HawgBeat - Arkansas Fall Camp Notebook: Takeaways from practice No. 12
HawgBeat's takeaways from Arkansas football's 12th practice of fall camp.
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Arkansas had its 12th practice of fall camp Thursday and the media was let in to view the three periods of action for around 30 minutes total. The team ran through individual drills. there was an 11-on-11 fastball period and also two-on-two slot drills.
Here are a few takeaways and tidbits from what I was able to see:
Practice No. 12 takeaways (8/17):
~ Arkansas was in shells and shorts for Thursday's practice, which was held outside on the practice fields. The weather was mid-to-high 70s with clear skies and the sun shining down to heat up the field.
~ Two notable things from practice include linebacker Chris "Pooh" Paul Jr. participating once again after sitting out for just under a week with an MCL issue. Also, wide receiver Jaedon Wilson was in a green jersey, but he was participating.
~ Players who were not participating include Devon Manuel (undisclosed), Jashaud Stewart (heel), Nathan Bax (undisclosed), Antonio Grier (undisclosed), Quincy Rhodes Jr. (undisclosed) and Sam Mbake (knee).
~ We were able to view six practice periods and the second was the 11-on-11 fastball period. During fastball, the first, second and third teams run generally four plays and thud rather than tackle. A depth chart and play-by-play for fastball is listed below.
~ Notable plays from fastball include Al Walcott making a nice pass deflection with the first team defense and Var'keyes Gumms dropping a wide open pass over the middle with the third team offense.
~ Another notable takeaway from fastball was Amaury Wiggins moving from second team center to guard, where he has a shot to potentially battle for a starting spot. Josh Street stepped in as the second team center.
~ After fastball, the team transitioned to individual drills for the next three periods and they wrapped up the media viewing period with two-on-two slot and inside zone drills. Takeaways for both drills are listed below.
~ There was a scout from the New York Jets in attendance for Thursday's practice.
Fastball Depth Chart
*Not an official depth chart*
OFFENSE (First Team/Second Team/Third Team)
QB: KJ Jefferson / Jacolby Criswell / Cade Fortin, Malachi Singelton
RB: Rocket Sanders / AJ Green / Isaiah Augustave
TE: Luke Hasz / Ty Washington / Var'keyes Gumms
WR: Andrew Armstrong / Davion Dozier / Kamron Bibby
WR: Isaac TeSlaa / Bryce Stephens / Marlon Crockett
SWR: Isaiah Sategna / Chris Harris / Chris Rhodes
LT: Andrew Chamblee / Aaron Smith / Luke Brown
LG: Brady Latham / Amaury Wiggins / Paris Patterson
C: Beaux Limmer / Josh Street / Eli Henderson
RG: Josh Braun / E'Marion Harris / Brooks Edmonson
RT: Patrick Kutas / Ty'Kieast Crawford / Cole Carson
DEFENSE (First Team/Second Team/Third Team)
DE: Trajan Jeffcoat / Zach Williams / Nico Davillier
DT: Taurean Carter / Keivie Rose / Eric Gregory
DT: Cam Ball / Tank Booker / Kyle Thompson
DE: Landon Jackson / John Morgan / Jon Hill
LB: Jaheim Thomas / Alex Sanford / Brooks Both
LB: Jordan Crook / Brad Spence / Mani Powell
CB: Jaheim Singletary / Kee'yon Stewart / LaDarrius Bishop
CB: Dwight McGlothern / Jaylon Braxton / Aidan McCowan
S: Hudson Clark / Malik Chavis / Dylan Hasz
S: Alfahiym Walcott / Jayden Johnson / TJ Metcalf
Nickel: Lorando Johnson / Jaylen Lewis / Jabrae Shaw
Fastball play-by-play
FIRST TEAM
- KJ Jefferson runs a QB draw at left guard for small gain
- Jefferson quick screen pass on left end complete to Isaiah Sategna
- Jefferson quick slot route pass to Sategna over right side
- Jefferson incomplete pass intended for Luke Hasz over right side, intermediate, Al Walcott pass break up
SECOND TEAM
- Jacolby Criswell pass complete to AJ Green on left edge after motion
- Criswell incomplete deep pass intended for Chris Harris (drop) on right edge
- Green runs run-pass option at right guard
- Green runs up the middle, not much
THIRD TEAM
- Isaiah Augustave runs at left guard
- Cade Fortin pumps left, pass complete to sliding Kamron Bibby on left side
- Augustave runs up the middle
- Malachi Singleton has time, incomplete pass wide for very open Var'keyes Gumms
Two-on-two slot takeaways
As they have done plenty of times during fall camp, the Razorbacks lined up for two-on-two slot coverage drills for wide receivers and defensive backs to work on routes and coverage. Quarterbacks rotated in and out to throw from midfield. Here are some notable plays:
~ Jayden Johnson broke up the first pass of the drill against walk-on Kaylon Morris.
~ Tyrone Broden has really struggled with drops in fall camp. He dropped two passes in this drill, one of which couldn't have been a better throw from Malachi Singleton.
~ Another player struggling with drops is walk-on JUCO transfer Chris Rhodes, who dropped two passes after beating his man deep on both.
~ Isaiah Sategna continues to be virtually unguardable. He had one of the best plays of the day with a catch on a wheel route in double coverage (Hudson Clark and LaDarrius Bishop) on the left sideline.
~ Isaac TeSlaa scored a touchdown on a throw from Rykar Acebo after Kee'yon Stewart just gave up in coverage for some reason.
~ I noticed Dwight McGlothern was doing a good job of coaching up freshman TJ Metcalf during this drill. That was good to see from a guy who is now a veteran.
Inside zone takeaways
Inside zone drills is just for offensive line and defensive line to practice protections and linebackers are also factored into the drill. Here are some notable things from the drill:
- Amaury Wiggins played a couple of snaps at left guard with the first team
- Nico Davillier had a nice couple of plays in a row at defensive end
- It was a rough day at the office for Cole Carson at tackle on the third team offense
- Run blocking is ahead of passing blocking on the third team offensive line
- First team o-line had a really solid period
