Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Arkansas enters the season with plenty of established names.

Tyler Wilson, Knile Davis, Cobi Hamilton and Chris Gragg are the stars of the offense. Tenarius Wright and Alonzo Highsmith are among the most discussed Razorbacks on defense.

While their progress will be worth monitoring throughout preseason camp, there are other players who will have our attention. When camp starts today, we’ll be keeping an eye on five players who might not be up for national awards, but could have significant impacts on the 2012 season.

Who are we watching and why? Below is the list (in alphabetical order):

Brandon Mitchell, QB/WR
Mitchell (6-4, 230) is too athletic, too valuable as a leader and too competitive to spend another season mostly cheering from the sidelines. Glimpses of what Mitchell can do were there the past few seasons in spot duty at quarterback. Those abilities were further showcased as he came off the bench for the basketball team in the final half of last season. Mitchell, who was sharing second-team quarterback reps, approached Razorback coaches during the summer about spending some time with the receivers. They were willing to get a shot and Mitchell has an opportunity to get off the sidelines and help a team that could use some leadership and athleticism at receiver.

Otha Peters, LB
Peters (6-1, 228) was one of the final pieces of the 2012 signing class and could be one of the first freshmen to see the field. Depth is a concern at linebacker and there are some question marks surrounding presumed starters Alonzo Highsmith and Tenarius Wright. Highsmith is coming off a weightlifting injury. Wright is moving to linebacker after three years of playing defensive end. Other players, some in their fourth year at Arkansas, haven’t yet panned out at the position. Peters’ help could be needed just as soon as he adjusts to the demands of college football.

Kiero Small, FB/LB
Small is a throwback player to begin with because he plays fullback, a position many consider to be nearing extinction. Now coaches are considering playing Small (5-10, 255) both ways, putting together packages for him at linebacker. Playing offense and defense is nothing new for Small, who did both in high school and junior college. Most schools wanted him at linebacker and now Arkansas — the only major school to offer him as a fullback — is asking him to try defense. Imagine how many facemasks he could bend (20-plus last season) now that he’s blocking and tackling.

Demetrius Wilson, WR
There are plenty of wide receivers listed on the Arkansas roster, but the Razorbacks are looking for more than bodies. This offense needs playmakers to emerge following the departure of Jarius Wright, Greg Childs and Joe Adams to the NFL. Wilson (6-3, 180) was brought in from junior college to make an immediate impact. Wilson caught 51 passes for 928 yards and 10 touchdowns last season at Glendale Community College. It may take some time for Wilson’s knowledge of the Petrino offense to catch up with his athleticism. It should be clear once fall camp is complete if he’s one of the players capable of making plays along with Gragg and Hamilton.

Darius Winston, CB
Time has just about run out on Winston’s career and his opportunity to live up to the five-star billing he received out of high school. Winston seemed to make a slow adjustment to college football, but could be poised for a breakout season. He’s more comfortable with his position coach (Bobby Allen is now with cornerbacks, replacing former defensive coordinator Willy Robinson) and Winston is bigger. He  neared 190 pounds in the offseason and hopes to keep his weight above 180. That should allow him to be more effective against the run and not be overpowered by some of the SEC’s bigger wide receivers.

We sat down with Winston during the off-season to talk about the ups and downs of his last 3 years. Hear what he had to say and how he's planning to make his senior season his best as a Razorback...