The Associated Press Released their Pre-Season poll and Arkansas is 21st. Their are 2 SEC teams in the Top 6 (LSU and Florida). Georgia, Tennessee, and Auburn are in the Top 18. That’s 6 in the top 25 with 3 more SEC schools (Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina) in the “Others receiving votes” category.
Arkansas capped the second week of pre-season camp with an 87-play scrimmage in front of a crowd of more than 4,100 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday night.
While the projected starters on both sides of the ball polished their assignments, a large portion of the scrimmage was devoted to auditioning reserves at every position. With the season opener two weeks away, UA coaches are looking for players to step up to fill the depth chart.
“This was a good scrimmage,” Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt said. “We have done what we needed to do. We really stretched those No. 2’s and No. 3’s. Now it’s time to work on assignments. We are going to organize the scout team on Sunday. I’m anxious to watch the film on this. It was a good scrimmage.”
Offensively, the Razorbacks had several young wide receivers step forward in Saturday night’s action. Redshirt freshman Carlton Salters led all wide receivers with five catches for 60 yards. True freshman Crosby Tuck made the most of his four receptions racking up 93 yards including a 37-yard scoring strike from Casey Dick. Freshman D.J. Williams hauled in four passes for 35 yards.
“Carlton has been a quiet steady guy,” Nutt said. “He has been a steady performer. I’m really proud of him. London Crawford showed some toughness across the middle, catching the tough ball. Crosby Tuck continues to make plays. D.J. Williams made some good plays and so did some of those other young guys.”
Junior Casey Dick completed eight of 15 passes for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Razorbacks’ starting signal caller found Reggie Fish for a seven-yard score and Tuck for a 37-yard touchdown. Freshman Nathan Dick completed six of 12 passes for 68 yards with at least two more tosses right on the money, but dropped by UA wide receivers.
“We’ve given Nathan (Dick) more reps on purpose,” Nutt said. “We want to do a really thorough evaluation on him. You love his arm. He has a live arm. It’s just can he get all the stuff? That is what is tough on a freshman.”
While stalwart running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones played sparingly, a host of other Razorback ball carriers had an opportunity to play on Saturday. Sophomore Michael Smith carried the ball only three times, but racked up 54 yards and a touchdown. Smith broke free for a 50-yard touchdown run early in the scrimmage. Torian Wilkins saw extensive work earning 54 yards on 20 carries. McFadden carried the ball four times for 25 yards while Jones netted only one rushing attempt for no gain.
On the defensive side of the ball, several Razorbacks stepped forward. Freshman linebacker Ryan Powers and senior defensive end Antwain Robinson were among the leaders with five tackles on the night. Powers made five solo stops including one (-1) for loss while Robinson racked up two tackles for loss (-10) in his five stops.
“Walner Leandre made some good hits, Wendel Davis, Chip Gregory, Ryan Powers, those guys stand out but I’m anxious to watch the film,” Nutt said. “We will break down this film very hard and then we are in Troy week where we will put on the final touches. From there we will try to zero in on the two-deep depth chart.”
Three Razorback defenders snared interceptions on the night. Strong safety Matt Harris made his second interception in as many weeks while linebacker Adrian Davis also picked off a pass. Freshman cornerback Brandon Barnett intercepted an errant pass and raced 39 yards before being forced out of bounds.
The biggest applause of the night, however, was reserved for freshman placekicker Alex Tejada. Handling all the placekicking duties while Jeremy Davis is sidelined with an injury, Tejada was very impressive hitting eight of nine field goals including splitting the uprights from 44, 47, 51 and 55 yards. His only miss on the night came when he missed wide on another 55-yard attempt.
“You gain a lot of confidence with Alex (Tejada),” Nutt said. “He has really kicked the ball well. The tough thing is that Jeremy Davis was having a good camp as well before he got injured. We will just see how it plays out there.”
Arkansas will take Sunday off from the practice field before returning to the field on Monday night. Monday is the first day of classes on the UA campus. Arkansas opens the season on Sept. 1 against Troy at Donald W. Reynolds Stadium at 6 p.m.
Source - UA Sports Information
Stewart Mandel is a writer for SI.com and a voter in the AP football poll. In his new book, excerpted on SI.com, he talks about the 2006 season and talks about the night of Arkansas’ win over Mississippi St., their tenth in a row, and why he ranked Arkansas where he did. It’s a facinating look behind the curtain.
Nov. 18, 2006, 11:12 p.m., Ruby Tuesday’s, Columbus, Ohio: A couple of my fellow writers and I, having just covered the Ohio State-Michigan “Game of the Century,” have gathered for a late-night dinner. Laptop open, I’m putting the finishing touches on my AP ballot, but one issue has me stumped: Who should be No. 2? For weeks, I have resisted in print the notion that, should No. 1 OSU and No. 2 Michigan stage a thriller, the loser should not drop in the polls. The idea of a national-championship rematch seems ridiculous. And yet, with images from the two teams’ 42-39 classic still fresh in my mind, I can’t bring myself to move another team above the 11-1 Wolverines. Arkansas, the team I had third last week, has won 10 straight games, yet I’m no longer comfortable putting them ahead of 9-1 USC, a team that beat the Razorbacks 50-14 the first week of the season. The Trojans appear to be the next-best candidate but they’re only three weeks removed from a bad loss at Oregon State. And Florida, itself 10-1, hasn’t looked good in about a month. I poll the table, and everyone is in agreement that, under the circumstances, you’ve got to keep Michigan No. 2, so I do. It’s a decision I’ll regret two weeks later when Florida wins the SEC title.
I wanted to highlite the Broyles Q&A the Democrat Gazette ran today. It covers joining the Big 12, Moving the LSU game, Houston’s Offseason, our relationship with the SEC, Broyles past and future.
Whole Hog Sports
Fanblogs Rank Football Conferences (SEC #1)
Fanblogs.com
Razorback Golf Announces Schedule
Hogwired.com
Reggie Fish Impresses
The Morning News
Harrison returns to set an example
Razorbacks Report (Thursday’s Practice Roundup)
Lady Razorbacks from Oklahoma give team boost (Golf)
UA volleyball tabbed third in SEC West
Arkansas softball, tennis announce fall schedules
Arkansas in good hands with freshman Williams at tight end
Worth the weight: Dacus tackles new leadership role on Razorbacks’ defense
All links Via Whole Hog Sports
Whatever It Takes (Brandon Barnett)
Thursday’s Razorback Report (Wednesday’s Practice Roundup)
I just wanted to pick this great quote from Reggie about being happy with the defense’s effort this week…
“I don’t know about being happy,” Herring said. “We ain’t happy until we go undefeated and date the prom queen. Right now we’re just taking it day to day.”
Football Hogs set for Saturday scrimmage
Lady’Back soccer begins preseason rehearsals
Nathan Dick getting more reps under center for Hogs
Like it is : Mum is only word on Arkansas’ AD search (Wally on White’s CIA type secrecy)
UA FOOTBALL PRACTICE : Hewitt looking to make impact at safety
All Links Via Whole Hog Sports
