Auburn University student Sam Bequette found himself in a quandary last year when the Razorbacks arrived to play the Tigers.
Normally, Bequette rooted for the navy and orange, especially in a football season in which No. 7 Auburn appeared destined for great things. But juggling that fandom in a game against No. 12 Arkansas presented a unique challenge for the Little Rock native.
For starters, Bequette’s grandfather, father and uncle all starred for the Hogs. Moreover, older brother Jake had followed in their footsteps and was developing into an all-conference defensive end. When Sam decided to stray from family tradition by attending another school, his parents had him make a single promise: Never cheer against your brother.
Sam resolved to keep his word, he told his family in Auburn, Ala. before that Oct. 16, 2010 game.
“It was funny,” his mother Cindy Bequette said in July. “Sam said he wanted to support his brother but he also said he didn’t want to get beat up in the student section.”
Turns out, he managed to pull off both goals during the Hogs’ 65-43 loss at Jordan-Hare Stadium. “He said that he never stood up once and cheered when Auburn scored. He would always stay seated. We thought that was pretty loyal of him,” Cindy Bequette said.
“That was good enough for us.”
Most Arkansans will cheer for the Hogs when Arkansas plays Auburn on Saturday in Fayetteville. But some, like Sam, have torn loyalties complicating their game-day experiences. This especially holds true in a few central Arkansas households with close connections to the Auburn football program.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of people at Razorback Stadium will watch Auburn’s star running back Michael Dyer flash a combination of power, agility and speed rarely seen in the state.
Dyer himself can empathize.
A few years ago, the Little Rock native was wearing cardinal red and attending Razorback games at War Memorial Stadium with friends. He cheered Hogs like Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, running backs who showcased some of the same abilities which make Dyer, a sophomore, a dark-horse Heisman candidate.
Dyer grew up as an Arkansas and LSU fan, said his uncle Andre Dyer, with whom Michael lived during his record-setting career at Little Rock Christian Academy. “Really, Auburn was nowhere in the mix when he was coming up,” Andre Dyer added.
Although Michael Dyer ended up signing with Auburn in 2010, he forged friendships on the recruiting circuit with current Razorbacks like Byran Jones and Joe Adams that made last year’s game especially exciting, Andre Dyer said.
Andre Dyer, a former Little Rock McClellan High School and University of Central Arkansas football player, isn’t a die-hard Razorback fan. Still, he usually roots for the Hogs and not just because his wife Nancy is a Razorback fan. He has befriended Razorback assistant coach Tim Horton and some current players.
“Joe Adams and I, we became very good friends. He calls me uncle, too,” Andre Dyer said. “I met Jerico Nelson, Jerry Franklin and a couple other guys. I like to see those guys do well, but I can’t root for them when Auburn comes to town. I’m always gonna pull for Michael.”
Andre Dyer traveled to all but one of his nephew’s games last season and nearly every day wears Auburn gear to the west Little Rock Powerhouse Gym where he and Michael used to lift weights together.
Sure, he “gets a lot of looks” for the navy and orange, but says for the most part people congratulate him on how well Michael is playing for an SEC foe.
This week, however, he expects more snide comments about his nephew’s decision to play out of state. “It’s kind of funny, because around the weekend, [this] Friday or so, people start saying little things. It’s a good thing, though. It keeps everything exciting.”
Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn hasn’t coached in Arkansas since serving in the same capacity for the Razorbacks in 2006. But the innovative coach’s influence is still seen in high school football programs across the state through the popularity of the wide-open spread offense he espoused in the 1990s.
For two of these coaches — Arkansas Baptist’s Brad Helm and Central Arkansas Christian’s Tommy Shoemaker — Malzahn’s legacy extends beyond X’s and O’s to friendship.
Helm, a Fort Smith native, started coaching under Malzahn soon after he injured his knee in college, ending his one-year career as a Razorback fullback. For eight seasons, he was an assistant on Shiloh Christian and Springdale teams that set numerous state records for offensive proficiency.
“I basically run the same offense he did in high school,” said Helm, whose Eagles were averaging about 45 points and 450 yards of offense through the season’s first month. “I think of him as my mentor.”
In the late 1990s, Shiloh Christian and Harding Academy in Searcy were two of the state’s few programs running no-huddle football using four- and five-receiver sets. Tommy Shoemaker, then Harding’s coach, and Malzahn bonded over this shared philosophy. Shoemaker started taking his team to 7-on-7 summer football competitions at Shiloh Christian School, which is affiliated with First Baptist Church of Springdale.
Malzahn and his wife hosted Shoemaker, and Shoemaker recalled that the three enjoyed talking late into the night about a range of topics, including religious differences. Malzahn is Baptist and Shoemaker belongs to the Churches of Christ.
Malzahn’s faith has inspired Helm to better lead his own players.
“He’s is a very godly man,” Helm said.
“His relationship with God was always put first and foremost in his life.”
Helm and Shoemaker stay in touch with Malzahn, mostly by texting this time of year. Both attended some of Auburn’s spring practices, a few months after Shoemaker had watched the Tigers prepare for the national championship game. During the season, Shoemaker said Malzahn regularly sends brief scouting reports of the Tigers’ next opponent.
Helm and Shoemaker are usually on different sides of the Arkansas-Auburn divide, which will color how they experience Saturday’s game.
“I usually don’t root for either team. I just enjoy it,” Helm said.
“It’s a fun game to watch. I played for Arkansas and I’m an Arkansas fan, so I always pull for them, but I owe so much to Gus I can’t pull against him. So, it’s kind of in the middle whenever they play.”
Shoemaker, a Montgomery, Ala., native, loves Auburn.
After trips to his childhood home, he brings home Tiger gear and memorabilia signed by Malzahn and Auburn head coach Gene Chizik.
He has taken his three children, ages 9 through 13, to Arkansas games in Little Rock, but this Saturday is the first live Auburn game they plan to see. Joining them will be Shoemaker’s wife Debbie, who is a Hogs fan.
“I’m not sure how much she likes the fact I converted all our kids to Auburn fans,” Tommy Shoemaker said, laughing.
He admits, though, it could be hard for his kids to maintain their loyalty to the Tigers while growing up in a sea of cardinal red.
“If one day they end up being Arkansas fans because they’re in this state, I’ll be fine with that. They have a great program.”
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