Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

News and notes from Arkansas Pro Day…

II. Familiar Arm
Running routes and catching passes during pre-draft work can be a bit of a mixed bag for receivers. Drills often require adjusting to a new quarterback and quickly trying to figure out the habits of the guy throwing the passes.

Jarius Wright, Joe Adams and Greg Childs experienced that at the NFL Combine last month.

There were no such problems for the trio at Arkansas Pro Day. Former Razorback Ryan Mallett, drafted in 2011 by the New England Patriots, was on hand to throw.

Childs said it was just like old days.

“You know, it was very different from when I was down in Indy and I had quarterbacks I wasn’t familiar with,” Childs said. “I didn’t know how they were going to throw the ball when they were going to throw it.

“With Ryan, I played with him for some years now, so it was just like playing catch.”

Adams also enjoyed having Mallett back. He said he wouldn’t mind continuing to catch passes from Mallett at the next level.

“I wish we could all get together on an NFL team together and maybe have some memories,” Adams said.

Mallett, wearing a shirt with the slogan, “Unleash The Beast,” looked comfortable throwing to his former teammates. Mallett, who was unavailable for interviews, appeared to have slimmed down and toned his body during the season with the Patriots.

II. Ordinary Joe?
Joe Adams is still surprising people with his speed. Adams just isn’t doing it in the way you might expect after he turned in a season full of highlight reel-worthy plays.

Scouts clocked the elusive wide receiver/punt return man at 4.55 seconds in the 40-yard dash at Arkansas Pro Day. Tuesday’s time was similar to what he posted at the NFL Combine.

Prior to the combine Adams, who returned four punts for touchdowns last season, told media he’d hoped to run a 4.2. Adams hasn’t gotten close to that mark yet with scouts watching, but said he is learning to run with additional weight.

“It’s not where I want it to be,” Adams said of his 40-yard dash. “I’m going to get it down lower.”

Adams, who caught 54 passes for 652 yards and three touchdowns, was one of 16 Razorbacks who were seniors last season to participate in the workouts at the Walker Pavilion. He did improve his vertical jump to 38 inches after posting a 36 at the combine.

(Official Pro Day numbers for all participants is available on the UAs official site.)

III. Feeling Snubbed
Jerry Franklin led Arkansas in tackles for four consecutive seasons. He tallied 374 over the course of a career that included two all-SEC seasons.

Yet Franklin wasn’t a participant in last month’s NFL Combine.

“It was a surprise,” Franklin said on Tuesday. “I was kind of expecting to go. I feel like some of the other guys on our team got shafted too with that.”

Still, Franklin has had opportunities to perform for pro scouts. He participated in the East-West Shrine game and was able to do testing drills with 25-plus scouts watching at Arkansas Pro Day.

Franklin is hopeful his numbers Tuesday were a good complement to his film from four seasons at Arkansas. He ran a 4.60 in the 40-yard dash, bench pressed 225 pound 15 times with a broad jump of 10 feet, 3 inches and a 37.5-inch vertical.

“This was our combine day,” Franklin said. “We’ve all been working toward this day.”

Speaking Out
“It’s one of those things that it’s just kind of nagging. It wasn’t worth going out there and benching at the combine and pro day and risk further injury. So I’ve got to wait and do it later. I’m going to bench at some point and if some teams want a video of it they can get it.”

—Defensive end Jake Bequette on a strained pectoral muscle that led to limited work at the NFL Combine and on pro day. Bequette was injured during training workouts in Irvine, Calif.