ARKANSAS PRESEASON PRACTICE : Wildcat sighting
Posted on Sunday, August 5, 2007
FAYETTEVILLE - Tim Horton has gone from coaching with the Kansas State Wildcats to helping coach the Wildcat at Arkansas.
Horton, who was hired as the Razorbacks' running backs coach last month after Danny Nutt had to step down for medical reasons, worked his first Arkansas practice Saturday.
The Razorbacks worked on several plays from the Wildcat formation in which All-America tailback Darren McFadden takes snaps directly from center and is a threat running, handing off or passing.
"It gets on a defense fast now,"said Horton, who coached Kansas State's running backs last season and was Air Force's offensive coordinator when he accepted the job at Arkansas. "I was impressed to see [the Wildcat ] for the first time live and in person."
McFadden threw three touchdown passes out of the Wildcat formation last season, Casey Dick threw a touchdown pass on a throwback from McFadden, and McFadden and tailback Felix Jones produced numerous long runs.
Senior fullback Peyton Hillis is now in the backfield, too, for some of the Wildcat plays.
"Coach [David ] Lee has a lot of things stored away in his playbook for the Wildcat,"said McFadden, referring to Arkansas' new offensive coordinator. "There are always things you can do to throw some more curveballs at the defense."
Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt said he was glad with how junior center Jonathan Luigs, McFadden, Jones and Hillis executed the Wildcat plays Saturday.
"I thought they really handled the ball very well,"Nutt said. "They kept it off the ground."
The Razorbacks didn't work on the Wildcat much in the spring with Lee, a Dallas Cowboys assistant coach the past four years, installing a new passing package.
"We really neglected [the Wildcat ] last spring for the sake of [learning ] new pass protections and new pass routes and new pass terminology,"Lee said. "So we wanted to get on it pretty quick here in the fall."
Lee said he believed there was good carryover with the entire offense and praised players for how hard they worked in the summer.
"This is so much better than the first day last spring,"Lee said. "We can't coach them in the summer, but they took what we did [and worked on their own ]. Casey Dick did a great job organizing things, calling the players and getting them to work together."
Senior flanker Robert Johnson, who moved from quarterback to receiver after the first game last season, looked good catching passes over the middle and on deep routes Saturday.
"I worked real hard this summer with the receivers,"Johnson said. "I'm able now to play relaxed and play full speed."
Nutt and Lee called Johnson a bright spot for the offense the opening day.
"Robert probably had his best day as a wide receiver since he's been here,"Nutt said. "He caught some big balls and he's being a leader for us. He's very comfortable out there."
Lee said Dick's passing accuracy was off at times, but that was understandable for the first practice. Junior walkon backup Nathan Emert threw two interceptions in drills.
Freshmen Nathan Dick and Brian Reader, a walk-on, threw the ball well, Lee said, while freshman Joe Chaisson "has got some work to do."
Senior defensive tackle Marcus Harrison, a projected starter, worked on a limited basis Saturday after undergoing knee surgery last April to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
While he's making a quick recovery, Arkansas defensive coordinator Reggie Herring said Harrison will miss the season opener against Troy State on Sept. 1. Herring has said he hopes Harrison will be ready for the SEC opener at Alabama on Sept. 15.
"Bottom line is he ain't going to play the first game, so get over it,"Herring said. "We are not going to play him in the first game even if he is ready. It's not right.
"Technically, he's not supposed to be back until about the sixth game. So if we get him back at all early, we hope it will be the Alabama game."
Junior Marcus Shavers and senior Fred Bledsoe are competing for a starting job at defensive tackle in Harrison's absence, with junior Ernest Mitchell a returning starter at the other spot.
The Razorbacks ended practice with junior Jeremy Davis and freshman Alex Tejada each hitting field goals from 41 yards. Davis also hit some booming punts, drawing cheers from fans who watched practice.
Davis was the Razorbacks'place-kicker last season but is expected to be challenged by Tejada for the No. 1 job.
Freshman D. J. Williams, who is working at fullback and Hback, was among 22 newcomers going through his first Arkansas practice.
"My first rep I went in and I didn't have pads on and didn't know what to expect and I got popped,"Williams said. "So I pretty much learned to play at a different level now. It was full speed even without the pads."
Williams, from Central Arkansas Christian, said he's excited to play for Horton.
"I loved [Danny Nutt ] to death and it hurt when he left, but Coach Horton recruited me out of high school for Kansas State, and when I turned him down, he still called,"Williams said. "He was 100 percent with me. I appreciated that."
Horton said he's impressed with all the running backs, but especially the attitude of McFadden, Jones and Hillis.
"They're the headline guys, but they're coachable,"Horton said. "They're not so ego driven that they're know-it-alls. They want to be coached.
"Obviously, Danny laid a great foundation, and hopefully, I can build on it and help make them a little bit better."
Next: LSU
TODAY'S PRACTICE
Arkansas will hold its second practice at 2: 30 p.m. today. Practices are open to the public this week. Practices after today likely will be held in the evening.
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