Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

News and notes form Arkansas’ Tuesday football media availability …

I. Communication
Paul Petrino has generally done his play-calling work from the press box. It provides a better view of the defense and can help make in-game adjustments easier.

Petrino will take a different approach — at least to start the season — with Arkansas. He’ll be calling plays from the sidelines, something he says will help keep communication strong with quarterback Tyler Wilson.

“We’ve hit it off through spring ball through all the scrimmages. I didn’t want to lose that,” Petrino said. “I wanted to be able to look in his eyes. I want him to see me. I want to be able to talk to him all the time and keep him at the level he’s been playing at. Keep his confidence up. Keep him going.”

Petrino spent most of his two seasons at Illinois in the box. His time as the offensive coordinator at Arkansas was also spent with an aerial view.

Wide receivers coach Kris Cinkovich and graduate assistant Joseph Henry will operate as Petrino’s eyes in the sky. Cinkovich will watch the coverages and communicate directly to Petrino and Henry will focus on the defensive front, communicating that to offensive line coach Chris Klenakis.

Petrino said he thinks the setup will be best for the team, something he’ll evaluate during Saturday’s game against Jacksonville State. Though the approach does present its challenges, Petrino said.

“You’re just not sitting down. You don’t get to drink Coke all day. Other than that … Well, now anyway it’s Pepsi now right?,” Petrino said, drawing a laugh from media. “You’re just down there amongst the guys, but you’ll still be doing the same thing. It will be fun, exciting.”

II. Pitch Count
Coaches were cautious with how they used running back Knile Davis in preseason camp. His contact in live tackling drills was limited to about five carries in a mock game last week.

With the first two opponents presumably less competitive than Alabama will be on Sept. 15, coaches have a decision to make about how much they use Davis. He’ll start, but how much work he sees beyond that remains to be seen.

There is, Petrino said, no set limit on Davis’ carries.

“It’s not going to be a pitch count,” Petrino said. “We’re just going to go out there and play the game and see how it goes.”

Davis, who ran for 1,322 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2010, is thankful for whatever carries he gets. He hasn’t played in a game since the Sugar Bowl in Jan. 2011.