Coaches: Hogs on schedule but improvement needed
FAYETTEVILLE — After the Razorbacks completed their final academics-free week of preseason practice before Monday’s start of fall-semester classes at the University of Arkansas, coach Bret Bielema and coordinators Dan Enos and Paul Rhoads were asked if they are on schedule, ahead of schedule or behind schedule.
Their consensus seems on schedule at the least, maybe better.
Rather than just offense or just defense, head coach Bielema must relate both sides of the ball to the preseason schedule he has set for his team before Arkansas’ Aug. 31 opener against Florida A&M at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium.
“I would say defensively probably a little bit ahead of schedule, Bielema said Thursday. “I just like the way they’ve played. The last three days have been outstanding. Communication, verbiage, language. I really, really like the demeanor of our defensive football team. They’re a bunch of guys with nothing but hard work and mentality in front of them. Offensively, we continue to develop the continuity with the offensive line. Get our major reserves in place and then obviously the No. 2 quarterback spot is a very, very important spot.”
From his talk Monday to the Little Rock Touchdown Club, Bielema still seems to consider the backup quarterback job behind senior starter Austin Allen to be open between third-year sophomore Ty Storey and redshirt freshman Cole Kelley .
Bielema addresses the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club at noon today at Mermaid’s Restaurant in Fayetteville.
Asked Thursday if his offense was on schedule, Enos replied, “I think we are. We’ve made a lot of improvements. I think obviously with two weeks out we still need to improve. There are a lot of things we still need to get done. There’s battles still going on at backup spots and different areas. We’re still trying to take looks at guys. A guy like (junior-college-transfer tight end) Jeremy Patton needs as many reps as he can get. Our wide receivers are so young.; it’s kind of inconsistent with some of those guys still. Obviously we need to develop more consistently. We’ve got a true freshman running back (Chase Hayden) that’s got to be put in a lot of situations as far as ball security and pass protection goes. And obviously when you have those two quarterbacks competing, we need a lot of reps. A lot of work to go.”
Rhoads, last year’s defensive backfield coach now also defensive coordinator, said he believes the defense is on schedule even as he switches the base scheme from last year’s 4-3 front to a 3-4.
“The installation before the first scrimmage stayed completely on track,” Rhoads said. “We never had to back off where we wanted to get to. Practice 7 leading into a review day, leading into the first scrimmage we stayed right on schedule and we’ve been able
to stay on schedule since then. There are some things that we haven’t gotten to yet, just because we haven’t gotten to them as a program. Such things as last play of a game. Last play of a half. Two-point play, things like that. We just haven’t gotten to with our camp schedule yet.
“I’m pleased with how the kids have shown accountability to what we got done in the spring and what we got done in the summer, and we’ve been able to march on because of that.”
Now practicing: His academic eligibility now certified, incoming freshman safety Montaric Brown (Ashdown) began UA fall-semester classes Monday, joining the Razorbacks for this final week of preseason practice and throughout the season.
Having missed all the summer workouts and preseason practices, Brown conceivably could redshirt and save his freshman playing eligibility for 2018.
Condolences: Condolences to the family of Kerry Owens, who lettered as a linebacker from 1985-88 for Razorback teams coached by Ken Hatfield.
Owens has died at 51.
Hatfield and former defensive coordinator Fred Goldsmith recruited Owens, rover Odis Loyd and linebacker Reggie Hall as an unheralded trio out of Stuttgart.
All three vastly exceeded recruiting-services expectations and all lettered from 1985-88 and became starters together.