The Rundown
Practice officially began at approximately 10:10 a.m. CT and we walked out around 12:10 p.m. CT. We watched individual drills, fastball, one-on-ones, seven-on-seven, red zone work, blitz drills and two minute drills.
Offense bounces back
The team was initially supposed to hold a scrimmage at Razorback Stadium, but weather forced activities inside for a normal practice. After a rough showing Thursday, all offensive groups bounced back Saturday with pretty solid performances.
For the second practice this week, true freshman Madden Iamaleava turned heads. The Long Beach Poly High School product was taking deep shots and completing them, while also firing darts over the middle for touchdown completions and just looking like a polished passer overall.
Charlotte transfer receiver O'Mega Blake had a solid practice and he put his speed on display with a couple of long scores on go routes during 7-on-7 work. Fresno State transfer Raylen Sharpe's connection with Taylen Green also continues to grow.
Tight end Rohan Jones, a Montana State transfer, put together another impressive outing Saturday and he's developing a trust with the quarterbacks that seems to be the most any tight end has at this point.
The running back position continues to be a battle between Braylen Russell, Mike Washington and Rodney Hill for the starting spot. Washington is probably the leader in the clubhouse at this point, with Russell and Hill neck-and-neck behind him. Hill did finally get out of a green no-contact jersey Saturday.
Linebacker position is looking good
You can probably feel good about what the Razorbacks have at the linebacker spot. Xavian Sorey Jr. and Stephen Dix Jr. are two returning veterans that are no-doubt starters. Sophomore Brad Shaw is probably the third linebacker right now, with four-star freshman Tavion Wallace looking good to start the spring so far. Redshirt freshman Wyatt Simmons is also back from a hamstring injury and has been working with the second team defense.
There's a depth issue in the secondary with a general lack of scholarship bodies, and the same could be said for the defensive line. Those are two spots they definitely intend to address in the post-spring portal.
Snaps were an issue
One thing I did notice during Saturday's practice was there was an unusual amount of bad snaps. Per new media policy from the UA this spring, we are not allowed to report on player injuries, including players not participating in practice even if we see with our own eyes that they aren't participating. With that said, Tim Dawn was having to work as third team center and a lot of the bad snaps came there. Starter Caden Kitler also had a few snaps that were off.
Some different looks in fastball
We did get to see Blake Boda run as the second team quarterback during the fastball period, which was the first 11-on-11 team period that features each offensive group running a sequence of plays to set the tone for practice. Freshman Grayson Wilson was also the third team quarterback, which was the first time I think I've seen him run during fastball.
For depth chart purposes, I haven't listed them as second or third team quarterbacks below. Later on in practice, KJ Jackson was consistently the second team quarterback and Madden Iamaleava was third team quarterback. I do have to say, Iamaleava is probably the second best quarterback they have right now based on what I've seen to this point in the spring. He had two great practices Tuesday and Saturday this week.
Kickers
We briefly saw the kickers get some action during a team drill that was "second down, play it" where they would start with a random distance on second down in the red zone and play live from there. Freshman Scott Starzyk ran as the starting kicker and hit from 34 and 24 yards out to close out a couple sequences. Eventually they pushed him back just for situational work and he missed from 54 yards out, but he drilled a 57-yarder on a line drive.
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Notable plays
- Taylen Green completed a pass to Rohan Jones in a tight window with double coverage, although it was probably a sack before Green threw the ball.
- Madden Iamaleava threw a deep touchdown to Courtney Crutchfield on the left sideline with Bryce Stephens in coverage during a team period.
- Iamaleava also completed a touchdown to Crutchfield for roughly 18 yards during a "second down, play it" team drill in the red zone. Walk-on Aidan McCowan was in coverage, but it was a
great throw.
- KJ Jackson threw a 15-yard touchdown over the middle to tight end Jaden Platt during the "second down, play it" drill.
- Walk-on Anton Pierce picked off KJ Jackson during 7-on-7s on a pass intended for Krosse Johnson.
- Taylen Green was picked off by Aidan McCowan on a deep pass intended for Kam Shanks.
- Iamaleava completed a deep touchdown pass to tight end Maddox Lassiter during a blitz drill.
- JJ Shelton picked off Blake Boda at the goal line during 7-on-7 drills.
- Green completed a touchdown to Raylen Sharpe on a toe-tapper in the back of the end zone during 7-on-7s
- Both Tavion Wallace and JJ Hollingsworth had sacks during the "second down, play it" drill.
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Depth Chart
These depth charts are unofficial and just a general list based on the fastball drills ran. They go with different personnel and different formations often.
FIRST TEAM
Offense
QB: Taylen Green
RB: Rodney Hill
TE: Rohan Jones
WR: O'Mega Blake, Ismael Cisse, Raylen Sharpe
LT: Corey Robinson II
LG: Fernando Carmona Jr.
C: Caden Kitler
RG: Keyshawn Blackstock
RT: Shaq McRoy
Defense
DE: Quincy Rhodes Jr.
DT: Ian Geffrard
DT: Danny Saili
DE: Charlie Collins
LB: Xavian Sorey Jr.
LB: Stephen Dix Jr.
NB: Caleb Wooden
CB: Jaheim Singletary
CB: Selman Bridges
S: Larry Worth III
S: Miguel Mitchell
SECOND TEAM
Offense
QB: KJ Jackson
RB: Tyrell Reed Jr.
TE: Jeremiah Beck, Andreas Paaske
WR: CJ Brown, Monte Harrison
LT: Kavion Broussard
LG: Bubba Craig
C: Kash Courtney
RG: Blake Cherry
RT: Marcus Dumervil
Defense
DE: Justus Boone
DT: Kevin Oatis
DT: Kaleb James
DE: Donovan Whitten
LB: Tavion Wallace
LB: Brad Shaw
NB: JJ Shelton
CB: Jaden Allen
CB: Keshawn Davila
S: Quentavius Scandrett
S: Ahkari Johnson
THIRD TEAM
Offense
QB: Madden Iamaleava
RB: AJ Green
TE: Jaden Platt
WR: Courtney Crutchfield, Shamar Easter, Kam Shanks
LT: Aaron Smith
LG: Zuri Madison
C: Tim Dawn
RG: Payton Parks-Smith
RT: Jonas Nantze
Defense
DE: Donovan Whitten
DT: JJ Hollingsworth
DT: Caleb Bell
DE: Kavion Henderson
LB: Joseph Whitt
LB: Justin Logan
NB: Cade Fields
CB: Aidan McCowan
CB: Landon Phipps
S: Braylon Watson
S: Anton Pierce
