Hogs go on without Smith at Tuesday practice
Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The Razorbacks don’t know if they’ve lost a running back for Saturday’s game against Ole Miss but do believe they’ve regained their best receiver.
Sophomore tight end D. J. Williams, shut out as a receiver for the first time this season in last Saturday’s 21-20 loss at Kentucky while hobbling on a bad knee, “ looked night and day better, ” in Tuesday’s closed practice, offensive coordinator / receivers coach Paul Petrino said.
Any game head coach Bobby Petrino’s Hogs need Williams, 28 catches for 315 yards and 2 touchdowns.
However they will need him more than ever to complement freshman running backs De’Anthony Curtis and Dennis Johnson if fourth-year junior bellcow Michael Smith can’t play in Saturday’s 6 p. m. payper-view TV SEC West game at Frank Broyles Field in Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Smith sat out Tuesday’s practice with the concussion he suffered Saturday during the fourth quarter in Lexington, Ky.
“ They held him out today, ” Paul Petrino said after Tuesday’s practice, “ but from what I hear, everyone’s real optimis- tic that things are going to be real good. ”
Smith posted a career night against Kentucky with 35 carries for 196 yards and a TD plus 3 catches for 33 yards and a TD. The Hogs were up 20-7 when he exited with the concussion and lost 21-20 in the final 4: 47.
Curtis, the freshman from Camden Fairview, fumbled after replacing Smith but came back the next series to run what appeared to be a first down that was wiped out by one of Arkansas’ 13 penalties.
However Curtis’ post-fumble run against Kentucky and his practice Tuesday indicate to Paul Petrino and running backs coach Tim Horton that Curtis is ready to start Saturday if need be.
Former Texarkana Razorbacks Johnson, also a true freshman, and Barnett, a second-year junior college transfer, worked Tuesday in extensive reserve.
“ He had a good practice today, ” Horton said. “ Obviously his role along with Dennis Johnson’s and Brandon Barnett’s greatly increase with Michael Smith’s health the way it is. They all practiced good today. If we just continue to improve we’ll be fine Saturday. ”
Curtis said that’s Smith goal for them, too, whether Smith can’t play or even if he can. A third straight 35 carries a game for him seems out of the question no matter what.
“ We have to fill his shoes, ” Curtis said. “ Like Mike says, ‘ We don’t lose a step without him. ’ ”
The Hogs ought to gain some catches if Williams stays healthy.
“ I felt like this is the fastest I’ve moved in a long time, ” Williams said of the knee he injured two games ago. “ Everything’s 100 percent, ready to roll. ”
Williams said in the running and passing game the burden has got to be eased some off Smith.
“ Yeah, ” Williams said, “ we can’t just sit back and let Mike try to take care of the whole show himself. He has that talent and ability to do it himself, but the team has to back him up, and pick up if he may get hurt one play. That’s a lot of carries, a lot of fatigue that can be on a player and the battle it takes on his body every play, so we need to step up and help him out. ”
Though in full pads, the Razorbacks had their shortest Tuesday practice of the season trying to refresh from last Saturday’s physical setback in Lexington, Ky.
For obvious reasons, with Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt and Ole Miss assistants James Shibest, an Arkansas alum and All-Southwest Conference receiver in the 1980 s, Mike Markuson, Tracy Rocker and Chris Vaughn all on the Arkansas sideline last year, focus has riveted on those coaches swapping sidelines.
However, they and Horton, on Nutt’s staff at Arkansas last year, and Arkansas defensive line coach Bobby Allen, on all of Nutt’s 10 Arkansas staffs and also assisting him at Murray State and Boise State, aren’t the only coaches whose paths have crossed.
Paul Petrino and Ole Miss defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix and Ole Miss running backs coach Derrick Nix once all were together at Southern Mississippi.
“ I coached with Tyrone Nix for three years, ” Paul Petrino said, “ and their running backs coach Derrick Nix was our running back who I coached for three years. So I probably know those two more than the rest of them. ”
He knows what to expect from Nix and sees what he expected on film.
“ He’s got them running around, ” Paul Petrino said of Nix and the Ole Miss defense. “ They do a good job stripping the ball, they run to the football. He’s definitely a pressure guy. He’s going to come after you, try to put pressure on, try to confuse the O-line and quarterback, try to do a lot of different things. Very similar to what he did when we were together before. ”
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