Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Bobby Petrino was asked a week ago how he felt with football practice just around the corner. He left little doubt…

“I’m tired of talking. Tired of hearing what’s going on out there,” Petrino said. “We’re just ready to get on the practice field and get to work.”

Petrino, of course, has done plenty of talking in the offseason. He, his assistants and Razorbacks players have used every opportunity available to verbalize their expectations for 2010.

Competing for a Southeastern Conference title is on their agenda. Win the SEC, they point out, and a national title is within reach.

Lofty stuff.

Is Arkansas ready for backing up the chatter that’s been so prevalent in the offseason?

Good question. We won’t know the answer to that for a while.

Other questions — including a few submitted by some of our ArkansasSports360.com friends via Twitter — are a little easier to get a read on as the Razorbacks begin camp. Below we present a few burning questions to ponder in the August heat.

Remember, newcomers report at 3:30 p.m. and the veterans report at 6 p.m.

Is Ryan Mallett ready? How’s his mobility?
Until there’s proof otherwise, the most talked about left foot in football is expected to be fine. He was supposed to begin running off a treadmill earlier this week and while Mallett could likely have issues with conditioning, coaches think his film room work and hands-on approach in summer workouts despite the injury will carry over onto the field.

Mallett, who set or tied 16 school records last year, wasn’t the most fleet of foot to begin with, so there does seem like cause for concern when it comes to him moving around and avoiding defenses.

Provided the foot is OK, the real question surrounding Mallett is how well he executes the things he’s learned in the offseason to shorten his stride and improve accuracy.