Razorbacks ready to work after extended break
FAYETTEVILLE — Spring break for the Arkansas Razorbacks stretched a little long for new Coach Chad Morris.
“Is it Monday yet?” Morris posted on social media Friday, a reference to the resumption of spring drills today for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Morris also included hashtags “WPS” for woo pig sooie, the Arkansas staple, and “HammerDown,” one of the Razorbacks’ new catch words.
The Hogs, who had the past 10 days off for spring break, will need to have the hammer down with five more workouts prior to the annual RedWhite game April 7 at War Memorial Stadium.
Offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said the implementation of offensive schemes in Morris’ Power Spread offense was intentionally intense the first few practices, and now the Razorbacks are honing in on favored elements of the packages.
“Like Coach [Morris] said, their heads were spinning,” Craddock said after the team’s first heavy scrimmage. “We’ve thrown a lot at them install-wise by design. Now it’s just about tapering back and getting better at what we’ve got in.
“We won’t install much more throughout spring. Maybe toward the end, but for right now we’ve got in what we’re going to get in and now we’ve got to get good at it.”
The new coaching staff has done a lot of evaluating through the first seven practices, and Morris indicated reps will pick up for the players who have performed the best thus far.
Perhaps the most scrutinized position battle is quarterback, where junior Ty Storey and sophomore Cole Kelley have taken the most reps with the top offense.
“All of those guys are playing exceptional right now,” tight end Jeremy Patton said after workout No. 6. “Right now, I don’t know who would be the starter going in, but you know they’ve got different guys working with the ones every day. Those guys are making great throws.”
Storey has shown better ball security to this point, and Kelley — who was a high-risk, high-reward quarterback in his four starts in 2017 — has thrown more interceptions in team periods.
The Razorbacks’ offensive line is looking to prove it can withstand the loss of All-American center Frank Ragnow after going 2-3 without him down the stretch of a 4-8 season in 2017.
Left guard Hjalte Froholdt and tackles Colton Jackson and Brian Wallace have been maintaining firstteam status this spring while the other two jobs have been more competitive. Returning starter Johnny Gibson and Jalen Merrick have battled at right guard, while Dylan Hays and Ty Clary — a Fayetteville High School product who got an early shot at starting last year — have gone at it at center.
“It’s healthy,” Froholdt said of the competition. “It’s awesome for us, honestly. It’s great to have some competition in there, and I think there’s definitely a couple of guys pushing … on me, on the tackles and on the center.
“It needs to be a competition getting a spot. It’s not good if you secure your spot, because that means you don’t progress as much. So I like it, honestly. It makes Johnny play better and it makes Jalen play better.”
Defensive coordinator John Chavis has added layers to the defensive playbook as he’s seen fit through the first seven workouts, with edge pressure being a key ingredient in his plans.
The Razorbacks are scheduled to practice today, Wednesday and Thursday this week, followed by practices on Tuesday and Thursday of next week leading into the annual Red-White game. Two of the team’s 15 spring practice dates are tentatively scheduled to be held after the spring game.
“It’s healthy. It’s awesome for us, honestly.” Left guard Hjalte Froholdt on competition for positions