A few notes after attending the first Razorback football scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday.
When cloud cover moved in about 30 minutes into the scrimmage, we knew what was coming. Throw out the previous estimates…when it was all said and done, the 180+ play marathon set a new Petrino era record.- The offensive tempo was great to start the day. Bobby Petrino and his staff preach “tempo” all the time in practice. And both Ryan Mallett (24-43, 274 PaYds, TD) and Tyler Wilson (16-22, 268 PaYds, 5 TDs) looked comfortable in the pocket, especially in the first half of the scrimmage.
- The zone blocking techniques employed by new offensive line coach Chris Klenakis were opening huge cutback lanes for the running backs. Broderick Green, Dennis Johnson and Ronnie Wingo Jr. took advantage of them and looked sharp, running for a combined 228 yards on 49 carries.
- All things considered, though, it was a very good day for the defense. When it was the “1′s on 1′s”, the first team defense held their own. As the practice wore on, the defense got stronger, winning much of the ‘overtime’ and goal line work toward the end of the scrimmage.
- Redshirt freshman center Travis Swanson (6-5, 305) continues to get a lot of first team reps on the offensive line. Coach Petrino has said not to read anything into who’s working on the first unit. So we’re not sayin’…but, we’re just sayin’.
- Sophomore defensive tackle Alfred Davis (6-1, 326) had one of his best days as a Razorback on Saturday. Davis at times was unblockable from his nose tackle position, recording two impressive tackles for loss. He has proven to be hard to move inside during fall camp, and it looks like if you don’t double-team him, he has the ability to slice through and make some big plays like he did on Saturday.
- The “Fantastic Four” freshman wide receiver crew continued their impressive play. Marquel Wade, Javontee Herndon, Julian Horton, and Maudrecus Humprey racked up a combined 189 yards on 16 catches and 3 TDs. The highlight was a great 16-yard TD catch in the back corner of the end zone by Horton from QB Brandon Mitchell.
- Junior captain Jake Bequette also stood out on the defensive side. Midway through the scrimmage, Bequette made a great play rushing from his end position, knocking the ball out of Ryan Mallett’s hand. Jake picked up the fumble and would have scored a touchdown had the play not been blown dead.
- With sophomore Tenarius Wright still out with back spasms, true freshman Chris Smith continues to get a lot of reps in the two-deep at defensive end. During the scrimmage, any time the defense was preparing for a third and long or a likely passing down, Smith was inserted to rush off the edge.
- On special teams, senior Alex Tejada continued to lead the competition for placekicker against freshman Eddie Camara. One thing we did notice…Austin Tucker has to be adept at being the holder in practice for both a right footed (Tejada) and left footed (Camara) kicker. Does that make him ambidextrous? Hmmm…
Also:
- ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Solid UA scrimmage ends week of practice, Bobby Petrino Post-practice (Video)
- Brandon Marcello: Hogs’ defense impresses in scrimmage, Day 10 scrimmage statistics (unofficial)
- Robbie Neiswanger: Defense Impresses in First Scrimmage, Bequette’s Big Day, Wilson Impresses, Curtis Catches Break, Some Quick Thoughts From Saturday’s Scrimmage
- Chris Bahn: Petrino Liked What He Saw From Scrimmage, Except When He Didn’t, Two-Minute Drill
TipsterHog also contributed to this post. Thanks to Brandon Marcello of The Slophouse for compiling the unofficial stats.
Like Elmer Fudd might say: "We'ur gowin to be vewy, vewy danguwus".
Yes, Fudd was a gweat thporthwiter.
Wow, I never thought I'd think holding Mallet to one passing TD would be great news, but boy this is wonderful. This is got to help build confidence in a defense that may not need the extra motiviation. They have come to play……gigitty.
Soupdhog, I know what you mean. It was funny to hear the scrimmage crowd reactions to big plays Saturday. Long offensive plays were applauded, while big defensive efforts were wildly cheered.
It wasn't too many years ago when a pass (complete or incomplete) down the middle of the field was reason to stand and applaud during one of those scrimmages. Boy have times changed.
Boy have times changed; 40 years of dubious history washed away.
WE ARE: Razorbacks!!!!
Orville and Frank KNEW the program was about the fans. After Frank moved upstairs it became about him.
SAD.
I hope the defensive players cop the attitude, "I am sick of hearing about Ryan Mallett and the swift receivers and the studly running backs. We're gonna shut their a$$es down! How 'bout a little respect around here?" And then go out and shut 'em down.
Of course ya gotta earn that respect, which the defense hasn't done yet under Petrino. But maybe they will. It obvious they are not intimidated by the offense. You can sense the fans are really watching the defense now, as Sunshine pointed out. Perhaps a little love from the fans, and more notice in the press, will help turn the defense around. Sports writers and bloggers could do a lot to pump up the confidence of the D by writing about them, positively. They've taken a lot of grief the last two years.
I hope the D takes the attitude that they are not gonna be just a good SEC defense but that they are as good as the Hog offense.