ARKANSAS VS. WESTERN ILLINOIS, 6 TONIGHT, RAZORBACK STADIUM : Defying description
Posted on Saturday, August 30, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE — When the lights go up on Arkansas ’ 2008 football season tonight, the spotlight will burn on the muchanticipated debut of the Bobby Petrino offense.
The Razorbacks, retooled from their run-heavy ways of the past decade, will open it up against Western Illinois at 6 p. m. at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The weather forecast calls for temperatures in the mid-80 s, with humidity in the 60 s and climbing and a 20 percent chance for rain.
Other intriguing story lines for the Razorbacks include how a defense with little game experience in the back seven will perform, and what impact a mighty freshman class will have for a team projected as a noncontender in the SEC West.
The Petrino offensive system has a reputation for scoring like a young Wilt Chamberlain, and it has been prolific in camp with senior Casey Dick at the quarterback controls.
The offense doesn’t defy description, but it takes a lot of words to define it, and it doesn’t lend itself to convenient labels.
“It’s a mixture of two-back, one-back, multiple offense,” offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said. “I don’t know exactly how to define it, but it’s definitely not the Spread.”
Arkansas players struggled to put a name to the new attack.
“I don’t know, the Power Spread ?” Dick said, making a suggestion.
“I’ll have to get back to you on that one,” tight end D. J. Williams said, grinning.
“Without sounding cliche, I just want to say ‘explosive,’” said receiver Lucas Miller. “I come from Greenwood where we throw the rock like it’s nothing, but here it’s, I don’t know, there’s always someone open.”
The Petrinos have minced no words in defining their expectations for the offense.
“We want to execute, control the line of scrimmage... and be able to both run and throw the ball down the field,” Bobby Petrino said. “I’d love to see Casey make good decisions and distribute and understand what the coverage tells him to do and take advantage of it.”
Gaining field position and first downs simply won’t be enough.
“The goal is to score every time we get the football, and every time we don’t it’s a disappointment,” All-America center Jonathan Luigs said.
“We expect to go out there and move the ball up and down the field and score touchdowns,” Paul Petrino said. “We’re never going to be happy with anything less than that.”
Though Petrino’s brand has been on display for years in college, he spent last season in the NFL, so sharpening the focus on his schemes has been difficult for Western Illinois, the No. 22-ranked team by Football Championship Subdivision coaches.
“With a new staff, the bottom line is we don’t know for sure how they’re going to line up on defense, offense or in the kicking game,” said acting WIU Coach Mark Hendrickson.
“There’s no question that it’s a very unsettling factor for the coaching staff when you simply can’t study game tape to prepare for a team. The opening game of the season against a new staff is really about the biggest challenge there is in football.”
The Petrino offense at Arkansas has been on TV however.
“We’ve watched their spring game and tried to learn from that,” WIU linebacker Jason Williams said.
The Leathernecks present issues as well, with a rarely seen alignment on defense and a power-running game led by a strong line and a star tailback in Herb Donaldson.
The WIU defense employs three down linemen, two linebackers shading the guards near the line of scrimmage, and two more linebackers on the next level.
“You’ve got to go recognize where people are at, their formations and what they like to do in certain situations,” Dick said.
The Leathernecks will be without three would-be starters on defense, as linemen Josh Galloway and Clinton Barley are serving a disciplinary suspension — along with starting receiver Carl Sims — and linebacker Brandon Kreczmer is out with a broken hand.
Western Illinois’ offense does most of its damage on the ground, where Donaldson has had back-to-back 1, 400-yard rushing seasons and is on pace to set a school rushing record.
“When you watch him on film, this one personnel group we saw, you would draft that kid off that one clip,” Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said.
“He’s kind of like a bowling ball,” middle linebacker Jerry Franklin said. “You’ve got to wrap up and gang-tackle on him.”
Every starter in the Hogs ’ back seven on defense is new, but that doesn’t seem to be a great concern, at least publicly, for some players.
“I feel comfortable with our depth,” defensive end Antwain Robinson said. “Everybody from the seniors to the sophomores, even the freshmen, can come out here and perform.”
Willy Robinson was asked this week if he had enough playmakers on defense.
“We do have playmakers and it is the inexperience that we’re going to have to suffer through,” Robinson said.
True freshmen Elton Ford and Jelani Smith are scheduled to start at free safety and weakside linebacker, respectively, while Franklin is a redshirt freshman and cornerback Isaac Madison is a sophomore.
On offense, freshmen Jarius Wright, Dennis Johnson, De’Anthony Curtis, Joe Adams, Greg Childs and possibly others are expected to contribute tonight. Wright also will handle punt-return duties, and he and Ford are slated to be the deep men on kickoff returns.
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