Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

News and notes from Wednesday’s Arkansas football media availability…

I. Doubting Thomas
When safety Tramain Thomas wasn’t on the field for an extended period in last week’s game, it was presumed he was injured.

Not the case. Thomas was benched for poor play, something defensive coordinator Willy Robinson addressed on Wednesday.

Thomas struggled against Alabama. He missed tackles and played timid at times.

“He was having a bad day,” Robinson said. “So why continue it? Probably should have done it sooner, but I wanted to see how much he fought back.”

Robinson said Thomas has been challenged this week to have good practices and a better week on the field.

“This week he knows he’s under fire and he better give us better effort, work on things,” Robinson said. “He’s still one of our leaders. … He’s very disappointed in it, but he knows you can’t let it happen again.

“Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. You’ve got to tackle and that’s what he didn’t do.”

II. Speaking Of Missed Tackles …

Arkansas players probably could have done without a review of the Alabama game. What they saw wasn’t fun to watch.

There were far too many missed tackles. And the Razorbacks also tried arm tackling, which rarely works against big, fast opponents the team sees each week in the SEC.

“We were totally shocked by it. We were totally discouraged by it,” Robinson said. “The kids saw it. It's not what we coach. You've got to have courage to play on defense.”

III. Going Deep
The defensive line was billed as one of the deepest positions on the team going into 2011. That depth is getting a serious test entering the fifth week of the season.

Jake Bequette continues to deal with hamstring issues. Tenarius Wright is out four to six weeks with a broken arm.

That leaves the Razorbacks with Chris Smith, Trey Flowers, Matt Marshall, Lonnie Gosha and D.D. Jones manning the end positions. Smith is a sophomore. Flowers and Gosha are freshmen. Marshall has shifted positions throughout the defense and Jones was recruited as an interior lineman.

“It’s something you really try to prepare for every day because you never know when it happens,” ends coach Steve Caldwell said. “You tell those guys sitting in the meetings you’ve got to practice every day like the guy could get hurt on the first snap. God forbid it happens, but it did happen on the second series two weeks ago and the first series this week.”

Speaking Out
“Certainly, that would help us if he was back ready to play this weekend. But I think it’s still real questionable right now whether he’ll be ready or not.”
—Coach Bobby Petrino on the status of senior defensive end Jake Bequette. Arkansas has been without Bequette, an all-SEC player, during the past two weeks.