Defense shows out in the rain

JONESBORO — In the first intrasquad scrimmage of the preseason, the Arkansas State defense showed it is further along in camp than the offense. That is to be expected with so many new faces and uncertainty on the offensive side of the ball.

With rain steadily falling throughout the scrimmage to go along with a stiff breeze, the Red Wolves struggled to move the football. Turnovers were another issue for the offense, while both sides of the ball struggled with penalties.

“I told our players what a great platform they had today to put their football identity on video,” Coach Butch Jones said. “Were still in the infant stages of building our identity.”

Jones also pointed to the penalties as an issue that the team needs to address.

“We are probably one of very few Division I football teams in the country that conduct practices without any officials,” he said. “When you have the opportunity to get in the stadium and scrimmage and have officials, all of your bad habits that you have developed because you don’t have officiating kind of materialize and you get exposed.”

The defense was stout for the majority of the session, forcing three-andouts consistently. Junior linebacker Charles Willekes and sophomore defensive end Keyron Crawford brought energy to the defense, and each of them made big plays and got after the quarterbacks.

“Defensively, we did a very good job in the threeand-outs, but then we didn’t handle sudden change very well,” Jones said. “When we have success, everybody executes, it’s all 11. The magic is getting all 11 individuals working together.”

Jones said there’s a sense of urgency to ratchet up going forward as Arkansas State’s opening game at Oklahoma is just three weeks away.

“We have to get better in a hurry, and that’s why Monday’s practice will probably be the most important practice we have all year.”

Quarterback battle

The quarterback spot appears to be wide open, and nobody set themselves apart in Saturday’s scrimmage. Colorado transfer J.T. Shrout made a few nice plays, including a touchdown pass to Illinois transfer receiver Khmari Thompson on a fade pass down the left sideline.

Redshirt freshman Jaxon Dailey and true freshman Jaylen Raynor also saw significant action, but all the quarterbacks struggled with timing and protecting the football in the rainy conditions.

“Right now it would be a flip of the coin, nobody has really kind of taken reigns of that,” Jones said when asked if he was ready to name a starter. “I will tell this, they are battling every day, they are competing every day, they want to do it.”

Late transfer addition

Earlier in the week, The Red Wolves received a late commitment from transfer cornerback Justin Hodges, who was dismissed from Central Florida following a

January arrest for robbery.

When the legal matter was resolved later in the spring, Hodges committed to Ole Miss, but decided to flip to the Red Wolves at the eleventh hour. Jones is confident in the decision to bring Hodges into the fold.

“Just like anybody we bring into our program, everyone goes through a long extensive vetting process,” he said. “He’s done everything that he’s needed to do.”

He is expected to be an immediate starter who will bring valuable experience to the cornerback room.

“Justin is an extremely competitive individual and so I think he’s come in here and our players have watched him compete,” Jones said. “He’s come in here really at ground zero and had work his way, had to earn the respect and he’s still doing that. He’s already earned that respect in the way he plays and the way he competes.”

Hodges didn’t wait long to make an impact on Saturday. On the first possession of the scrimmage, Shrout threw a deep ball on third down that was easily picked off by Hodges, who worked his way into position down the field to make the play.

Running back stable

A trio of running backs look poised to carry the load as Arkansas State aims to improve its rushing attack, which was one of the worst in all of FBS football last season. Senior Brian Snead has the most returning experience of the running backs, having rushed for 299 yards and a team-high six rushing touchdowns a season ago for the Red Wolves.

UT-Martin transfer Zak Wallace brings a physical running style to the table, which he displayed in the scrimmage during the goal line session. He joins Arkansas State after rushing for over 1,000 yards last year at his previous school.

Redshirt sophomore Ja’Quez Cross appears to be the quickest of the running backs on the roster. The former Purdue Boilermaker showed off his breakaway speed with a 76-yard touchdown scamper in the scrimmage.

While the play was called back because of a wide receiver holding downfield, Cross showed off some of his big play ability.

Punt returner

Syracuse transfer Courtney Jackson appears to be the front-runner for the punt return job. Jackson fielded the majority of the punts during the scrimmage, and looked very comfortable handling the ball, even with the wet and windy conditions.

Jackson also saw plenty of reps at receiver, where he had 63 catches for 662 yards during his time in upstate New York. Cross took several reps returning punts as well during the scrimmage.

Preparing for Norman

At various points during the scrimmage, the stadium speakers blared in artificial crowd noise to make things even more difficult for the offense.

With just 21 days remaining until the Red Wolves head to Oklahoma to take on the Sooners, the move by Jones was meant to prepare his team for the loud atmosphere.

With an expected crowd of over 80,000 people in Norman that day, it will likely be the most difficult environment Arkansas State will play in all season.