A few notes from Razorback football practice after attending both sessions on Sunday.
It’s becoming more and more apparent that plays run out of the “Pistol” (a.k.a. “Shot”) formation will be a big part of the Hogs’ offense this season. There was quite a bit of focus during the warm-up periods on a quick and smooth transition from shotgun snap to handoff (or fake handoff). There was also a noticeable increase in emphasis on run blocking by new offensive line coach Chris Klenakis.- Redshirt freshman Alvin Bailey continues to work with the first-team offensive line. Bailey, who took over for injured senior Wade Grayson in the spring, looks good (down to 315 pounds) and will be hard to unseat at his guard position.
- Freshman wide receiver Marquel Wade looked the best of all the offensive newcomers on Sunday. You can see the potential for one of the talented freshman wideouts (Wade, Humphrey, Herndon or Horton) to have a role similar to what Cobi Hamilton did last season as a freshman. (Or…it’s also very possible that there’s just too many good receivers on this team and they will all redshirt.)
- Strength coach Jason Veltkamp has talked about the transformation that some of the defensive lineman have made during the offseason. Well…look no further than Camden junior defensive tackle Lavunce Askew for proof. Askew looked very lean and fast at 6-3, 290 as he ran with the first-team defensive unit.
- As we said on one of our Twitter updates, freshman fullback Jatashun “Big Tex” Beachum (6-1, 270) is, indeed, BIG. But for a guy his size, his athleticism is very impressive. You could see that on display when he caught the ball nicely out of the backfield on Sunday. On some running plays, however, “Big Tex” did seem to get tripped up pretty easily. No word on whether those ground tremors registered on the local USGS Richter scale.
Also:
- ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Arkansas football practices pick up, John L. Smith Post-Practice (Video)
- Brandon Marcello: Ready or not, newcomers must face veterans
- Chris Bahn: Newcomers Looking Forward To Combined Razorbacks Practice
Walking on Sunshine also contributed to this post.
Prediction:
Brandon Mitchell is going to pull a game out for a win this year because everyone will prepare for Mallet and Mitchell is the opposite. Mitchell will be able to loosen up the defense in a couple of games this year.
Astute observation. I think that Mitchell would do his damage between the 20s. I remember a recent Auburn game where the Tigs brought in ther running QB in the red zone and the Hogs stuffed him, and if memeory serves me, I believe they forced a fumble. I can think of a number of 'trick' plays including having Mallet and Mitchell in the same backfield. But I think that the best opportunities for Mitchell would be in a hurry-up, no huddle offense that would not allow the defense time to adjust. This year would be the best time to use Mitchell in that role because of the two entirely different threats the two QBs bring to the game. I am not entirely convinced that Mitchell is the kind of QB that Petrino prefers in his offense, considering the number of talented receivers Petrino has, and recruits. Time will tell.
Prediction:
This defense is going to be way better than people think.
And, this offense may actually have more weapons than they can use. We are seeing the beginning of a five year run at the top of the league.
Going against the top offense in the SEC every day will certainly help. The early reports seem to be very positive about the secondary, and reading about all the depth (except at LB) is very exciting. We're getting closer to the point where Petrino can holler 'next' like Saban and Meyer.
I expect that the defense will surprise folks. Surely, our running game will improve. We need to be able to run the ball for balance and to help kept the Defense fresh by the fourth quarter where most games are won. If our offensive line can open up some holes at critical ltimes, the Razorbacks will shine! And I do expect that they have improved immensely, as well as the defense but the defense has got to have help with a running game….we cannot continue to waste our talented RBs. I really believe Petrino knows that and we shall see how the "pistol" helps the running game. It is obviously hard with the time on hand to teach run and pass blocking but with our experience this year we should be able to do it. Never, never underestimate experience when it comes to football or life in general. Go Hogs! Go!
I believe the running game will be much improved, not just because of their experience, but because they will be executing run plays out of the very decieving pistol formations, Plus O-line coach Chris Klenakis is known as a motivator when it comes to developing run-blockers. Our O-line will also bring back more experience, size, strength and depth.
When all is said and done, I think we're going to be pretty darn good on offense.
This will give the defense the resting periods it will need to be effective throughout the 4th qr.
Also, I'm really loving the competition Camara has been giving Tejada.
I believe Tejada has it in him to be a really good (consistant) place kicker, but knowone has pushed him for playing time since he's been here.
I think this young Freshman nipping at his heels might just be what he needs to help push him over the top. Same goes for Hocker pushing him on the kickoffs.
Hocker has a great leg. He's going to make it tough on Breeding to retain his punting job as well.
The bottom line is this, guys. Entering only his 3rd year in re-building the program, Petrino already has us in position to do something special.
LB is the only position where we still have ??? for depth. That tells me a lot.