Arkansas fullback Van Stumon and offensive tackle Anthony Oden will be suspended Saturday for Arkansas’ opener against Tennessee Tech, Coach Bobby Petrino announced Wednesday.
Stumon and Oden were arrested on separated occassions and were charged with alcohol-related offenses. Both had gone through extra conditioning and one-on-one work after practices this preseason as punishment.
The suspensions will be for one game “as of today,” Petrino said on the SEC coaches’ teleconference.
Oden and Stumon were not listed on Arkansas’ depth chart that was released Friday.
Other notes from Petrino’s appearance today on the teleconference:
— As expected, sophomore Dylan Breeding has won the starting job at punter. He beat out true freshman Zach Hocker, who is still competing against Alex Tejada for placekicker duties. True freshman Eddie Camara entered the mix for placekicker duties last week, and proved to have the strongest leg out of the three but Petrino did not mention him.
— Alfred Davis and Byran Jones are knocking Zach Stadther out of the rotation at the defensive tackle spots, apparently. Stadther was working with the scout team at practice Tuesday. Jones, a true freshman, has been a bright spot for the freshman class. Petrino said last week that he expects to play Jones this season. Davis, whose conditioning improved this summer, has also impressed defensive coaches.
Meanwhile, Stadther is busy catching up with the pack.
“Zach has had a good camp,” Petrino said. “He’s just not quite where we want him yet.”
— Petrino “wouldn’t hesitate” throwing Tyler Wilson and Brandon Mitchell in the game Saturday. The backup quarterbacks each had impressive fall camps and, with a differing style of play, they could prove dangerous on the field when called upon by the coaching staff.
“Tyler’s really progressed in his ability to get the ball out of his hand and understanding coverages,” Petrino said. “His accuracy is a lot better right now than it was through spring ball.
“Brandon is just a little bit different flavor, a guy that can make a lot of plays with his legs. He has a strong, strong arm. He’s still a little bit wild, we’re still trying to get him to be accurate all the time. But he can really make some plays with his legs. He’s very, very fast, a very, very gifted athlete.”
You figure Petrino would call on Wilson first Saturday when Mallett has proven to be too much for the Tennessee Tech defense.
— Petrino’s radio show, “Bobby Petrino Live” returns to the airwaves today at 7 p.m. The show will originate from the Catfish Hole in Fayetteville. Tight end Ben Cleveland and cornerback Isaac Madison will also make an appearance on the show.
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Who’s going to be handling kickoff duties? I hope to see plenty in the endzone this season.
i hope Zac Hocker nails place kicking down,he put alot of footballs in the endzone when he played at Russellville.
I think it speaks well for our new talent at DT if one of last year’s starters (and not a bad one) might not see the field.
I wouldn’t hurt Stadther to redshirt if he needs improvement. It really sounds as if Byron Jones and Aldred Davis are going to be serious factors on the line this year. It also seems that Patrick Jones has fallen off a little over the past week or two. DD Jones will apparantly be the starter at DT, backed-up by Askew. It’s really nice to see the D-Line is at least two deep at all four positions.
I predict Tejada will have a good season this year, maybe harkening back to his freshman campaign when he hit 17 of 23 FG.
The LB corp seems to be a little bit muddled. Who really are the starters? Is it Franklin, Leon and Nelson? Is it Leon, Love and Nelson? Is it Burton, Leon and Franklin? Who are the starters there, and will we see plenty of Terrell Williams?
My hope is that the depth and talent on the D-Line will make those corners look a lot better. The ability to pressure the QB without blitzing too often not only allows more men to drop back in coverage, but it also allows them to play with more confidence and in shorter bursts. Let’s get this party started already!!
BTW, I saw another video that “proved” spaceships were here was finally claimed by a couple of students in Italy, who explained it was their project for a class in Maya, the CGI program. Yet another one drops…