HawgBeat - Thursday Practice Observations
HawgBeat's takeaways from Arkansas football's practice on Thursday afternoon.
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Arkansas had its final open practice ahead of game week Thursday afternoon and the media was let in to view four periods of action for around 30 minutes total. The team practiced indoors at the Walker Pavilion with the temperature being high 90s outside and well over 100 degrees on the outdoor turf.
Here are a few takeaways and tidbits from what I was able to see:
Thursday practice takeaways (8/24):
~ Arkansas practiced in shells and shorts on Thursday afternoon. Fans were blowing and it was pretty cool inside, so I'd have to assume the air conditioning is finally working just in time for the season.
~ TCU transfer defensive back Kee'yon Stewart did not participate during the open viewing period for the media. The reasoning is undisclosed as of right now, but we should get some clarification on injuries from head coach Sam Pittman during Thursday evening's press conference.
~ There was once again a long list of players not participating during the media viewing portion of Thursday's practice. If we know the reason they are out, it's in parenthesis. If we don't know why they are out, the reason for them not participating is undisclosed at this time. Here are the names I saw, but it's not limited to this list
DB Kee'yon Stewart
OL Brady Latham
OL E'Marion Harris
OL Joey Su'a
OL Luke Brown
LB Antonio Grier
WR Kalil Girault
OL Terry Wells (pec)
TE Hunter Talley
WR Sam Mbake (knee)
~ The team ran through a drill for defensive backs to get angles on receivers against the sideline before they did an 11-on-11 fastball period and then finished with individual drills.
~ Junior Jayden Johnson was once again a first team safety defense during the fastball starts period. At this point it's no longer just a situation where they are giving him a look with the starters and it is now a very possible scenario that he has replaced Hudson Clark as a starting safety alongside Al Walcott.
~ It's also worth noting that we saw Josh Braun move to left guard with the first team offense in place of Brady Latham, who did not participate. Amaury Wiggins filled in at right guard for Braun.
~ During the final individual drills period, Tyrone Broden made a really nice snag in the end zone during a routes on air drill in the red zone. He stuck his left hand out and grabbed the ball to bring it into his body and secure the catch. That's a good sign for someone who's struggling with catches in fall camp.
~ With today being the final open practice to the media ahead of game week, there are some questions to be answered still. Would Brady Latham and Antonio Grier be healthy enough to play today? Do they know their five best defensive backs? Who are your starting defensive tackles?
Fastball Depth Chart
*Not an official depth chart*
OFFENSE (First Team/Second Team)
QB: KJ Jefferson / Jacolby Criswell
RB: AJ Green / Dominique Johnson
TE: Luke Hasz / Ty Washington
WR: Tyrone Broden / Davion Dozier
WR: Isaac TeSlaa / Dazmin James
SWR: Isaiah Sategna / Bryce Stephens
LT: Andrew Chamblee / Aaron Smith
LG: Josh Braun / Paris Patterson
C: Beaux Limmer / Josh Street
RG: Amaury Wiggins / Brooks Edmonson
RT: Patrick Kutas / Cole Carson
DEFENSE (First Team/Second Team/Third Team)
DE: Trajan Jeffcoat / Zach Williams
DT: Keivie Rose / Eric Gregory
DT: Cam Ball / Tank Booker
DE: Landon Jackson / John Morgan
LB: Jaheim Thomas / Brooks Both
LB: Jordan Crook / Brad Spence
CB: Jaheim Singletary / LaDarrius Bishop
CB: Dwight McGlothern / Jaylon Braxton/Aidan McCowan
S: Jayden Johnson / Malik Chavis
S: Alfahiym Walcott / Hudson Clark
Nickel: Lorando Johnson / Jaylen Lewis
Fastball play-by-play
FIRST TEAM
- AJ Green runs at left end
- AJ Green runs at middle
- KJ Jefferson was touched (sacked) then threw low intended for Luke Hasz on intermediate crossing route
- Jefferson's pass complete to Hasz over the right edge
SECOND TEAM
- Jacolby Criswell pass complete to Davion Dozier on a post route
- Criswell play-action pass complete on right edge to Bryce Stephens
- Criswell play-action pass for Stephens down a seam for big yardage
- Criswell rolls left, hits Dazmin James with pass just beyond the flats
