QB Wilson remains ‘in control’
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas defensive coordinator Paul Haynes made a request of quarterback Tyler Wilson before each of the Razorbacks’ four scrimmages this spring.
“Every time we’d go out, I’d be like, ‘Tyler, can we get one today? Just throw us one to make us feel good,’ ” Haynes said. “He’d say, ‘Nah, Coach, I can’t do that.’ “He never let us get one.” Wilson didn’t throw an interception in any scrimmages, including Saturday’s Red-white game. His spring totals included completing 101 of 145 passes for 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns, and most of those stats, before Saturday, were against the first-team defense.
“Those are crazy numbers, but I’m not surprised,” tight end Chris Gragg said. “Tyler’s on top of his game. He’s been coming in early and leaving late all spring working in the meeting room, working with the coaches and working all the receivers and tight ends, and that work is showing up out here.”
Wilson, a fifth-year senior and ALL-SEC quarterback last season, led the Red team made up of starters to a 65-0 victory, completing 31 of 41 passes for 467 yard and 2 touchdowns.
“I’ve been around a while, I know where to go on every call,” Wilson said. “I think I can limit mistakes by doing that.
“Sometimes it might be close, but I think I can put it in a position where only my guy will catch it. ... There were a couple close calls today where I tried to fit it in a little bit closer than I usually would, but I wanted to make some plays, too.”
Wilson said “control” is the word he’d use to describe his play this spring.
“I was in control,” he said. “I said I wanted to come back to school to become a better football player, and I’ve improved. I think we got better over the spring. That’s all you can ask for.”
Offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said Wilson “played great” Saturday, as he has all spring.
“His confidence is just really high right now,” Petrino said. “I think our job is to make sure we keep it there, do everything in our power to make sure everybody around him plays real well and he keeps playing like is, because if he has that little swagger about him, that confidence he’s playing with right now, he’s going to be a hard quarterback to stop.”
Wilson has been a vocal team leader since Bobby Petrino’s firing as head coach April 10, and he addressed his teammates in Saturday’s pregame huddle at the direction of strength and conditioning coach Jason Veltkamp
“That’s a time where usually the head football coach speaks to us going into the locker room,” Wilson said. “Veltkamp said, ‘Hey, Tyler, it’s yours today.’ ”
Wilson said he talked to the Razorbacks about who they were playing Saturday, pointing to the spring game record crowd announced at 45,250.
“That’s such a positive. I was so happy for that,” Wilson said. “I said, ‘Let’s go out and give them a good show.’ ”
Paul Petrino said Wilson has led by example all spring.
“He’s went out to the practice field every day with a bounce in his step, with his chest up high and feeling real good about everything,” Petrino said. “That’s just carried over to everybody.”
Saturday marked the last of Arkansas’ allotted spring practices.
“It was a good spring all around,” Wilson said. “Coach Paul talked about, hey, every day needs to be your best, and I think I can say that in 15 of 15 practices.”