Razorbacks spring football report

Red-White plans may be altered

Austin Allen
Austin Allen

FAYETTEVILLE -- Officials at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, are considering contingency plans for the Red-White spring football game Saturday in case of significant rain, including the potential for flash flooding in Northwest Arkansas.

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Defensive Back Coach Paul Rhoads or the Arkansas Razorbacks Thursday, August 4, 2016 during practice on campus in Fayetteville.

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Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gaze

Arkansas Offensive line coach Kurt Anderson

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Santos Ramirez

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The safety of student-athletes and fans is the most important consideration, said Kevin Trainor, Arkansas associate athletic director for public relations.

The spring finale is scheduled for noon at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, with a live broadcast by the SEC Network and free admission for fans.

However, severe weather is forecast to move into Northwest Arkansas tonight and extend throughout the day Saturday.

Among the possible contingencies is playing the game in the Walker Pavilion, which would prohibit entrance by fans.

The potential for rain could also impact the annual RazorFest, which is scheduled for Lot 60 on Saturday.

Nice numbers

Offensive coordinator Dan Enos said starting quarterback Austin Allen has been solid with his ball security this spring.

"I think he's thrown three interceptions this spring in 14 practices," Enos said. "I think he's around 300 pass attempts, so he's done a pretty admirable job with the ball."

Enos said the 300 or so pass attempts count team periods and 7 on 7 work called "skelly."

"I've been around some guys that have gone the whole spring with one [interpception] and I think that's obviously exceptional," he said. "I think he's thrown three and you could say that's pretty good. We've still got one more practice to go."

Not smiling

Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said while he's pleased with the advancement the Razorbacks have shown in their 3-4 schemes, he was not as happy with Thursday's workout.

"I would have liked to have seen the last practice before we took the field for the spring game as one that left us leaving the practice field with a smile on our faces," he said. "Too many mental mistakes. Took our foot off the gas a little bit. But we got some exposure to a couple of more calls we got to put on film and we'll be able to teach of off throughout the summer and into training camp."

Rhoads later clarified his remarks, saying the front seven on defense probably had a solid day.

"The front seven overall, they might have had a pretty decent practice, but I wasn't very thrilled with the back end," he said.

"If you don't come ready to work mentally, then your physical execution gets challenged. I don't think they brought the right mindset to practice today."

Teaching points

Offensive line coach Kurt Anderson said he gave an illustration to his unit at how far they've come in the last year.

"I was telling them after practice today to think about where they've come from this time last year," Anderson said. "I felt like after spring we left with two tools in our took box. And right now we've got one of those big, huge chests that you roll into your garage and it's got everything imaginable. They've got it in their tool box."

Who's pick?

The first scrimmage interception of spring could have belonged to Santos Ramirez. The junior safety from Shreveport read an Austin Allen pass, broke in front of Allen's intended target and made a play on the ball.

But as Ramirez fell to the ground, the ball shot up and into the arms of linebacker De'Jon Harris, who was pursuing the play from behind.

"My man went underneath and I read the quarterback's eyes and I broke on it," Ramirez said. I caught it going to the ground and thought I had it going to the ground, but I guess they said it was incomplete. Luckily, De'Jon was there to pick off the pass, so it counts as an interception, but mostly it was the ball going the other way. At the end of the day, I want it to be an INT on my stats, but it is a PBU and I just have to bring it in."

Center points

Offensive line coach Kurt Anderson confirmed that senior center Frank Ragnow would be held out in Saturday's Red-White game as he has for the other scrimmages this spring.

The move will allow Zach Rogers to get more work with the starting unit at center.

"He's had a really, really good spring," Anderson said. "I think part of that is he's been healthy all spring. ... He's not a guy that when he gets banged up that it ever keeps him out, but it can limit him sometimes. He's had an injury free spring."

Anderson also praised the work Jalen Merrick has done, which has led to some snaps at first team right tackle this spring.

Knockout

Safety Santos Ramirez is determined to be more precise on his pursuit angles and more sure on his contact this fall after missing his share of tackles in Arkansas' defensive breakdowns of 2016.

"Last year I was mainly trying to knock out ball carriers, wasn't wrapping up and taking bad angles, which put me out of position a lot," Ramirez said.

"I watched film and this spring I really focused on getting better in those aspects, which is going to take my game to a whole new level."

Ramirez has taken most of the first-team work at strong safety, while De'Andre Coley and Josh Liddell work at free safety. He was direct and to the point when asked what his areas of focus were this spring.

"Mental toughness, playing through injuries, my run angles and tackling in the open field," Ramirez said. " I feel like throughout this whole spring I have accomplished that."

Sports on 04/28/2017

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