Hogs take it easy in practice
FAYETTEVILLE - The beyond half-season’s worth of bumps and bruises caused Arkansas Coach Chad Morris to practice his Razorbacks in shoulder pads and shorts Tuesday, normally the most physical practice in a typical game week.
The Razorbacks, 2-6, 0-4 in the SEC West coming off last Saturday’s 23-0 nonconference victory over Tulsa, host the
Vanderbilt Commodores, 3-5, 0-4 at 11 a.m. Saturday. It will be broadcast on SEC Network television at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
As anticipated, junior quarterback Ty Storey and running back Rakeem Boyd both practiced full bore Tuesday.
Cornerbacks Jarques McClellion and Montaric “Buster” Brown, both injured during last Saturday’s game, also practiced full go Tuesday.
Working Tuesday in green jerseys (limited but still practicing) during the 20 minutes that media viewed practice were senior right guard Johnny Gibson, junior left tackle Colton Jackson and senior defensive tackle Armon Watts. Jackson couldn’t play against Tulsa because of back spasms. Gibson and Watts were both injured during the game.
Redshirt freshman Dalton Wagner, starting in Jackson’s place, and junior Austin Capps, finishing for Gibson against Tulsa, both operated first-team Tuesday.
Senior receiver Jared Cornelius, also injured last Saturday, Morris said Monday, was not seen during Tuesday’s first 20 minutes of practice.
Sophomore running back Chase Hayden of Memphis practiced Tuesday but his availability for Saturday’s game isn’t known because of the death of his grandmother.
Not coincidentally considering they pitched Arkansas’ first football shutout since 2014, several on the Razorbacks defense played their best game of 2018 against Tulsa.
Junior cornerback Ryan Pulley, sophomore safety Kamren Curl, defensive ends Randy Ramsey and Dorian Gerald and defensive tackles Watts and Briston Guidry were either cited for “playing their best game,” or otherwise highly praised by Morris at his Monday press conference.
Defensive coordinator John “Chief” Chavis was asked for some specifics about Curl and Pulley. Pulley didn’t start for the first time this season. “I think it is playing sound,” Chavis said of Curl’s
overall game. “Pulley played really well. One guy that in my opinion gets lost in the shuffle is what Randy Ramsey did for us. You look at the stats and you aren't gonna see a tremendous amount of stats. But he was, in my opinion, one of the more dominating players. He allowed other people to make plays because he did his job and did it as well as he has done it. I mention that because I want him to be praised for that. It's not about all the time who makes the tackle, but of the soundness of the defense and how hard Randy played and chased the ball down the field. So he gave us a lot of things too.”
Pulley didn’t start for the first time this season which Morris announced last week because he was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct in the waning seconds of Arkansas’ 37-33 loss to Ole Miss Oct. 13 in Little Rock.
“I think him losing playing time speaks volumes because Coach Morris says we're going to do things a certain way and we're going to do that,” Chavis said. “In terms of his (Pulley’s) response, he didn't pout. He served his penalty and he got ready to help his football team win. He made a couple of big plays for us. Obviously the interception (just before halftime) was big for us. I couldn't be more pleased with the way he played.”
Coach Derek Mason’s Commodores only scored a touchdown in last Saturday’s 14-7 loss at Kentucky but were minus top running back Ke’shawn Vaughn, 72 carries for 495 yards, five touchdowns and a 6.9 average.
Vaughn has practiced this week and apparently recovered from the injury sidelining him from playing in Lexington, Ky.
“He is a difference maker,” Morris said, “He is as good as we’ve seen. “
Chavis said Vaughn, a low-center of gravity hard to tackle 5-10, 215-pounder with wide receiver type soft hands, complements senior Vandy quarterback Kyle Shumur.
“I'm not taking anything away from the quarterback because he is a veteran quarterback who does a really good job,” Chavis said. “But when you've got No. 5 (Vaughn) back there that you can hand it to or throw screens to then it makes their offense a lot more difficult to defend.”