Razorbacks report
Posted on Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Practice a big lift for Hogs
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick called Tuesday’s practice “probably the best Tuesday practice we’ve had all year long.”
Arkansas offensive coordinator Paul Petrino also sounded encouraged.
“Some guys came out here today and showed some fight, showed they want to get up off their knees and fight and get after it,” Petrino said. “I thought we had some good spirit. We still obviously have to do a lot of things better, but at least we came out here with the right frame of mind and the right fight and the right hard work.”
Bouncing back from blowout losses is never easy.
For the Razorbacks, they jump out of the agony of a 49-14 loss to then-No. 9 Alabama into the daunting task of taking on No. 7 Texas on the road.
Dick threw three of the Hogs’ four interceptions against Alabama and has to quickly get back in the groove with which he had started the season. He said watching tape of the Alabama game was not a good feeling.
“You definitely learn from it,” he said. “Like I said, today we came out and had a real efficient practice.”
Reserve quarterback Tyler Wilson had his heaviest day of work since two-a-days ended, estimating his amount of reps doubled.
“I got some good work in today,” Wilson said. “I feel more prepared today than I had been in a while. I feel like I got a good sweat in today, and it’s something I feel comfortable with.”
Wilson said a potential redshirt season for him had been discussed, but the emphasis had been “we’re going to see how you develop,” he said.
Dick described Wilson’s Tuesday practice as good.
“Any time a young guy gets in there, it’s probably going to be a little faster for him than what he’s used to,” Dick said. “He’ll get better every day that he gets in there.... He’ll have to study more and do whatever, but it’s certainly something he’s excited about.”
Personnel notes Receiver Lucas Miller (concussion ) did not practice and is doubtful for Saturday’s game. Defensive players Jermaine Love and Van Stumon were switched to fullback this week as Arkansas tries to get heavier in its short-yardage packages. Love was running at third-team middle linebacker behind Jerry Franklin and Wendel Davis, and he showed some pop as a lead blocker in early drills. Stumon, who came to Arkansas as a fullback, has been beefing up since his arrival in 2006, and the 277-pound redshirt sophomore had gone from defensive end to defensive tackle.
Texas two-step Arkansas has started preparing for the second time in two weeks to play Texas. The biggest difference since their first round of preparation: The Razorbacks and Longhorns have been on opposite sides of blowouts. While the Hogs were being hammered 49-14 by Alabama, Texas defeated Rice 52-10 and leaped a spot to No. 7 in The Associated Press poll. “We took Rice and broke that down and added that to the scouting report and to the percentages,” Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said. “We wanted to make sure we utilized the two practices for them we already had.” One other difference between the Arkansas-Texas game that wasn’t and today is the betting line. Texas opened that Week 3 matchup as a 23-point favorite, and the line had risen to 24 by Wednesday, the day it was postponed. This
1 week, Texas opened as a 26 / 2-point favorite and it has gone up a point since then.
Hello, bikers Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino stopped reporters for a brief moment in a staircase at the Broyles Athletic Center on Tuesday. He was curious about Bikes, Blues and BBQ, the annual gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts that takes place in Fayetteville this week. “So, I hear 100, 000 bikers are going to be in town,” Petrino said. “Yeah, you’ll hear them. Parking spaces will be hard to find,” a reporter replied. “Hey, I’d go join ’em,” Petrino said.
Maybe an Emmy Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said the penalty for running into the kicker thrown against freshman Elton Ford in the opening minutes last Saturday was a judgment call that could have gone either way. “They have a decision they have to make, whether you rough the kicker if his leg’s up in the air and you obviously take him out, whether you bump him and he goes down, or whether they think he’s going for a Grammy,” Petrino said. Referee Matt Austin made choice No. 2 out of Petrino’s list of options on P. J. Fitzgerald’s punt on a fourth-and-4 from the Arkansas 48. The result was a first down for the Crimson Tide.
“Obviously we bumped him, there’s no doubt about that,” Petrino said. “It’s one of those things where [Ford ] came free, he really didn’t lay out to block it. If he did, maybe he would have [blocked it ], and he really didn’t pull off so that he didn’t hit him. He kind of just froze a little bit and bumped into him and they got the call.”
No go to Julio Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said the 25-yard touchdown pass from Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson to Julio Jones in the second quarter Saturday should have never happened. “The TD pass is a hard one to live with because that’s just a blown coverage,” Petrino said. “We have a safety there that when the inside receiver runs a crossing route, he should have turned and doubled Julio Jones, and [Jones ] ran right by him. That’s really should be a dead play against that coverage.” Petrino didn’t identify the safety who failed to cover.
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