Observations + notes from Arkansas' second fall scrimmage

FAYETTEVILLE — Observations from Arkansas’ second scrimmage of fall camp.

— There was no live tackling with the starters. Thud only. Live work for the backups.

— The biggest development of the day was Colton Jackson working as the first-team right tackle and Bret Bielema saying the Hogs felt good about a starting line of Dan Skipper (LT), Hjalte Froholdt (LG), Frank Ragnow (C), Jake Raulerson (RG) and Jackson moving forward.

— Jackson appeared solid in run blocking and was better in pass protection than he had been at left tackle. With his frame, he has potential and looked improved Saturday compared to earlier practices and last week’s scrimmage. He still struggles some, like in a two-play sequence where he was beaten by JaMichael Winston for a sack as the play was blown dead, then bullrushed by Jeremiah Ledbetter as Ledbetter collapsed the pocket on the next. Jackson has improved from the start of fall camp and the staff’s hope is that the growth can be accelerated now that he’s playing a position that fits him better.

— Austin Allen was sharp for the second straight week, completing 15 of 21 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. In the two scrimmages, he completed 29 of 40 for 309 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. He fit a lot of passes into tight windows, like a 19-yard completion on the sideline to Drew Morgan, thrown perfectly over Morgan’s shoulder and just past Ryan Pulley’s outstretched arm. He threw a touchdown to Jeremy Sprinkle on a bootleg, a play and result that should be repeated several times this season. He hit Sprinkle right down the middle of the field for 20-plus yards on a nice throw lobbed over coverage. Maybe his best throw of the day was a 31-yard touchdown on a back-shoulder pass to Jared Cornelius. Henre’ Toliver didn’t get his head around and probably couldn’t have gotten to the ball if he had. Perfect throw. Allen has looked incredibly comfortable, so it’ll be interesting to see what he’s like facing a live rush in two weeks. He’s been about as good as you could ask so far in camp.

— It seems telling that Rafe Peavey didn’t scrimmage. He’s the most experienced of the backups, so Bielema said the staff wanted to see if redshirt freshman Ty Storey and true freshman Cole Kelley had moved ahead of him. Bielema said Peavey does everything right, but performance is the bottom line and they needed to see if the others were better. Of note, Peavey appeared to be the third-best backup in the first scrimmage last week. Reading between the lines, it seems clear Storey and Kelley have the edge at the moment. If Peavey is still seriously in the running for the backup job, you’d think he’d participate in the final scrimmage of fall camp. His back still isn’t 100 percent, but he went through warmups prior to the scrimmage and hasn’t missed practices. The staff wanted a longer look at Storey and Kelley. With reps being precious, there was inevitably going to be someone bumped out of the competition at some point.

— Bielema praised Kelley, who again flashed his elite arm strength. He still makes some freshman mistakes and tries to fit in throws he probably shouldn’t, but the raw talent is evident. He finished 8 of 15 for 127 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The pick came on one of those freshman plays, as he tried to force a ball into double coverage deep down the field and was intercepted by DeAndre Coley, who had a long return, part of a strong scrimmage for him. Bielema praised Kelley’s intangibles, calling them “very rare.” Said he takes charge of the huddle and confidently gives directions to guys who have been in the program a lot longer. Players respond to the way he plays and acts.

— Kelley ended the scrimmage by rifling a 34-yard touchdown to LaMichael Pettway on a back-shoulder throw. It was very similar to Allen’s 31-yard touchdown to Cornelius, except with a bit more zip on the ball. He and fellow true freshman Jordan Jones had some nice chemistry. Kelley lofted a throw 40-plus yards down the field, with ease, to Jones, who had a step on the corner. Jones couldn’t haul it in, but Kelley went right back to him the next day, humming a 25-yard completion to a diving Jones on the sideline.

— Storey was 2 of 9 for 26 yards, with receivers dropping a few. Not as impressive a day as he had last week but if Peavey is behind or out of the running, odds have to still be high Storey is the backup just so the staff can redshirt Kelley. Long-term, Kelley seems like he has a lot of momentum and is drawing rave reviews from the staff.

— Some injury updates from Bielema: Cornerback DJ Dean should be back by Tuesday. Pretty quick recovery for a guy they floated the idea of redshirting a week ago. Running back Devwah Whaley, tight end Anthony Antwine and receiver Keon Hatcher all wore green jerseys as a result of dealing with minor shoulder injuries. Offensive lineman Jalen Merrick suffered a concussion late in the week and didn’t scrimmage, but should be back early next week. True freshman safety Micahh Smith tore his meniscus and underwent surgery. He was going to redshirt anyway. Tight end Austin Cantrell (groin) didn’t practice. Dominique Reed’s ankle is doing better and should be better by game week. Tight end CJ O’Grady has knee tendinitis and wasn’t quite cleared for the scrimmage. Running back TJ Hammonds is already back running in a pool and is expected back Tuesday.

— Arkansas’ corners played a good deal of press coverage. As a whole, there wasn’t much of the 8-10 yard cushion given that was so commonplace last year. Henre’ Toliver started at boundary but worked inside at nickel some, too. When he shifted in, Ryan Pulley took over at boundary. Jared Collins worked as the field corner. Kevin Richardson is the starter at nickel and Bielema said he could probably play all four secondary spots.

— Hatcher, Reed, Jared Cornelius, Drew Morgan and Cody Hollister are obviously the top five receivers, but Jordan Jones had a strong day, the best of the young wideouts. He impressed early in fall camp and then missed some time, including last week’s scrimmage, with a fever. He’s got good size, is very fast and made the acrobatic catch Saturday on the throw from Kelley. He finished with three catches for 44 yards.

— Cole Hedlund is the starting kicker and Adam McFain is No. 2, per Bielema. They combined to make all eight of their field goals early in practice before the scrimmage began.

— McTelvin Agim worked at defensive end and inside today. He has great strength for a true freshman and got a nice push a few times. So did Austin Capps. The second-team offensive line generally had trouble in pass pro.

— Randy Ramsey worked a bit with the first-team defense but primarily with the twos. His speed rush off the edge is pretty impressive.