Razor Review (Day 12): Running game strong; Hogs focus on linebackers

Arkansas’ offense apparently heard the call from its leaders and coaches Tuesday.

A couple of lackluster practices have been sprinkled throughout Arkansas’ camp, and none were perhaps worse than the scene inside Razorback Stadium on Morning morning. The Hogs bounced back for a crisp practice in the afternoon and again Tuesday.

Coaches were very vocal and Arkansas’ offense rallied around their cries Tuesday. The offense, while still struggling at times, began to hit that familiar stride from last season. The running game looked good in team work. Knile Davis, fighting a tender hamstring, broke off a couple of long runs and Dennis Johnson (who bolted for a 30-yard gain and carried a couple of tacklers with him near the end of the run) was also impressive.

Ryan Mallett and Tyler Wilson made mistakes but were also crisp throwing the ball. Wilson was especially impressive in hooking up with Cobi Hamilton on back-to-back throws, including a deep toss for a gain of more than 40 yards over his shoulder.

Mallett did struggle late, throwing two interceptions that were picked by Elton Ford and Ramon Broadway, but was good in short-yardage throws and also found Joe Adams on a nice loft pass deep down the field.

Overall, the offense looked better after a tough Monday morning and a much-needed rebound in practice Monday afternoon.

NOTABLES

— Tyler Wilson had a good day, in my eyes. The quarterback was surgical with some of his throws during team periods and really found a great hook-up in sophomore receiver Cobi Hamilton.

— Rudell Crim was at practice but was limited in what he could do and Elton Ford remained at first team at Crim’s safety spot. Crim sustained an unknown injury in the Saturday practice and returned to practice Monday afternoon.

Anthony Leon, who moved from safety to linebacker, stayed at outside linebacker for the second day in a row with the backups. Ryan Powers also moved up to get some first-team work at linebacker, just as he did Monday.

— Linebacker spots may seem more like a game of musical chairs at practice, but Arkansas’ staff is looking to find some consistent parts in a unit lacking depth.

Jerry Franklin is a mainstay, obviously, and Freddy Burton figures to be a key cog in the middle. But what about a guy like Matt Marshall at Sam linebacker?

“We feel like he’s really worked hard,” defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said. “He’s brought a toughness about his work ethic, and it seems like now all of a sudden he finds his stuff, and the first or second group, his mindset’s a lot different.  He’s not as aloof, I guess would be the word. He’s more focused and he seems to be working well there.”

Coaches also like the move of Leon to linebacker, as do the players.

“I think he’s definitely going to give us some help,” cornerback Ramon Broadway said. “Juice is a hitter.”

— A lot has been said about the apparent improvement of Arkansas’ defense, especially the secondary.

Upon further film review, Arkansas’ first-team defense was, as first suspected, pretty good Saturday in the team’s first scrimmage of the preseason.

“We’ve got to start faster, but it felt like our ones took control in the second half,” Robinson said. “We just have to continue to learn how to start faster in the first half.”

The second-team defense was a different story though. “They just came out very lethargic and didn’t perform up to the expectations that we are looking for,” Robinson said. “We were kind of disappointed in that group.”

Broadway, Arkansas’ most vocal player on defense, was asked about the aggressiveness of the defense since the scrimmage.

“We were OK,” the cornerback said. “There’s a lot more work we’ve got to do. We’ve got to run to the ball a lot better. We’re in the chase of that turnover margin that we had (last season). We’re trying to boost that up and step that all the way. The only way we can do that is run to the ball a lot better than what we’re doing.”

PLAYER/PLAY OF THE DAY

WR COBI HAMILTON

Hamilton was busting his hump on routes and came down with the best catch of the day on a route near the sideline. The pass resulted in a gain of more than 40 yards, which immediately followed a nice catch near the sideline when he managed to stay in bounds.

QUOTE ME

“This was the first summer that I didn’t miss a sprint time, and that was real big because I came in kind of heavy. Now I can run, I can keep up the pace of the game, I can play more than first and second down.”
— Defensive tackle Alfred Davis, who has impressed coaches with his newfound, resurgent stamina and play-making ability stopping the run.

ON TAP

Two-a-days conclude Tuesday with practices scheduled for 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. It’s the second-to-last day practices will be open to the public. Saturday will be the final day open to the public with practice scheduled for 9 a.m.

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