.
Clark made 24 tackles last season with 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. The Barton High School product had played for UAPB since 2021. UCA also returns backup defensive lineman Bradley Clark, a Pine Bluff native, who made 12 tackles, two for loss, and recovered a fumble last season.
Offensively, UCA will have an edge over UAPB at quarterback.
Will McElvain is back for his third season as UCA’s starter. Last season, he completed 63.6 percent of his passes for 2,477 yards and 24 touchdowns with five interceptions. Prior to UCA, he played at Northern Iowa for four years. He redshirted in 2018 before setting the UNI freshman passing record in 2019. He transferred to UCA after starting just two games in 2021.
McElvain is aided by UCA bringing back its two leading rushers from last season. ShunDerrick Powell rushed for 1,016 yards with six touchdowns, while Darius Hale rushed for 469 yards and four touchdowns.
UCA has had to find McElvain new receiving targets as the top four receivers from last season are gone. Powell caught 21 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, but the leading returner is White Hall native Kam Robinson, who caught 14 passes for 206 yards last season. Tight end Jordan Owens caught three touchdown passes last season.
Among the newcomers to UCA’s receiving room is University of Arkansas at Monticello transfer Arlie Lee, who was UAM’s fourth-leading receiver with 29 catches for 393 yards and two touchdowns. UCA also added former Oklahoma receiver Trejan Bridges.
UCA is 11-2 all-time against UAPB and won the most recent matchup 45-23 in 2021 in Conway.