New faces man offense’s integral parts

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas game notes list veterans Drew Morgan, Keon Hatcher, Cody Hollister and Jared Cornelius as interchangeable starters at the two wide receiver spots on the depth chart.

Arkansas fans scanning the personnel for the Razorbacks' first offensive snap in today's 3 p.m. game against Louisiana Tech at Reynolds Razorback Stadium will note Cornelius and Morgan are the only players manning the same spots they held when Arkansas opened its 45-23 Liberty Bowl romp over Kansas State in last year's finale.

Jeremy Sprinkle has moved into the lead tight end role; Dan Skipper has switched tackle slots to the left side on Arkansas' restructured offensive front; freshman Hayden Johnson has slipped into the lead fullback role over returner Kendrick Jackson; and Austin Allen has elevated to starting quarterback, handing off to a tailback crew populated with familiar names such as Rawleigh Williams and Kody Walker, who have yet to wear the "workhorse" label at Arkansas.

The Razorbacks don't seem worried about the transition.

"Every year in college football there's new guys, and you know what? Someone's going to emerge," said second-year offensive coordinator Dan Enos, who directed the SEC's No. 2 team in total offense and scoring last year.

"I know we just lost two backs to the NFL, but believe me we're going to be all right at running back," Coach Bret Bielema said. "Those boys can play, and they're very well coached."

Frank Ragnow and Skipper are the returning starters on the offensive line, but Ragnow also moved -- from right guard to center -- in the spring. The new offensive line starters were either playing defense (Hjalte Froholdt), playing for the Texas Longhorns (Jake Raulerson) or redshirting for the Razorbacks (Colton Jackson) last year.

"We're ready to go," first-year offensive line coach Kurt Anderson said. "I'm confident. I think the protection plan is tight. They know it inside and out."

Williams, who is coming off neck surgery, said he is convinced the Razorbacks can add to their group of four 1,000-yard rushers in three seasons under Bielema. He said he thinks the offensive line will hold up fine and the tailbacks will produce.

"Just get to the game Saturday and you'll see it," Williams said when asked what fans could expect from all the offensive changes. "We have confidence in ourselves, and I think the people will like what they see Saturday."

Williams and sixth-year senior Walker are the known commodities in the running game. Blue-chip freshman Devwah Whaley and junior Damon Mitchell are also expected to bolster the spot. Whaley rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown in the first scrimmage, then had limited contact work the rest of camp.

"Rawleigh has looked incredible this camp," Allen said. "He's better, faster, stronger. Devwah, he's the real deal. I can't wait until people see him. [Mitchell], Kody, shoot, we've got guys back there."

Louisiana Tech Coach Skip Holtz said he's studied Arkansas' roster enough to know the Hogs will make up for the losses of quarterback Brandon Allen, running back Alex Collins, tight end Hunter Henry and three NFL offensive linemen.

"I'm sure they're going to put a very talented offense on the field, even though they may have some new pieces in their puzzle," Holtz said. "I think they'll continue to be the type of team they are. They're going to put a saddle on their offensive line and run the ball."

Ragnow said skeptics about the revamped line should rest easy.

"The whole position change thing really shouldn't worry people," he said. "I played center as a freshman. Dan's played basically every position on the line. So there's two comfortable guys.

"We've got an elite offensive line coach that came from the NFL who knows what he's teaching. Obviously, there's a learning curve right away to figure out what's going on, and there's young guys coming in, but the fans should not be freaking out about the offensive line. We're going to be fine."

Allen has been an understudy to his brother, Brandon, for three seasons. He is excited about the structure of the offense, plus elements added by Enos that fans have yet to see.

"He went and met with the Cardinals and other NFL teams like that, and he came back with a bunch of new concepts that we're using right now," Allen said. "We implemented them in fall camp and we can always go back to them.

"I really think it will help out our offense with any type of coverage, any type of blitz, anything. It's got a lot of answers to it."

The Razorbacks had the answers the last half of 2015 in the aftermath of a 27-14 loss at Alabama in which the Hogs had 220 total yards and dropped to 2-4. The offense averaged 493 yards and 46.2 points over the last seven games.

Enos said he thinks Allen has prepared himself for success.

"He's a hard worker," Enos said of Allen. "He doesn't want to let anybody down. He's going to play well. I'm really, really confident he's going to play very, very well.

"He's going to make some mistakes. If you've got the ball in your hand every play, you're going to make some, but he's going to make some really good plays, too."

Bielema said Austin Allen has an advantage his brother didn't enjoy during his first season as a starter in 2013: a strong supporting cast around him. Sixth-year senior running back Kody Walker echoed the sentiment.

"If everybody continues to come to work with the right mindset and the right focus, we're going to have a special year," Walker said. "We do have a new guy under center, but he's an Allen, so I'm confident in his abilities. He has guys around him that are going to make plays for him, so I think we'll be fine."

Holtz, a Fayetteville High School graduate who offered Allen a scholarship during his tenure at South Florida, said he's certain Allen will be "sound" with what the coaches ask of him.

"I don't think they're going to put the ball in his hands and throw it all over the yard," Holtz said. "I think they're going to ... run the ball and take pressure off of him, give him a chance to be successful early where they control the ball running it and then throw some deep passes."

Enos said he thinks the running game should find its stride earlier this season than it did last year.

"Last year, early in the season, I think we were still trying to figure out who we were a little bit," he said. "I think once we figured out that formula, it was a very, very good balance. Those things that we were doing, I think we've picked up right where we left off.

"It takes everybody working together, but we feel good about the plan that we have right now, the schemes in place ... and the player we're going to have out there."

Bielema suggested Austin Allen's statistics from camp are similar to those of Brandon Allen last year.

"Those are just one of those little indicator things," he said. "I like the way that our running backs have looked, and to me we're not even at full throttle yet. I like the way our offensive line has jelled together.

"I think the tight ends, with Jeremy Sprinkle and the depth we have there ... will continue to come along. But at wide receiver, to have five proven receivers, I get excited.

"I'm excited for this team for a lot of reasons. I like the way our defense can possibly feed our offense. On the flip side, I think defensively we'll feed off an offense that doesn't put us in bad positions."

Sports on 09/03/2016