Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Malzahn, Wolves rushing for tempo
JONESBORO — On the eighth snap of a scrimmage that went on for almost 100 plays, Arkansas State quarterback Ryan Aplin hit wide receiver Josh Jarboe with a 13-yard touchdown pass.
Nothing exceptional there, except that it was a rare moment when the passing game was showcased Wednesday during the Red Wolves’ first scrimmage of fall camp.
Coach Gus Malzahn emphasized the running game, wanting to turn the early evaluation period into a “real physical deal” in an attempt to find out “who would turn it down and who couldn’t.”
“Strategically, we decided to run the football,” Malzahn said. “Not just for our offense, but for our defense — see who could come off a block and make a play. It was probably a boring scrimmage, but really informative for us as coaches.”
Aplin spent most of his 21 first- team reps, after the opening series, handing the ball off to SirGregory Thornton and David Oku
Aplin completed 3 of 5 passes on the opening series for 32 yards, including his touchdown pass to Jarboe. After that, Aplin’s only pass attempt was a deep throw to wide receiver Alan Muse after getting flushed from the pocket.
“Right now, we’re tryi n g to get the run game established and get this tempo up,” Aplin said. “You can’ t do anything without that run game.”
Thornton, a junior running back, flashed signs of serving as a power component in a run game featuring the speedy Oku, a newly-added Tennessee transfer, and the shiftiness of third-year sophomore Frankie Jackson.
Thornton rushed for 40 yards on five carries, most of it coming on a 32-yard run after bouncing to the outside on an inside rush.
“The coaches wanted us to start out physical, and that’s what they’ve been preaching to us all week,” said Thornton, who totaled 128 yards on 19 carries last season. “We wanted to establish the run game early.”
Oku rushed for 19 yards on three carries, including a 15- yard gain on an option pitch play, while Aplin showed glimpses of running ability in the read option game that helped him lead the Red Wolves in rushing last season.
“We made some good reads, and the quarterbacks made some good reads,” Thornton said. “The running backs just ran hard all day.”
Wednesday’s scrimmage will serve as an important tool for Malzahn and his staff as they set out to accomplish the primary goal of the camp’s opening weeks: Sift out who can play and set a depth chart before preparing for the Sept. 1 opener at Oregon
“The good thing for us is we’ll watch film and we’ll find the guys who are ready and the guys who need work,” Malzahn said. “It’ll be good information, and it was good to see who could run.”
One area that will continue to be scrutinized is the offense’s tempo. Malzahn spent much of the time exhorting all the offensive units to reset quickly back at the line of scrimmage.
On several occasions, Malzahn and first-year coordinator Rhett Lashlee admonished a group for not maintaining a tempo resembling that of a two-minute drill.
“My opinion, we need to be a bit farther along than we are,” Malzahn said. “At the same time, we have high expectations, and if we really look at the top guys, there’s not a whole lot of mistakes.”