FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Razorbacks made it past the halfway point of spring drills Thursday, adding layers to their installations on both sides of the ball that will be on display today.
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville will hold its second major scrimmage of spring at 11:30 a.m. at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The full-scale tackling workout, which is closed to the public, will follow a 135-snap scrimmage, the longest of Bret Bielema's tenure during spring practice.
The over-arching theme for Bielema and his coaching staff has been a tougher brand of football on both offense and defense. The Razorbacks displayed that last week, as offensive coordinator Dan Enos fed the running game. The top five backs, led by Rawleigh Williams' 189 rushing yards, combined for 64 carries for 432 yards.
"That was the kind of tone coach Enos has said we were going to do in the scrimmage," Arkansas running backs coach Reggie Mitchell said. "We were going to come out and try to run the ball initially and try to get those guys going, and I was pleased with the way they ran the ball."
Another dose of physical play is on tap today.
"We thought our guys were trying to be physical and straining," Enos said. "We want to see the same things Saturday, guys compete with no coaches on the field and ... strain through the whistle and protect the football.
"This program is about protecting the ball. We didn't do that great last year, and it's been a huge emphasis. Our defense is doing a good job of getting balls out and making the guys work during practice."
New defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads has overseen a methodical implementation of the new 3-4 schemes, with new calls and more wrinkles added daily. The defense rushed a maximum of four players last week; today's work could feature an additional one or two blitzes to challenge the pass protection.
"Paul does a great job," Enos said. "They're going slow with their install so they can teach the fundamentals of the defense, but every day they add something and it becomes more difficult for us. They're playing super hard."
Rhoads thought the defense missed too many tackles in the last scrimmage, so that's a focal point today.
"We want to tackle better and don't want to give up big plays," he said. "Overall, we gave up one every 27-and-a-half plays. If you figure it out just mathematically, that's two-and-a-half big plays a game. That's not bad, but we gave up a number of them early. That was concerning to me.
"Big plays, tackling and making sure we're playing just as hard as we physically can, all 11 for every single snap."
Cornerback Ryan Pulley said the restriction of no cut tackling imposed by Bielema, which will be enforced for the scrimmage, serves a dual purpose, starting with the lower risk of injuries to ball carriers.
"If we would've been able to tackle below the waist, we probably would've gotten some of the running backs down," Pulley said. "But it's just teaching us how to tackle, to be a better tackler.
"We've got to hit high in some positions on the field. Goal line, you have to be able to hit high, so it was pretty good."
Enos said roughly 80 percent of the offensive schemes have been put in, adding to the depth of today's workout.
Quarterback Austin Allen said short-yardage and goal-line work should be ready to run today.
"I want to see what I saw on Saturday: A bunch of guys flying around and loving the game," Allen said. "Personally, I want to see the QBs and myself go to the right place with the ball all the time, not make many mistakes and continue to put the ball in the playmakers' hands and let them do their thing."
Senior receiver Jared Cornelius is likely to be held out of the scrimmage, Bielema said, meaning the inexperienced receivers will get a heavier workload.
Redshirt freshman Jordan Jones had a scrimmage-high 99 receiving yards last week, including a 63-yard touchdown from Cole Kelley.
"He had a really good day Saturday," Enos said. "Every day you see flashes of greatness. He has a chance to be special."
Offensive line coach Kurt Anderson said he wants to see his unit take more strides toward domination.
"Even though we had the leading rusher in the SEC, I think we all know we can run the football better," Anderson said, referencing Williams' top regular-season SEC rushing mark of 1,326 yards. "And I really feel like with this offensive line that we have going right now this spring, we have the opportunity to be difference-makers."
Sports on 04/15/2017