HawgBeat - Defensive line stands out in Arkansas' first scrimmage of fall camp
The Arkansas defensive line flashed their cohesiveness in the first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday.
arkansas.rivals.com
A group that continues to trend in the right direction for Arkansas football is the defensive line, which stood out to head coach Sam Pittman during Saturday's closed scrimmage at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Defensive line coach Deke Adams has built legit depth at both defensive end and defensive tackle and it's starting to show.
"Deke basically had a four-man rotation going on," Pittman said. "He's really got nine with Nico (Davillier). He's got nine guys who can go over there. Well, he had eight today because we held Tank Booker out today. Nothing big. I think he'll be ready to go by Monday, but we held him today."
Booker is a redshirt senior transfer from Maryland and he checks in at 6-foot-4, 351 pounds. The injury is a on Booker's knee, according to Pittman, but it seems precautionary.
Of the nine rotational players that Pittman mentioned, a couple of transfer players and returnees made life difficult for the offensive line.
"Well, there was a lot of them," Pittman said. "(Trajan Jeffcoat) is hard to block. I'll tell you a guy that flashed was Taurean Carter. He was back there quite a little bit today. And Eric (Gregory) and a bunch of them."
Jeffcoat is a transfer from Missouri and a former First Team All-SEC performer. Nicknamed "Tree," Jeffcoat has been standing out to his peers.
"He’s a hard worker," redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Cam Ball said. "Tree is good in both run and pass. Tree comes off that edge, and he’s flying. So I can tell you Tree is one heck of a player, most definitely."
Pittman also mentioned junior Landon Jackson and super senior Pittsburgh transfer John Morgan as standouts. Sophomore defensive end Nico Davillier also had a really good scrimmage, according to Pittman.
A primary factor for the stellar play of the defensive line is the coaching of Adams, who is returning for his second season with the Razorbacks. Adams' ability to blend the old and new players together has done wonders for the unit.
"I think there’s a lot to be said for that," Pittman said. "If the position coach can’t change his room and he’s still back then he’s still got a room that he ain’t changed. They can like him all they want, but if we ain’t changing that room, it’s hard to like a guy because he’s probably not going to be there."
"Deke went in and he changed that room and more importantly, like Taurean and Landon and those guys that are back, Eric Gregory, he knows how to blend the new guys with the old guys. Deke handles problems in the room, he can recruit to his room, but he’s just a really good coach, really good dude, really good recruiter."
Ball credited Adams' coaching as the reason for his development on and off the field.
"Coach Adams is a very good coach," Ball said. "I can say this is my third year being here. So my first year I had a different one so he’s a returner. Coach Adams has developed me a lot. He’s made me a better player all around and most importantly made me a better person."
Quarterback KJ Jefferson spoke on the performance of the offense during the scrimmage and said that they came out "really slow." A big reason for that was the play of the defensive line, which played as a cohesive unit Saturday.
"I can say all of us were hungry as a whole," Ball said. "You can tell that the chemistry is really there. We all played together and were all on one accord. Basically, we just gave a preview of how it’s going to be this season."
Maintaining good chemistry is paramount for a team like Arkansas that is deep and versatile on the defensive line. The unit has a solid three-deep with specialists in every facet of the game according to Ball.
"We’re competing every day for the defensive tackle spot," Ball said. "I feel like right now, we have a good three-deep and we can rotate a lot. No matter who is on the field, both groups, all three of them, we both are specialists in pass and run. We can handle both."
Arkansas will get Sunday off before returning to the practice field Monday. Stay tuned to HawgBeat's premium message board, The Trough, for the latest updates from Arkansas fall camp.
