Ike Forte wore no. 85 in his days as a running back at Arkansas, an odd number for a position that normally wears numbers 20-49.
“But I thought that if I wore that number, people would remember me,” Forte said.
Forte and former Razorback Roland Sales were the keynote speakers Monday at the Little Rock Touchdown Club at the Embassy Suites in west Little Rock.
Forte spent two all-American seasons at Tyler Junior College before playing for the University of Arkansas in the 1974-75 seasons. A two-time all-Southwest Conference running back, the Texarkana native was voted the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the 1976 Cotton Bowl before spending six seasons in the NFL with the New England Patriots, Washington Redskins and New York Giants.
Sales, who said he originally started in the program as a defensive end, played at Arkansas from 1975-79. Sales was the key component in one of the biggest victories in Razorback history, running for 205 yards in a 31-6 victory over No. 2 Oklahoma in the 1978 Orange Bowl. The yardage stood as an Orange Bowl record for 20 years, and Sales shared the Orange Bowl Most Valuable Player award with teammate Reggie Freeman.
The Fort Worth native was playing in place of the suspended Ben Cowins, who had been Arkansas’ lead back that season.
“Nobody cared about us, except the people from Arkansas,” Sales said of the Orange Bowl game.
Forte was asked about the program’s transition from Coach Frank Broyles to Coach Lou Holtz during his playing days. Sales played under both in his time in Fayetteville, while Forte played for Broyles at the end of Broyles' coaching career.
Holtz "was an offensive genius, like Coach Broyles, as well,” Forte said. “He came in with a whole other program. But he had the right people [on the coaching staff] to make the transition easy to make sure we did what you had to do.”
The two former Razorback running backs spoke briefly before taking a few questions from members of the club. Both also shared their thoughts on the current Arkansas season.
“We’re on the skids right now,” Sales said. “But the Razorbacks will come back to the glory [days].”
The current running backs in Fayetteville, Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins, have bright futures, both Sales and Forte said.
“I love the running backs,” Forte said. “They’re in a great position, having a coach [Bret Bielema] there, with a running-type offense. That’s what you want. As a running back, you want the ball.”
Read more about this story in tomorrow’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.