Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Razorbacks report
Roster update
A group including receivers Trey Knox, Koilan Jackson, Tyson Morris, Shamar Nash, Darin Turner and Karch Gardiner; tight end Hudson Henry; and cornerback Jarques McClellion were not available for full-tackle work.
Members of that group had either not reached practice No. 5 in their acclimation process or were out for other reasons.
With Henry not available, freshman Eric Thomas, a 6-3, 248-pounder from Pensacola, Fla., moved over to the tight end spot on Tuesday.
David Porter, a redshirt junior from Little Rock, switched to the defensive tackles group Tuesday after the 6-3, 226-pounder was previously at defensive end.
ESPN worthy
Receiver Karch Gardiner leaped high and pulled in a one-handed grab on the sideline during Monday’s practice, one of the best catches on the Arkansas practice fields in a while.
Gardiner’s righthand catch made ESPN “SportsCenter” at No. 7 in the top 10 plays of the day.
Tempo up
Razorbacks who have done video interviews with the media lately are touting the offense as operating at a faster click than the pace of last year’s unit.
“Yeah, it’s definitely way faster than last year,” tackle Myron Cunningham said Monday. “Compared to last year, it’s like a whole other thing.
“We get tired sometimes, but that’s expected when you go tempo. Every day we’re just fighting it, trying to get better.”
Receiver Treylon Burks elaborated.
“I just think with that offense there, it’s an SEC offense,” he said about this year’s scheme. “I mean, I just feel like … it’s a better environment. I just feel like we all just came together and just said, ‘We’re not looking in the past anymore. We’re all going to look straight ahead and just go with the flow.’ ”
Half of dozen
SI.com released its top 16 poll Tuesday, which included six Arkansas opponents ranked among the first 12 teams: No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Georgia, No. 5 Florida, No. 8 LSU, No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 12 Auburn.
Notre Dame, which had been scheduled to host Arkansas on Sept. 12 before many nonconference games were cancelled, is No. 6 in the poll.
Appalachian State, where Alma native Eliah Drinkwitz resigned to take the Missouri job, is No. 16.
With the Big Ten and Pac12 postponing their football seasons, SI.com elected to rank a top 16 rather than the traditional 25.
Facing Gerald
Senior offensive tackle Myron Cunningham didn’t practice much against defensive end Dorian Gerald before the latter was lost for the season in the season opener last year with a bruised artery in his neck. Cunningham is happy to have his classmate and fellow junior-college transfer back in the fold because it helps at practice.
“It’s a big impact to have him back, especially during practice because when you’re at practice you want those gamelike reps,” Cunningham said. “You want to be going against the best of the best.
“For me to be going against him and Noah [Gatlin] to be going against him, he’s one of the best defensive linemen we’ve got. That just makes us better every day to go against the best of the best.”
Burks reverse
Sophomore receiver and return specialist Treylon Burks emerged as an oddity last year in the way he caught both kickoffs and punts with his hands up, his thumbs turned inward and the hands-only catch being made around facemask height.
Last year’s staff talked to him about the manner of his catch, seeing whether he could convert to the more conventional thumbs-out, catch in the breadbasket style used by virtually all other kick returners. But Burks, who has enormous hands, stuck with his preferred method, which did not result in a fumbled catch last year.
New special-teams coordinator Scott Fountain is back on the change wagon.
“Coach Fountain is still trying to get me to change the way I field the punts and kickoff returns,” Burks said Monday. “I’m getting better at it, but it will take time, like everything.”
Asked about it again later, Burks replied, “It’s a battle every day. Sometimes I get in that old habit and catch the ball with just my hands. But we’ve been working, the team has been working with me to get better at catching the ball like I’m supposed to. I’m going to do it the right way this time.”
Nwanna out
Second-year offensive lineman Chibueze Nwanna has opted out of playing this season, sources close to the program said.
Nwanna, a redshirt senior listed at 6-7, 338 pounds, would have another season of eligibility. Originally from Hyattsville, Md., Nwanna transferred in prior to last season from Lackawanna (Pa.) Community College but did not earn a letter.