Razorbacks report
No iciness, Freeze says of Bielema
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said he’s grown closer to Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze in the past couple of years.
Freeze, whose No. 18 Rebels host Arkansas at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, echoed those thoughts this week.
“Bret and I do have a very good relationship,” Freeze said. “We’ve gotten to know each other on the Nike trip the last few years. I like the guy. I think he is a ball coach. We communicate a lot through text. He’s a friend in the business.
“And the longer you get into this, I think the more friends you have, if you’re in it for the right reasons. I think Bret is.”
Freeze was asked if he had been a mediator of sorts between Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn, a longtime friend, and Bielema. Bielema and Malzahn, initially at odds in 2013 over the no-huddle offense, have softened their remarks about their differences the past couple of years.
“I can’t really talk about his and Gus Malzahn’s relationship, but Bret and I have a good one,” Freeze said.
Freeze admitted that he likes Bielema’s big personality.
“I wish I was more like that sometimes,” he said. “I’m a little more reserved in some ways than him. I like the fact that he speaks his mind.”
Injury report
Defensive backs coach Clay Jennings said cornerback D.J. Dean didn’t practice much Tuesday, but he hopes the junior will be ready to play Saturday. “We got a little bit more out of him today, so I think he’ll be game ready by the time it’s time to tip off,” Jennings said.
Receiver Cody Hollister has gotten more involved in practice the past couple of weeks and might be part of the game plan on Saturday.
Hollister is seven weeks removed from suffering a broken foot in practice.
“He practiced well yesterday,” Coach Bret Bielema said on Wednesday’s SEC teleconference. “He was in here this morning early and didn’t have any soreness or issues. We’ll work him in a little more today, and we’re going to take him on the trip with us and hopefully he’ll be able to help us.”
Remembering B.A.
Ole Miss defensive coordinator Dave Wommack, an Arkansas assistant coach from 200004, recalls a young Brandon Allen being around campus with his father Bobby Allen, a longtime Hogs assistant and now the director of high school and NFL relations.
“I know that young man from way back,” Wommack said of Allen, who will make his 30th consecutive start at quarterback Saturday. “I think a lot of their family, and he’s a good kid. We’ve got to get after him.
“I think he’s the most experienced quarterback in the league. … Now he’s more comfortable in the offense, and he’s cautious from the standpoint that they haven’t turned it over much.”
‘Tread’ lightly
Arkansas will face the SEC’s top receiver in Ole Miss’ Laquon Treadwell on Saturday.
Treadwell, who has come back from a horrific leg injury suffered late last year, has 61 catches for 870 yards and 6 touchdowns.
The Razorbacks held Alabama All-American Amari Cooper to two catches for 11 yards last year, so can they limit Treadwell?
“It was a little different scheme with Amari,” Arkansas safety Rohan Gaines said. “At that point I felt he was kind of it for Alabama so we could focus on Amari. With Treadwell, we know we can’t just focus on him because there are three or four other guys that can make plays.
“We have to know where he is but know there are other guys on the field.”
Bowl projections
ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach and Brett McMurphy projected Arkansas to make a bowl game this week.
McMurphy projected the Razorbacks will face North Carolina State in the Belk Bowl on Dec. 30 in Charlotte, N.C. Schlabach predicted an Arkansas-West Virginia matchup at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis on Jan. 2.
Containing Kelly
Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly leads the SEC with 2,856 passing yards.
“He’s a real talented kid,” Arkansas nose guard DeMarcus Hodge said. “He’s got a nice arm on him.”
Hodge said pressuring Kelly is “definitely a must” for the Razorbacks.
“That’s one of the things we’re stressing,” Hodge said. “The D-line has got to do more affecting the throws, getting our hands on them and knocking them down and elevating their flight path a little bit more.”
Kelly has 20 touchdown passes and has rushed for 162 yards and 4 touchdowns.
“The guy can definitely run,” Hodge said. “He’s hurt some teams with his scrambles. We’ve got to really focus and close that pocket around him”
Good group
The Ole Miss receiving unit features five wideouts who are 6-2 or taller and have at least 24 receptions, 294 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Rebels also have tight end Evan Engram, who has 22 catches for 232 yards and 1 score.
Arkansas defensive backs coach Clay Jennings said the Rebels have one of the best receiving units the Hogs will see.
“They’re pretty good, but I think the one in College Station is good too, and the one in Tuscaloosa ain’t bad, but collectively as far as depth, yes,” Jennings said.
Two styles
Ole Miss ranks fourth in the country with 61.9 percent of its touchdown drives lasting two minutes or less. The Rebels trail only Tulsa (66.6), Northern Illinois (64.8) and Baylor (63.8) in that category.
The quick-strike drives have contributed to Ole Miss ranking No. 113 in average time of possession at 27:04 per game. By contrast, Arkansas ranks No. 9 in time of possession (33:18).
The Razorbacks had 6 touchdown drives out of 21 total (28.6 percent) of two minutes or less going into last week, but Arkansas racked up 6 of 9 touchdown (66.7 percent) drives in its 63-28 victory over Tennessee-Martin to boost its season rate to 40 percent (12 of 30).
Talking Bret
Former Arkansas quarterback Matt Jones said during his Wednesday appearance at the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club that he is a fan of Coach Bret Bielema.
“I like how his players play for him,” said Jones, a four-year NFL veteran and now co-host of the sports talk show Overtime on KABZ-FM, 103.7, The Buzz, in Little Rock. “I like how he’s emotional.
“Now, that doesn’t mean I agree with everything he does. Like, I don’t think you should ever touch another player when he did that [at Alabama] and started jumping around. I thought that was a little goofy, but everybody does stuff you do or don’t agree with.
“But the big picture thing, I like Coach Bielema. I think he’s a great recruiter. I think he relates to these kids, and I think he gets the most out of them.”