FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino said the offense “got off to a really good start” in last Thursday’s closed scrimmage, two days before the Razorbacks play their final big scrimmage of training camp.
“We made big plays and were aggressive about it, and I was really happy,” Petrino said. “That tells me our players … cared a lot. They really embraced our first series, they studied it and worked on it and were ready to go out and play.”
“And then we got a little bit complacent. So we didn’t finish the practice game the way you’d like to finish it. We need to have a little bit more of a killer instinct – be aggressive and get it done. It was a long, good, long practice game that challenges you both mentally and physically. I thought we probably met the challenge three-quarters of the way through the practice game and then we fell short at the end.”
Coach Sam Pittman and quarterback Taylen Green had a similar opinion after last Thursday’s practice game.
“I felt like everyone was getting tired towards the end of the practice game,” Green said Thursday. “That’s what we need to work on. Mentally, we need to focus on our keys, on me and my checks, and we know that. We need to be the strongest team physically for all four quarters, not just one half. That’s what we’re going to work on.”
Exercise No. 12
The Razorbacks practiced with shoulder pads and unpadded waist belts in their 12th practice of camp, two days before their second and final big scrimmage on Thursday.
Training began under partly cloudy skies and a temperature of 77 degrees.
Write them down
Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino places great emphasis on goal setting.
He has had the quarterbacks work on this very topic over the past few days, and the idea will soon be discussed with the entire unit.
“My dad always told me that. He said, ‘If you want to set a goal, you have to have the courage to announce it so you can achieve it,'” Petrino said Tuesday during his first of two scheduled media appearances at the Razorbacks’ training camp.
“If you want to keep your goal to yourself, your chances of achieving it aren’t really good. We’ve always done that as a team and as an offense in the past. So yeah, we’re not quite there yet, but we just started working on it yesterday or two days ago with our quarterbacks. So we’re going to get there.”
Quarterbacks Taylen Green and Malachi Singleton said the process is ongoing, but did not reveal the spots they are working on to set them as targets.
“We had to set three goals for the week,” Green said. “Then we had to name our obstacles and the obstacles themselves. Then we had to find our solution. What are we going to do? We’ll probably see at the end of the week if we accomplished it.”
Singleton said the quarterbacks had to be released on Monday before the Hogs began the third week of training camp.
It is “a lot”
Co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson made a comment on Monday about what it’s like to face Bobby Petrino’s offense every day in practice.
“Oh wow, it’s really a tough competition,” Woodson said. “It prepares you for a lot of things, which obviously limits your prospects for Saturday.”
“The variety of attacking strategies that we’re seeing just prepares us for what to expect on Saturday, regardless of what the opponent is going to do. So I think there’s nothing we’re going to see on Saturday that we haven’t already seen at Coach Petrino’s practice.”
Woodson said he looks forward to seeing Arkansas’ offense in action Saturday.
“It’s a real challenge for us as a defensive team to prepare properly,” he said. “I’m excited to see what the offense has in store next fall.”
NIL game
Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino said the internal operations surrounding the Hogs’ name, image and likeness plans are the responsibility of coach Sam Pittman and, fortunately, are not part of his day-to-day operations.
“Yeah, you know, Coach Pitt works really hard on it, and the organizations that we have around him and (athletic director) Hunter (Yurachek) work really hard on it. That allows me to coach football.
“I just look forward to coaching football and being in the meeting rooms with the quarterbacks. It’s a lot of fun. I think the most fun I have all day is in the meeting room with the quarterbacks.”
Select 6
Safety Miguel Mitchell made the play of the day on Tuesday when he started the fastball.
The Florida transfer recognized Malachi Singleton’s pass and dove in front of him on the left side to free up tight end Ty Washington. Mitchell jumped up to catch the ball and had no one in front of him on the return, which was called off.
“It was a six-man defense,” Singleton said when asked what he learned from the game. “They had brought someone extra from the outside, so I just tried to get out quick. I didn’t see (Mitchell) at the end. I really just focused on my progressions. From one to two to three. And I was just smart with the ball, too.”
Fastballs
Taylen Green made 2 of 2 fastball starts on Tuesday. The junior threw an intermediate throw to Ja’Quinden Jackson for about 10 yards and a complete throw to CJ Brown in a post for about 15 yards. Green and Jackson also had run-pass options.
Malachi Singleton was 1 of 3 with an interception for the second unit. Singleton threw to Jaedon Wilson on a go route to Selman Bridges on the first snap and completed a curl to Davion Dozier for about 5 yards on the last snap. Safety Miguel Mitchell intercepted him on third down after Rashod Dubinion made a draw play up the middle for a small gain.
True freshman KJ Jackson went 2 of 2 on the third unit. He completed a pass to Monte Harrison down the left seam for a nice gain, and Harrison used a quick initial fake to add even more yardage to the play. Rykar Acebo had to go down to catch a short throw down the right edge. Tyrell Reed had two runs on the third unit for moderate gains.
