• 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.

“I think we are on track,” Petrino said.  “We had one day where we didn’t do things right on the practice field.  Usually that starts with your focus and your concentration in the meeting room.  We didn’t progress the way we needed to that day.  I am sure you all know what day that was.”

That day was last Tuesday (practice #5), as the coaches spent much of the day verbally roasting everybody within earshot for their lack of effort.  The display also included Petrino heaving a non-NCAA football up into the stands, and numerous player scuffles which were followed by wind sprints with the offending players being sent to the showers early.

You can almost set your watch by these ‘bad practices.’  They usually occur sometime during practices 3-6, both in the spring or fall.  Players start to get a little sore and maybe feeling a little sorry for themselves.  Position battles cause little flare-ups that draw the ire of coaches outwardly, while there must be a little part of them that likes to see that spirit.

These ‘bad days’ are always followed by days of progress where coaches tend to build them back up after tearing them down.  All in all, it makes for an entertaining 2+ hours of ‘theatre’ every practice.

Here are a few things that have caught our attention:

• After the knee injury to starting guard Wade Grayson, redshirt freshman Alvin Bailey (6-5, 323) has more than stepped into that starting spot and performed extremely well.  Bailey, who was set to challenge at one of the guard positions anyway, may be hard to unseat now.  Wally Pipp anyone?
• While Ronnie Wingo, Jr. was awarded the starting tailback spot before spring practice began, it appears that there is little separation between him, Knile Davis and Broderick Green.  In the two scrimmages to date, all three have posted similar numbers.  And unless something drastically changes in the next few weeks, a running back by committee approach seems likely.
• With starting quarterback Ryan Mallett on the sidelines, the tight ends appear to be seeing a few more passes thrown in their direction.  D.J. Williams (82 yards, 2 TDs), Chris Gragg (90 yards, TD) and Austin Tate (60 yards, TD) combined for 22 catches in Friday’s scrimmage.
• We’ll give the defense a few more days to work before rendering a final verdict, but Friday’s scrimmage was not good for the men in white.  164 plays equates to roughly two games of plays.  The 947 yards and 14 TDs were great for the offense, but would average out to 473.5 yards and 49 points per game on defense.  Yikes!

Petrino seems upbeat about the work the Hogs have put in thus far, but knows there is much to be gained over the next few weeks.

“We are pushing these guys hard.  It’s time to step up the intensity and step up making sure we are doing things right and playing with great effort.”

The Hogs’ spring game is set for April 24th at 6 pm.  The game follows RazorFest activities that, weather permitting, should make for a fun day in the Ozarks.

Bobby Petrino enters his third spring practice with the Hogs and, as usual, he’s shooting it to us straight about expectations for 2010.

“I feel good about the expectations of our players, the expectations of our team”, Petrino said.

“That’s the key.  We’re hoping everyone expects us to win, and if the fans do, then obviously that’s great.

“But the best part of it is when our players expect to take the field and win, and I think we’ll be that way this year.”

To get to the top in the fall, the 15 spring practices that begin next Tuesday will be important to this team.  Surprisingly, the absence of starting quarterback Ryan Mallett is not a huge storyline.  Here’s a few things we’ll be eyeing closely when the RBN crew makes it down to watch practice.

How will the three new assistant coaches mesh with the returning staff and players?  Defensive line coach Steve Caldwell, offensive line coach Chris Klenakis, and wide receivers coach Kris Cinkovich all make their debuts.  The SEC veteran Caldwell comes to Fayetteville after 14 seasons in Knoxville.  Klenakis and Cinkovich have coached with the Petrino family before, so expect a smooth transition there.  What’s their coaching style like…their approach?  We’ll find out.

How much more of the Pistol formation will we see in 2010?  Referred to as the “Shot” formation by Petrino, this look was sprinkled in last year and was a good set for the Hogs.  Considering Coach Klenakis was one of the innovators of the Pistol at Nevada (along with Nevada head coach Chris Ault), we’re expecting to see this formation more heavily used this year.

For a quarterback like Tyler Wilson, who has had some troubles under center, this formation might be a godsend.  Also, Nevada was one of the leaders nationally in rushing, much of it out of the Pistol.

Can offensive lineman Alvin Bailey (6-5, 323) and Anthony Oden (6-8, 328) push their way onto the first team?  Bailey and Oden both impressed as freshman a year ago.  The Hogs bit the bullet and redshirted Bailey, while Oden started one game and saw limited action in 2009.  Both are All-SEC type players at some point, and will emerge in due time.  Will that be this spring?

If there’s any linebackers on campus, will they stand up and be counted?  How long has it been since we’ve had a linebacker?  This spring, we trot the same, sad souls out there and try to find somebody, anybody that can make a play at this position.  Bueller….Bueller…anybody?

Off-season workout warrior Jermaine Love (5-11, 230) gets the first shot at middle linebacker, but look for sophomore Terrell Williams (6-3, 237) to emerge.  Regulars Jerry Franklin, Freddy Burton, Jerico Nelson and Bret Harris hold down the fort until incoming freshman Chris Smith (6-2, 230, Mt. Ulla, NC) gets on campus this fall.

ESPN’s Chris Low tabs the Hogs Defense as the unit that has “the most to prove” in the SEC this spring.  We couldn’t agree more.

“With all this talk about the Hogs being ready to contend for a championship next season, you can’t help but wonder how much better they will be on defense.  They were the only team in the SEC last season to give up more than 400 yards an outing in conference games (419.5 yards).”

A lot to solve in 15 practices, huh?  The Razorbacks will play their Spring Game on April 24th.  Here’s hoping the snow is over and warmer weather combines with the sound of popping pads to remove the sting of watching March Madness from afar.

• But first…one more note we accidentally left out earlier about the offense:  we have a new favorite player and his name is Zhamal Thomas.  The agile 6-5, 343-pound offensive lineman has NFL size and quickness, and we predict he will not be a backup for long.  Thomas has tremendous burst off the line and quick feet — very impressive.  True freshman offensive guard Alvin Bailey (6-5, 323, Broken Arrow, OK) also seems to be pushing for first team O-line reps.
• As for the defense, Bobby Petrino was spot-on when he said cornerback David Gordon might be the fastest player he’s ever coached.  Gordon looks like he breaks on the ball extremely well.  When he’s beaten by his man…he’s not beaten for long.  We saw firsthand how “sprinter’s speed” allowed Gordon to recover and make the play very quickly.
• Junior college transfer free safety Anthony Leon (6-4, 230, 4.4) has impressive size and excelled in all of the tackling drills.  Leon (whose nickname is “Juice”) appears to be behind, though, in his cover skills.  Keep an eye on that as the fall camp rolls on.
• Assistant coach John L. Smith wasn’t kidding about utilizing more starters on his special teams units.  That was evidenced on Saturday when the kickoff return team had Broderick Green and All-American tight end candidate D.J. Williams manning the front line.
• New punter Briton Forester put in a good performance on Sunday when the punt team got some work in the special teams periods.  While one of his eight punts was a “shank shot” after a bad snap, his other seven kicks averaged 43.8 yards with a long of 53.
• Wide receiver Austin Tucker (Shiloh Christian) was holding for kicker Alex Tejada on Saturday’s PAT and field goal team practice.  Tejada knocked through 7 of 8 field goals between 25 and 44 yards, with the lone miss coming from 44.
• After practice on Saturday, we snapped a picture of one of the newly painted yellow goal posts at Razorback Stadium.  Coach Smith says the color change was made to help the kickers “visually see the target.”  Hmmm…I guess we’ll find out about that soon enough.

TipsterHog and HogBlogger also contributed to this post.