Storey, Boyd ‘full bore’ in Tuesday practice
FAYETTEVILLE — While Tuesday is normally the most physical practice for the Razorbacks in a typical game week, Arkansas coach Chad Morris opted to practice the team in shoulder pads and shorts due to the number of injured players.
The Razorbacks (2-6, 0-4 Southeastern Conference), coming off last Saturday’s 23-0 nonconference victory over Tulsa, host the Vanderbilt Commodores (3-5, 0-4) at 11 a.m. Saturday on SEC Network (Resort Channel 79) at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
As anticipated, junior starting quarterback Ty Storey, cleared Sunday from the concussion protocol he was unable to pass to play against Tulsa, and starting running back Rakeem Boyd, not finishing the last two games first because of an injured back against Ole Miss and dehydration last Saturday, 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 starting senior right guard Johnny Gibson, of Dumas, junior starting left tackle Colton Jackson, of Conway, and senior starting 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, of Star City, finishing for Gibson against Tulsa, both operated first-team Tuesday.
Senior receiver Jared Cornelius, also injured last Saturday according to Morris, 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 is not 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 in last Saturday’s 23-0 nonconference victory over 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. Watts also earned the Crip Hall Award as Arkansas’ outstanding senior in last Saturday’s homecoming at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
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 that 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 was because the junior 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 Vanderbilt Commodores only scored a touchdown in last Saturday’s 14-7 loss at nationally No. 12 SEC rival Kentucky, but they were without top running back Ke’shawn Vaughn, who has tallied 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, who at 5-10, 215 has a low-center of gravity making him hard to tackle 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.”