The Arkansas Razorbacks picked back up with spring practice on Tuesday morning. After the first two practices open to the media took place inside the team’s indoor facility, the Hogs hit the outdoor practice field for work in breezy, 50-degree temperatures.
Here are several notes that stood out from the practice viewing, which lasted just under two hours:
- New running backs coach Kolby Smith, who is replacing Jimmy Smith after his departure to TCU last week, was out there and coaching the group through drills. He made Utah transfer Ja’Quinden Jackson redo a rep during individual drills, citing his lack of physicality as the reason for making him go again and finish strong.
- Head coach Sam Pittman remained very active in coaching alongside Eric Mateos during the offensive line’s position drills. While the unit worked on their assignments facing different defensive fronts, Pittman could be heard shouting ‘If they line up in front of you, let ’em know it’s a mistake!’ (with maybe a few expletives thrown here and there)
- Today’s practice was much more physical than the previous two as the team took the field in shells and shorts. The practice started with offensive linemen and defensive linemen going one-on-one near the end zone with several coaches watching intently and cheering on their side of the ball. Freshman DL Kavion Henderson set the tone by driving right over transfer tight end Andreas Paaske early in the period.
- The defensive backs fared well against the receivers during a one-on-one period in the red zone with quarterbacks throwing. No quarterback really stood out during this time, but freshman KJ Jackson completed 4-of-6 throws with a pair of touchdowns, and Taylen Green found Andrew Armstrong in the end zone twice.
- Sophomore wide receiver had a tremendous day after being somewhat quiet during the first two open practices. He caught a touchdown from Jackson in one-on-ones, caught several passes with the second and third-team offenses during the 11-on-11 team periods, and he caught touchdowns from Malachi Singleton and Austin Ledbetter during the 7-on-7 period later in practice.
- Unofficial QB throwing stats from 7-on-7 and 1-on-1’s…Taylen Green: 5-12 (2 drops), Malachi Singleton: 5-11, Jacolby Criswell: 4-9, KJ Jackson: 4-8 (2 drops)
TEAM PERIOD 11-on-11
Taylen Green continued to take the entirety of the reps with the first-team offense while Malachi Singleton and KJ Jackson switched off with the second-team, and Jacolby Criswell worked with the third group.
The Razorbacks mixed in some two-running back formations and some two-tight end sets (or 21 and 12 personnel for you real #FootballGuys) during the period. The offense had the upper hand in most of the reps, and here were some of the plays/developments that stood out.
- All four of Arkansas’ top veteran running backs (Rashod Dubinion, Isaiah Augustave, Dominique Johnson, Ja’Quinden Jackson) had multiple big runs and made the most of their open space. One that stood out was a play where Augustave got the ball on a stretch play going left and shifted his way through the middle of the defense and cut back all the way to the opposite side for a gain of at least 10. Freshman running back Braylen Russell had a learning moment with the first-team offense late as Landon Jackson broke through and forced a fumble behind the line of scrimmage shortly after he got the ball.
- For whatever reason, Taylen Green throws the ball with more confidence during team periods than he does during one-on-ones or even seven-on-seven. He had a few big connections with Andrew Armstrong during team, one of which came on a rollout, and he fired a few strong seam routes to Luke Hasz.
- Freshman wide receiver CJ Brown continues to make plays in practice, mostly running with the second-team offense. He made a great catch on a ball over the middle from Singleton about 10 yards deep and turned on the jets after to break away. Jacolby Criswell found him on a nice throw over the middle earlier in the period, but Brown ended up getting stripped by TJ Metcalf.
- Texas A&M transfer Jordan Anthony, who was not at the first two practices as he finished up his obligations with the track team, dropped a beautiful throw downfield from Singleton but made up for it later in the period by making a nice grab on a corner route from KJ Jackson.
- Speaking of Jackson, there were a decent amount of QB runs mixed into the team period, which gave the freshman a chance to show off some wheels. He also had a nice scramble on a designed pass play later in the drill. Jacolby Criswell showed off some underrated foot speed on a few keepers, as well.
- Though the report has been mostly offense, there were some nice defensive plays to note as the group had a better day (though still a clear step behind the offense). Snaxx Johnson broke up at least one pass, and Jayden Johnson dropped an interception, which led to one of his teammates prompting him to drop and do 10 push-ups. Sophomore corner Jaylon Braxton also closely guarded Isaac TeSlaa on an out route that was overthrown, and Braxton decided to dap up John Nabors on the sidelines after the nice play. South Alabama transfer Marquise Robinson also picked off a pass from Singleton on a deep ball that simply hung up in the air too long.