Injury updates, standouts in the scrimmage + more...
arkansas.rivals.com
FAYETTEVILLE — For the third time in six years, Mother Nature impacted fans’ opportunity to get an early glimpse of the Razorbacks.
Already scheduled to be a semi-live scrimmage opposed to a traditional Red-White spring game because of the Garth Brooks concert next week, Arkansas had to cancel HogFest and move the event indoors because of inclement weather.
The Razorbacks got nearly 100 plays in, not including special teams, inside Walker Pavilion. The crowd was limited to player parents and recruits, but the scrimmage was streamed on SEC Network-Plus.
Here are HawgBeat’s takeaways from the day, which was Arkansas’ 12th of 15 spring practices, compete with thoughts from Sam Pittman and a few players…
Injury Updates
Arkansas came out of Saturday’s scrimmage relatively healthy, but it did start on a bad note, as defensive tackle Taurean Carter went down with an injury on just the third play.
The redshirt junior had to be helped off the field by the trainers and he didn’t put any weight weight on his left leg as he came off. He did not return to the scrimmage, but it doesn’t sound like too serious of an injury.
“Taurean, I think, is going to be okay,” Pittman said. “In other words, I think he does have some type of injury. I don't think it's an ACL or anything of that nature, but there is something there we have to tend to. I don't know, but I don't think it's a major, major injury.”
It was an unfortunate injury for the Razorbacks not only because they lack depth at that position, but also because Carter has been one of the standout performance this spring.
After seeing his role increase the last two years, he appears to be on the verge of a breakout 2022 campaign for Arkansas.
“I played with him in high school and I always knew the potential that he had,” safety Jalen Catalon said. “He can be a wrecking ball in the middle when he really puts his head down and wants to. I think this spring he’s shown that.”
The only other injury from the scrimmage Pittman mentioned was to Warren Thompson, who left practice after his head hit the turf. Pittman was unsure if he had entered concussion protocol or not.
HawgBeat noticed walk-on tight end Nathan Bax walk off the field gingerly after taking a shot to the back from cornerback Khari Johnson, but it didn’t appear to be too bad.
It’s also worth noting that a pair of Razorbacks — Catalon and wide receiver Jadon Haselwood — went through the practice in green jerseys, while left tackle Dalton Wagner, center Ricky Stromberg and cornerback Dwight McGlothern were among those who didn’t dress out.
Passing Game Struggles
All of the attention might be on the quarterbacks, but Saturday was not a great day for the passing game as a whole.
The offensive line did a fine job protecting, but quarterbacks weren’t very efficient — completing just 16 of 37 passes (43.2%) — and wide receivers struggled to get open and also dropped several passes.
That said, starting quarterback KJ Jefferson definitely looked the best of the group. He was 8 of 14 for 63 yards, according to our unofficial stats, and that includes a pair of passes he threw away.
“I don't think we particularly threw and caught the ball well today, especially in the 2-minute drill, but he's a lot better player than what he was last year, and it's because he sees the game faster,” Pittman said. “He's mature, older, stronger, things of that nature, but I think he's really improved a lot.”
Backup Malik Hornsby likely would’ve had a similar stat line if it weren’t for four drops, but went just 4 of 14 for 47 yards. One of the completions was an impressive throw across his body while scrambling, which he put right on the money to Rashod Dubinion, who was able to get yards after the catch.
Similar to how he’s looked throughout the spring, the redshirt sophomore would make an impressive, accurate throw and follow it up with one well off target. That inconsistency has been evident in most practices, but he has shown flashes of being a good quarterback.
“I don't know that today was a particularly good day for him, but he has had good days this spring,” Pittman said. “He's had some really good days throwing the football, so I'm not going to make to much out of it today.”
As he has the last few weeks, Hornsby also got some reps at wide receiver. While most of his action in practice has consisted of motioning into the backfield, motioning across the formation or running deep routes, he actually caught a short pass from Jefferson in the scrimmage and made a nice move to pick up about 11 yards before the play was blown dead.
Wearing a black jersey, it was difficult to get a true sense of Hornsby’s speed in the scrimmage, but he did have an 11-yard run that could have gone for more — and potentially a touchdown — had he been allowed to try to avoid a tackle.
“We call him Tyreek Hill,” Jefferson said. “I mean, just the speed that he brings, there aren't too many guys in college that can run with Malik.”
Walk-on transfer Cade Fortin, the third-team quarterback, had the lone touchdown pass of the scrimmage when he hit James Jointer Jr. up the seam in the red zone on a beautifully designed play. He finished the day 4 of 9 passing for 61 yards, with one of his incompletions being a drop.
Rocket Scores Twice
Once again, it was tough to get a true sense of the running backs’ effectiveness because, outside of third-teamers Jointer and Dennis Daniels, and a handful of runs by AJ Green, they were were blown dead upon contact, so they didn’t have an opportunity for broken tackles and yards after contact.
That fact made an early 54-yard touchdown run by Rocket Sanders even more impressive, as he navigated traffic before bumping it outside and racing down the sideline to the end zone. It was by far the longest run of the day, with the only other double-digit gain being Hornsby’s aforementioned 11-yard pickup.
During a red zone period later in the scrimmage, Sanders scored the only other rushing touchdown of the day. With the first-team offense facing the first-team defense, Jefferson made a nice 12-yard completion to Trey Knox with pressure in his face and then, on the next play, took a handoff six yards to the end zone.
“I think he just ran hard last year,” Pittman said. “He told me at some point he was just wondering about his assignment as he’s running the ball.
“At that point, I know it’s A to B to C or gap scheme or front-side A to back-side to B, I understand all that, but I think that was really going through his mind. Now you can see that he understands what his rule is. He seemed to be a little quicker in making decisions, to me, this spring. I told him he turned from being a hard runner to a running back.”
Those touchdown runs were just two of his seven carries that gained 66 total yards, as his other five were no longer than two yards.
Sanders Flashes
The Razorbacks actually saw a pair of players named Sanders turn in solid performances Saturday, with one on each side of the ball.
On defense, linebacker Drew Sanders made plays all over the field. He was in on one tackle for loss and also notched a sack, but made numerous other tackles.
Perhaps the most impressive play of the scrimmage was courtesy of the Alabama transfer on his sack. Hornsby was flushed from the pocket and seemed to have room to run for a first down, but Sanders didn’t give up the edge and tracked him down behind the line of scrimmage.
“Today that was a ‘wow’ deal for me too because I was like, Malik’s out in the open and usually he’s leaving everybody,” Pittman said. “I’m not saying Drew can out-run Malik. I’m not saying that. But he did thud him up. He did tag him up.”
Getting reps with the first- and second-team defense, he has consistently flashed the talent that had Alabama reporters and fans raving about him after his transfer to Arkansas.
In fact, when asked if any defensive player had stood out to him this spring, Jefferson didn’t hesitate to mention Sanders.
“He’s a huge asset to the team,” Jefferson said. “What he brings on the defensive side of the ball is just great. He’s always around the ball, fast in space, makes plays, a guy that will come down in the box and hit you, thump you.”
(Story continues below)
HawgBeat - 6 observations from Arkansas' April 16 open scrimmage
HawgBeat brings you several observations from Saturday's open scrimmage.
arkansas.rivals.com
FAYETTEVILLE — For the third time in six years, Mother Nature impacted fans’ opportunity to get an early glimpse of the Razorbacks.
Already scheduled to be a semi-live scrimmage opposed to a traditional Red-White spring game because of the Garth Brooks concert next week, Arkansas had to cancel HogFest and move the event indoors because of inclement weather.
The Razorbacks got nearly 100 plays in, not including special teams, inside Walker Pavilion. The crowd was limited to player parents and recruits, but the scrimmage was streamed on SEC Network-Plus.
Here are HawgBeat’s takeaways from the day, which was Arkansas’ 12th of 15 spring practices, compete with thoughts from Sam Pittman and a few players…
Injury Updates
Arkansas came out of Saturday’s scrimmage relatively healthy, but it did start on a bad note, as defensive tackle Taurean Carter went down with an injury on just the third play.
The redshirt junior had to be helped off the field by the trainers and he didn’t put any weight weight on his left leg as he came off. He did not return to the scrimmage, but it doesn’t sound like too serious of an injury.
“Taurean, I think, is going to be okay,” Pittman said. “In other words, I think he does have some type of injury. I don't think it's an ACL or anything of that nature, but there is something there we have to tend to. I don't know, but I don't think it's a major, major injury.”
It was an unfortunate injury for the Razorbacks not only because they lack depth at that position, but also because Carter has been one of the standout performance this spring.
After seeing his role increase the last two years, he appears to be on the verge of a breakout 2022 campaign for Arkansas.
“I played with him in high school and I always knew the potential that he had,” safety Jalen Catalon said. “He can be a wrecking ball in the middle when he really puts his head down and wants to. I think this spring he’s shown that.”
The only other injury from the scrimmage Pittman mentioned was to Warren Thompson, who left practice after his head hit the turf. Pittman was unsure if he had entered concussion protocol or not.
HawgBeat noticed walk-on tight end Nathan Bax walk off the field gingerly after taking a shot to the back from cornerback Khari Johnson, but it didn’t appear to be too bad.
It’s also worth noting that a pair of Razorbacks — Catalon and wide receiver Jadon Haselwood — went through the practice in green jerseys, while left tackle Dalton Wagner, center Ricky Stromberg and cornerback Dwight McGlothern were among those who didn’t dress out.
Passing Game Struggles
All of the attention might be on the quarterbacks, but Saturday was not a great day for the passing game as a whole.
The offensive line did a fine job protecting, but quarterbacks weren’t very efficient — completing just 16 of 37 passes (43.2%) — and wide receivers struggled to get open and also dropped several passes.
That said, starting quarterback KJ Jefferson definitely looked the best of the group. He was 8 of 14 for 63 yards, according to our unofficial stats, and that includes a pair of passes he threw away.
“I don't think we particularly threw and caught the ball well today, especially in the 2-minute drill, but he's a lot better player than what he was last year, and it's because he sees the game faster,” Pittman said. “He's mature, older, stronger, things of that nature, but I think he's really improved a lot.”
Backup Malik Hornsby likely would’ve had a similar stat line if it weren’t for four drops, but went just 4 of 14 for 47 yards. One of the completions was an impressive throw across his body while scrambling, which he put right on the money to Rashod Dubinion, who was able to get yards after the catch.
Similar to how he’s looked throughout the spring, the redshirt sophomore would make an impressive, accurate throw and follow it up with one well off target. That inconsistency has been evident in most practices, but he has shown flashes of being a good quarterback.
“I don't know that today was a particularly good day for him, but he has had good days this spring,” Pittman said. “He's had some really good days throwing the football, so I'm not going to make to much out of it today.”
As he has the last few weeks, Hornsby also got some reps at wide receiver. While most of his action in practice has consisted of motioning into the backfield, motioning across the formation or running deep routes, he actually caught a short pass from Jefferson in the scrimmage and made a nice move to pick up about 11 yards before the play was blown dead.
Wearing a black jersey, it was difficult to get a true sense of Hornsby’s speed in the scrimmage, but he did have an 11-yard run that could have gone for more — and potentially a touchdown — had he been allowed to try to avoid a tackle.
“We call him Tyreek Hill,” Jefferson said. “I mean, just the speed that he brings, there aren't too many guys in college that can run with Malik.”
Walk-on transfer Cade Fortin, the third-team quarterback, had the lone touchdown pass of the scrimmage when he hit James Jointer Jr. up the seam in the red zone on a beautifully designed play. He finished the day 4 of 9 passing for 61 yards, with one of his incompletions being a drop.
Rocket Scores Twice
Once again, it was tough to get a true sense of the running backs’ effectiveness because, outside of third-teamers Jointer and Dennis Daniels, and a handful of runs by AJ Green, they were were blown dead upon contact, so they didn’t have an opportunity for broken tackles and yards after contact.
That fact made an early 54-yard touchdown run by Rocket Sanders even more impressive, as he navigated traffic before bumping it outside and racing down the sideline to the end zone. It was by far the longest run of the day, with the only other double-digit gain being Hornsby’s aforementioned 11-yard pickup.
During a red zone period later in the scrimmage, Sanders scored the only other rushing touchdown of the day. With the first-team offense facing the first-team defense, Jefferson made a nice 12-yard completion to Trey Knox with pressure in his face and then, on the next play, took a handoff six yards to the end zone.
“I think he just ran hard last year,” Pittman said. “He told me at some point he was just wondering about his assignment as he’s running the ball.
“At that point, I know it’s A to B to C or gap scheme or front-side A to back-side to B, I understand all that, but I think that was really going through his mind. Now you can see that he understands what his rule is. He seemed to be a little quicker in making decisions, to me, this spring. I told him he turned from being a hard runner to a running back.”
Those touchdown runs were just two of his seven carries that gained 66 total yards, as his other five were no longer than two yards.
Sanders Flashes
The Razorbacks actually saw a pair of players named Sanders turn in solid performances Saturday, with one on each side of the ball.
On defense, linebacker Drew Sanders made plays all over the field. He was in on one tackle for loss and also notched a sack, but made numerous other tackles.
Perhaps the most impressive play of the scrimmage was courtesy of the Alabama transfer on his sack. Hornsby was flushed from the pocket and seemed to have room to run for a first down, but Sanders didn’t give up the edge and tracked him down behind the line of scrimmage.
“Today that was a ‘wow’ deal for me too because I was like, Malik’s out in the open and usually he’s leaving everybody,” Pittman said. “I’m not saying Drew can out-run Malik. I’m not saying that. But he did thud him up. He did tag him up.”
Getting reps with the first- and second-team defense, he has consistently flashed the talent that had Alabama reporters and fans raving about him after his transfer to Arkansas.
In fact, when asked if any defensive player had stood out to him this spring, Jefferson didn’t hesitate to mention Sanders.
“He’s a huge asset to the team,” Jefferson said. “What he brings on the defensive side of the ball is just great. He’s always around the ball, fast in space, makes plays, a guy that will come down in the box and hit you, thump you.”
(Story continues below)
