FAYETTEVILLE — Saturday's game between Arkansas and Auburn will be a homecoming of sorts for Arkansas defensive coordinator Ron Roberts.

Roberts was Auburn's defensive coordinator in 2023 during the first year of the Hugh Freeze era. He said Tuesday he hadn't been back to Auburn since that 2023 season.

"It was a great place," Roberts said. "There were some really good people and I thought it was a beautiful area and nice place to live. So, I’m excited to go back."

Whether or not Auburn will be as welcoming to Roberts as it was three years ago remains to be seen. The Tigers' offense struggled in its last two games against LSU and Ole Miss, scoring 17 and 15 points, respectively, in a pair of blowout losses.

Auburn QB Byrum Brown, who followed head coach Alex Golesh from South Florida, has been inconsistent as a passer this season but is the Tigers' leading rusher through eight games. Roberts faced Brown as the DC at Florida last season when USF stunned the Gators 18-16 in Gainesville.

"They scored one touchdown on a tempo," Roberts said, reminiscing on the game. "They got us on a bust. Then they kicked a game-winning field goal late. We committed two penalties to scoot it up. We had a personal foul — a pass interference and a personal foul, gave them 30 yards there. They threw one play and got in field goal range, kicked it. Yeah, not a good ending."

Roberts is hoping this year's matchup against a Golesh-led team goes better for his side, and containing Brown on the ground is a big step in Arkansas getting its second SEC win of the season.

"I think he’s playing great," Roberts said of Brown, who has 40 collegiate starts under his belt. "I think he’s a lot better than he was last year. I don’t know what the indications and statistics show, but a lot of times that’s not a true picture of the story. I think he’s a lot more developed as a quarterback right now. His ability to see things, read the coverage, progress through a progression and throw the ball, he’s just show patient in the pocket and things like that.

"He does a really good job running the football, not just quarterback designed runs, but obviously his ability to escape the pocket and create plays with his feet."

While Brown has the ability to escape the pocket at any moment, his offensive line hasn't done a good job of giving him time to throw this year. Auburn has given up 34 sacks through eight games, good for last in the SEC, which the Hogs will be looking to exploit.

"You’ve got to keep him in [the pocket]," Roberts said, "But you’ve got a chance to hit him. His eyes are downfield, he doesn’t drop his eyes and look at the rush. He’s not doing that stuff. He’s a good quarterback and you’ve got to be able to affect him. So, we’ve got to be effective with our rush and we’ve got to make sure — you can’t let him out. That’s when he’s really dangerous, when he’s escaping through the B gaps and inside. He does that and he’s really dangerous. He’s a problem in open field tackling."

A look at Brown's rushing total at the end of Saturday's may tell the story as to whether or not Arkansas has won or not.

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