After going to some practices and visiting with many who have also attended, here’s some RBN tidbits on several areas of interest.
What Competition? — As good as Tyler Wilson and Jim Youngblood have done this spring, there really is no contest as to who the starting quarterback will be in the fall. Those that say there is a competition are either a) just trying to be nice, or b) hoping that if they say it enough, Wilson and Youngblood will choose to stay around and wait, rather than leave to find playing time right away.
Don’t get us wrong…we think Wilson and Youngblood are going to be good quarterbacks eventually, but Ryan Mallett is clearly (and literally) head and shoulders above the pack. With his arm strength and leadership qualities, he should give Bobby Petrino the trigger man he needs to have a super offense. Mallett’s accuracy needs improvement, as he has finished with a below 50% completion percentage in two of the scrimmages.
There’s No “D” in “Razorbacks” — Normally at this stage of the year across the country, defenses are dominating offenses…unless you’re at Arkansas. If the second scrimmage held on April 4th is any indication, we’ll have to outscore most everyone this fall.
In the 165 plays that day (the equivalent of roughly two games), the Hogs defense allowed 14 touchdowns. Doing the math, that’s 40+ points/game…troubling stats to say the least. Now granted, that was both the first and second team defense giving up those points. But the 1′s were always going against the 1′s, and the 2′s vs. the 2′s. Is the offense really that good, or is the defense going to struggle again?
Newcomers like defensive tackle DeQuinta “D.D.” Jones (6-4, 305), cornerbacks Darius Winston (6-0, 180), and David Gordon (5-11, 170), along with safties Anthony Leon (6-4, 230) and Rudell Crim (6-0, 190) will have to help shore up this unit in the fall.
Finding Their Way — In the wake of losing starters Jonathan Luigs and Jose Valdez from the O-line, Coach Mike Summers’ group looks to still be searching for the right chemistry. Even with the two senior stalwarts, the Hogs gave up a staggering 46 sacks last year, ranking them 117th (next to last, Hawaii – 57) in the nation.
Despite having six lineman back that have started a game, this continues to be an area of concern. Several players, including returning senior Mitch Petrus, have been shuffled around in an effort to get the right players in the right spots. They are still searching. Save for an 80-yard jaunt by fullback Mitchell Bailey in the second scrimmage, the rushing lanes have not been plentiful.
Assistant Coach of Everything — One of the fun sidebars of attending practices this spring has to be getting the chance to watch new assistant coach John L. Smith. The 60 year-old Smith is all over the practice field, and has been highly visible during scrimmages.
It’s obvious that Coach Petrino has told Smith not to limit himself to just outside linebackers and special teams — the two areas he “officially” coaches. He’s in the middle of everything…on both sides of the ball. Admonishing at times and encouraging at times, Smith has the energy of 24 year-old GA, but the experience of a head coach who has 218 games on his ledger. What an incredible resource for Coach Petrino.
All in all, the coaches have to be pretty pleased with the work they’ve gotten in this spring. And with few major injuries so far (knock on wood), they should be at full strength come August. RazorFest activities start around noon Saturday and run until 5:30, with the Red-White game following at 6:00. Should be a fun time on The Hill this weekend.
I hope our passing game is going to be "Arena Football League" good this year or our defense is going to get shredded again. I can't wait until our junior college help comes as well as the freshman because it looks like we are going to need them. Granted, we will get a few stops on defense just because every offense will not have the QB play to beat us (hopefully). If we can jump out on teams this year, we should be in pretty good shape.
Sunshine,
Normally I agree with most of your opinions, but Mallett and Wilson are both head and shoulders above Youngblood. You don't seem to give Wilson near the credit he deserves.
So far, after two scrimmages, Mallett has done exactly the same thing he did his Freshman year at Michigan.
49% passing doesn't get the job completely done, especially when there are completable throws he's still throwing too hard.
Until he's able to harness that incredible power he posesses in his throwing arm, he'll limit himself in what he could be accomplishing in Petrino's offense.
On the other hand, Wilson doesn't have the arm strength of Mallett, but then again, name one QB in the country who does.
Wilson still has good arm strength though, and seems to do everything else as good or better than Mallett.
Here's some stats you might want to consider after two scrimmages:
Ryan Mallett is 36-73 (49%) for 507 yards, 6 TDs, and 1 Int.
Tyler Wilson is 31-53 (58%) for 702 yards, 11 TDs, and 3 Ints.
(And by the way, he throwing the deep ones too)
Here's some more food for thought; if Mallett throws the ball so hard at times, that his own reciever can't catch it, it's not likely anyone else (the defense) is going to either. That could explain the difference in Int. ratios. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Any which way you look at it, as impessive as Mallett's measurables seem to be, why doesn't the production match up as well?
Petrino also recently stated that Mallett hasn't displayed the poise that Wilson has.
Wilson's also improved his strength and muscle weight 20 lbs. over the off-season, pushing it up to 202 lbs. That alone was probably the only reason Wilson wasn't rated a 4 star QB out of HS, not too mention he played at a smaller school. (slightly)
Come fall, if Malletts stats still aren't measuring up to Wilson's, Petrino may have to rethink who's going to lead his offense. Thoughts anyone?
Good stuff.
I like the fact that we have this debate over who should be the QB. We have choices there that we've never had. As for our Defense, it will get better with a better offense. I think that there is a perception that our offense was lighting it up last year (the Petrino factor) and our defense couldn't do their part but we didn't score over 30 points last year until our final offensive play of the season. I think when they score more, flip the field more, and turn the ball over less our defense will begin to look better. I actually think our D made some strides last year and with the newcomers I expect even more this year. If our D can perform in the middle of the pack in the SEC I think we'll be dangerous because I don't think we'll have to wait until the last play of even the first game to score 30 this year.
I REALLY hope that our defense is getting torched because our offensive schemes are so great. The fact that our RBs are performing so well scares me too….run defense was a big weakness for us last year…..but so was most everything else on the defensive side.
Hearing about our promising QBs and improved offense is great, but I'd rather see more attention placed on our defense getting it done. The outcomes of many of our games last year could have been different if we played better defense. I was really hoping Petrino would bring in a more effective D coordinator this year, but….his history shows defense wasn't a focus area.
In order to get more wins this year, our special teams play and defense need to improve drastically. Outscoring opponents is not probable in the SEC.
Soupd,
I don't think we really know how effective Robinson is as a DC. I think its about the players you have and Reggie H. did an awful job of bringing in Defensive talent. Give the man a chance. I think the idea the Petrino isn't focused on D is a myth. He is focused on winning and he is plenty smart enough to know that you can't outscore everyone in the SEC.
Gonzo, good points. It would be great if we had two that you feel comfortable winning with. The way injuries can strike at a moments notice, having two quality QBs is a luxury most teams don't have.
Keep in mind about Wilson's stats…they are primarily against the #2 defense. He is still learning to play under center too. I look forward to seeing them both in Saturday's game. Fun times.
Sunshine
It's really hard to say just how focused Petrino was on his past defenses.
When you look up his past recruiting classes, not many of his recruits stood out, not to mention he never seemed to have any of his recruiting classes ranked in the top 25.
That says a lot for his coaching, considering he had a top 10 team at Louisville in '06, and won a BCS bowl (Orange) to boot.
Notice how much better the recruiting has been since he arrived in the SEC?
This is the conference every bigtime recruit wants to examine and consider heavily before he makes a decision to commit.
Now that Petrino is here, and with the coaching resume he brings with him, tons of bigtime talent in our neighboring states, that would,ve never even considered the UofA before, have us at the top or near the top of their list.
Our D-linemen and LBs have all hit the weights hard in the off-season, and most seem to have made some pretty significant gains.
Most of our best defensive talent are last years returning Freshmen, and the incoming Freshmen and Jucos we have coming in the fall.
To be perfectly honest about it, I think both the defense and the offense are still about a year away from putting it all together. The SEC is super tough!
'Bama and Florida will hands down show the best defenses in the SEC and in the country.
Sunshine,
Your right about Wilson playing mostly against the #2 defense, but that also means he's getting blocks from the #2 O-line quite often.
To be fair, halfway through the last scrimmage, Mallett was replaced by Wilson after he sprang his non-throwing shoulder. (just a precaution)
Wilson took advantage and finished very well, throwing TD strikes to L. Crawford twice for 80 and 27 yards, and hooking up with J. Adams for a TD as well.
Don't get me wrong, I do believe Mallett is still the guy to beat, but I think the separation between him and Wilson has tightened a bit more than some realize.
If Wilson continues to improve, and Mallett continues to struggle with his touch on some of his throws, we might be seeing another QB/Steve Spurrier senario, like we seen at Florida a few years back.
We have one more week of spring ball, the summer, and we still have a few weeks of fall practice before the first game. I'd be suprised if Wilson wasn't in the running 'till the end.
As far as QB goes, if they are close in talent going in, you go with the player who has game experience and that is Mallet. Then it is his till he loses it.
As far as defense goes, I'll say it till I am proved wrong. I am not convinced that our DC is the man for the job. Nothing personal, just want an up and comer on DC that gets stolen after a couple of years because he is awesome. Don't think our current DC is that guy. I do wonder how much John was brought here to keep an eye on that side of the ball for Bobby.
Carolina and Gonzo, thanks for the info. It's good to hear the d-line and lbs are making gains. That with improved technique and good play calling will go a long way to stopping the run.
If I recall (haven't looked at stats), I think that the high performing Louisville teams outscored opponents; its defense bent but didn't break….boy, doesn't that sound familiar
. I just don't think that can happen if we want to contend in the SEC. You look at the great SEC teams the past 4-5 years they have had fairly above average offenses (not amazing) but incredible defenses. Maybe we're another year away.
I do agree with Reason, I think we need some aggressive youth at that coaching spot. I also think a number of our defensive problems last year was poor playcalling. Some of our schemes in running situations left me scratching my head.
BUT, very excited about the upcoming season….but being in DFW I'm VERY disappointed in the ticket prices for the A&M game.
I sure hope the Texas A&M series in Jerry Jones's new stadium is better for recruiting than it is fan affordability.
At those redicules prices, you can bet your last dollar no one in my family will ever get to see one of those games. Sad.
GonzoHog, I'm not going either!
For a corner seat at the A&M classic at 125 a pop * family of 5 equals $625 plus hotel plus travel, maybe if I'm lucky $ 800. Who knows what parking costs in Jerry's Palace.
Maybe companies will buy lots of tickets.
For our five home games at 275 for each game for my five that comes to $1375. I sell one of the games like Eastern Michigan for face on stubhub, then I am down to $1100. I'll have to enjoy four of the five home games and listen to A&M on the radio or watch on TV.
Now if we were talking Texas, then I might have to dip into the college fund and hope one of the kids gets a scholarship.
Gonzo – I'm with you on Wilson. I think it is a real horse race for quarterback.