Three 2 Watch: No. 1 — Ronnie Wingo (offense)

The “Three 2 Watch” are the most intriguing players and situations on offense and defense as the Razorbacks enter a pivotal spring.

The most intriguing story on offense this spring is sophomore running back Ronnie Wingo, who has a shot at becoming Arkansas’ go-to runner amid a crowd of talented teammates.

THREE 2 WATCH: OFFENSE

No. 1 — RB RONNIE WINGO

2009 Stats
Ronnie Wingo (6-3, 227) — 49 rushes, 319 yards, 3 TDs; 5 catches, 99 yards, 1 TD

The skinny

Ronnie Wingo

Ronnie Wingo, Jr. finds himself atop the depth chart of a very deep group of running backs this spring, and will have to fight and claw his way through practices and scrimmages to keep that role as starter.

Wingo, who started just one game last season, showed flashes of being an explosive running back in the SEC, and averaged 6.5 yards per carry as a true freshman. His 62-yard touchdown run against Texas A&M especially stood out as one of the best by a Razorback all season. His explosiveness on swing passes and draw plays was apparent, but the St. Louis native did not get many chances running the ball in power formations during the season. He may get that shot in the spring.

What 2 Watch

The handling of the running back rotation will be the most interesting of any rotation on offense this spring. Coach Bobby Petrino is notorious for a committee and situational approach with his backfield, but the feeling here is that he’s looking for a go-to starter to handle the majority of the snaps in 2010.

Last season, Wingo saw most of his time on the field in long yardage situations, while Broderick Green was inserted on short-yardage and goal-line formations. Michael Smith was the starter, but injury sidelined and slowed him near the end of the season, leaving the bulk of the work to Dennis Johnson. Johnson flourished in the starting role, becoming the first running back in a year to rush for 100 yards or more against Florida, but was asked to focus more on his duties as the team’s kick returner.

Arkansas' backfield is loaded this spring, just as it was last season with Dennis Johnson, Knile Davis, Brandon Barnett and Broderick Green all pictured here congratulating Ronnie Wingo after a touchdown against Troy last season. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN)

With the addition of Nevada offensive coordinator Chris Klenakis to the staff as an offensive line coach, the implementation of several running plays in the Pistol formation (known as Shot in Arkansas’ playbook) has been the talk surrounding the Razorbacks this offseason. And Wingo’s speed (4.37 seconds in 40-yard dash) and agility may be the best fit for the Razorbacks’ re-tooled running game.

“We were really good throwing the ball out of it last year,” Petrino said of the Shot formation. “We did a nice job in our drop-back game, we did a nice job in our play-action and in our movement with the quarterback. And I really feel like if we can add the run game to it, it helps us a lot. So we will work hard on it.

“… It allows you to run the ball downhill, do a lot of the same things we do from underneath the center. … I’m excited to see what it looks like and how much improvement we can make running the football. We’re going to continue to do the things we did last year throwing out of it. I think if you can run better out of it, it’ll make it tougher for people to defend.”

Wingo’s development during the spring may just be the most important of any player in the stacked backfield. His playmaking ability is known and his versatility was shown with his five catches for 99 yards last season, but mistakes like his dropped swing pass in the Liberty Bowl still stick out.

The thought remains, however, that he is the best running back suited for the Shot formation.

What 2 Expect

Speed kills and Wingo certainly has that coming into the spring. The sophomore is tied with running back mate Knile Davis for the team’s third-fastest time in the 40-yard dash. The Razorbacks’ attack thrives on speed and, perhaps most importantly, mental sharpness. Can Wingo overcome his mistakes, adjust, learn and allow his speed to do the rest?

If so, Wingo could see himself still atop the depth chart heading into the fall and with a legitimate shot at becoming Arkansas’ first 1,000-yard running back since 2008. Wingo and the implementation of the Pistol offense could prove fruitful for the Razorbacks, whose only weak link on offense last season was the running game (10th in the SEC).

Get some balance in Arkansas’ offense and the Razorbacks may not only be improving its numbers on offense, but also on defense as the Razorbacks begin to control the clock with the running game.

What 2 Say

I think it’s going to be a lot of fun in spring with the running backs. All four of them are really good. They’ve shown sparks of being dynamic at what they do. Someone’s got to line up there when you go out with the first group and I think Ronnie’s the guy who’s going to do that. He certainly had a good end of the year. I was really impressed with the way he ran the ball late in the season, particularly in the LSU game. He’s had a great offseason. He’s got the combination that you’d like between size and speed, and being a home run hitter, which is nice to have.

— Coach Bobby Petrino

VIDEO: Johnson, Wingo impress in August drills

THREE 2 WATCH — OFFENSE

No. 1 — RB Ronnie Wingo
No. 2 — Wide receivers
No. 3 — TE Chris Gragg

THREE 2 WATCH — DEFENSE

No. 1 — Monday
No. 2 — Friday
No. 3 — Thursday

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Coming up Thursday, the first in a three-part series on Arkansas’ defense on my Three 2 Watch list.

Make sure to check out WholeHogSports.com and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more coverage. You can also follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates with @bmarcello and @wholehogsports.

— Brandon Marcello