Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

News and notes from Tuesday’s Arkansas football practice …

I. Getting Hungry
Arkansas has gone two days in pads without full contact. That’s not to say the practices haven’t been physical, but coaches have yet to let players tackle to the ground.

Tailback Dennis Johnson said the lack of tackling to the ground is making the players “hungry.”

Coach Bobby Petrino said full-contact drills are coming. Arkansas will “get after it a little bit on Thursday.” With such an experienced team (15 offensive and defensive starters back), coaches have to be smart when choosing for the team to tackle to the ground.

“We do need to make sure we get our good guys to the game. We are practicing a little bit better because we do have experience,” Petrino said. “We haven’t seen guys that are hitting and knocking guys to the ground when they’re not supposed to be. It’s been very physical the last two practices.”

II. Taking It Personal
Dropped passes can happen for a number of reasons. Coach Bobby Petrino outlined them in practice earlier in fall camp and said wide receivers aren’t always at fault when drops happen.

That doesn’t come as a comfort to the wide receivers, Jarius Wright said. Wright, a team captain and one of the team’s most sure-handed pass catchers, said drops are taken very personally.

Even when a defender is playing tight coverage or the pass isn’t thrown well by the quarterback? Yes. Even then.

“I always take my drops personally,” Wright said. “I’ve been here long enough, caught enough balls to know it’s all about your concentration and how you go about catching the ball.”

III. Are We There Yet?
How long will Arkansas’ quarterback competition continue? Does Bobby Petrino have a timetable for naming a starter?

“No. I think we want to draw it out as long as we can so you guys keep asking about it,” Petrino said on Tuesday.

Petrino was joking. He then added:

“I’m just kidding. It will happen. It will take care of itself, you know? … We need to see more advanced parts of our defense. We need to see how they handle that. How they handle the speed. What it is they can do. What they can’t do. When it’s time to know, we’ll know. It will take care of itself.”

Speaking Out
“You could see how much more physical they were. Obviously ... a big part of being an offensive lineman is being physical, and I think it’s obviously helped us in the pass game. People can lock up on guys and kind of protect the pocket a little better than what we were during shorts and just helmets.”
—Quarterback Tyler Wilson on the offensive line improving once putting on pads.