Arkansas Razorback Spring Game
By Joe Owens
Some quick slants from the Arkansas spring game in which the White team dismantled the Red team 45-14. Coach Petrino wanted to see good tackling from his defense but on the 3rd play of the game by starting safety Eric Barron delivered a crushing blow on wide receiver Jarrius Wright but did not wrap up allowing Wright to scamper down the side line for a 57 yard TD all within the first minute nine seconds of the game. An interesting stat is last year Arkansas had 14 touchdown drives of 70 yards or more under two minutes, that was tied for first in the nation with the Oregon Ducks.
Saturdays game showed many indications of who Ryan Mallets successor would be whether Coach Petrino wanted to admit it or not. Red team quarteback went Brandon Mitchell 11-29 passing for 85 yards and 3 interceptions. While Tyler Wilson shined throwing for 242 yrds & 3 TDs. Let’s not forget that Tyler Wilson threw for 332 yrds & 4 TDs last year against Auburn in 2 and a half quarters. The most against Auburn since 2001. Our money is on Wilson.
Some believe the receiving Corp in Arkansas may be the best in the nation led by Senior Greg Childs and junior Cobi Hamilton who last year against LSU went for an 80 & an 85 yard touchdown pass against Patrick Peterson. Greg Childs did not suit up for the game due to precautionary reasons. Jarrius Wright filled in nicely finishing with 157 yards and 2 touchdowns on the day.
Knile Davis, a running back who led the SEC in rushing in 2010, is expected to do big things this year running behind returning starting tackles. Dennis Johnson is back from last years bowel injury and many are happy to see him back. Between Davis, Johnson, and Ronnie Wingo the Hogs running game hasn’t lost a step providing two touchdowns on the day. Expect big things from the Arkansas running game this year.
True freshman and early enrollee Brey Cook starting at RT started for the Red team and is looking to push for a starting job on the offensive line. He didn’t disappoint
The Defense is a big question going into this season for the Razorbacks. A defense that ranked tenth in rushing defense within the SEC from a year ago. The defense turned in moments of missing tackles but overall turned in a solid effort. Linebacker Terrell Williams turned in a nice performance finishing the day with nine tackles. Senior safety Traman Thomas had two interceptions and the rest of the secondary attacked the interception but still lacked focus when it comes to the tackle. Tackling will be a top priority for the defense through the rest of the spring.
Special teams was difficult to judge when there were no kickoff or punt returns, there was however a botched snap while in punt formation which is sure to be addressed by Razorback coaches. Speaking of Razorback coaches, they interacted well with the cameras and ESPN actually had coaches mic’d up for many sound snippets here and there. Coaching is not an area of concern for a team that many expect to make a run at an SEC championship.