FAYETTEVILLE -- Senior receiver Jared Cornelius wore a green no-contact jersey on Monday, but he went through practice and is considered questionable for the Arkansas Razorbacks' season opener Thursday against Florida A&M at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium.
Cornelius, who was slowed throughout camp with a back issue, and sophomore T.J. Hammonds, who returned last week after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, will likely be game-day decisions for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
"I bet it'll go all the way to game time, to kickoff," receivers coach Michael Smith said of Cornelius. "I know we're going to put him out there in warmups and see how he feels. And if he's good to go, I'm sure coach will make the call to let him go."
Smith said Cornelius took a lot of reps in Monday's practice, but Hammonds took even more since he's been back at practice longer.
"He's moving around real great," receiver La'Michael Pettway said.
"Jared looked OK," Smith said. "He's not full speed yet. I don't believe he is, but he looked OK and made some really nice catches out there today."
Quarterback Austin Allen said of Cornelius, "Jared is Jared, a consistent, really good football player. He hasn't practiced in a while, but he was out there running routes. He looks ready to go. He caught the ball well, ran good routes."
Rain game?
Weather models are not certain about game-day weather on Thursday in Little Rock, but there is a possibility remnants of Tropical Storm Harvey could veer through the middle of the state in time for the 7 p.m. kickoff at War Memorial Stadium.
The Razorbacks are preparing for stormy weather. There were wet-ball periods during Monday's practice, receiver La'Michael Pettway said.
Quarterback Austin Allen said the Hogs have to be ready for wet conditions.
"We worked wet ball today and we'll probably work it more tomorrow [Tuesday]," Allen said. "We're trying out the new wet gloves and things like that. We'll be ready."
The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast is calling for a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms, but that could change, said Michael Brown, a meteorologist with the NWS in North Little Rock.
"At this point, there is a pretty decent chance that the storm will move into Arkansas, and if it does come Thursday there is a pretty good chance of rain Thursday night," Brown told WholeHogSports.com on Monday.
"That said, there is still a high uncertainty, and it could go anywhere from Oklahoma to Mississippi, and if it goes that route we probably aren't going to see much rain."
Eugene's move
Senior Dwayne Eugene moved from second-team "Razor" linebacker to first-team "Hog" linebacker during the course of camp.
"He has put the work in to where he continually just goes for it," outside linebackers coach Chad Walker said. "Every single day. He stays later on his own. He does all this stuff on his own.
"He comes in the next day with a list of questions. It might be 20 questions, like 'All right coach, this is what I'm seeing.'
"So he did the work off the field and he's proved it on the field, No. 1, through his effort and his toughness. But also his assignments, being tough on the field and being able to set the edge. Being able to trust him to do his job, for sure. He's earned that spot."
Eugene, 6-1, 240 pounds, started the final six regular-season games of 2016 at weakside linebacker after Dre Greenlaw's foot injury. Eugene, from Marrero, La., ranked seventh on the team with 44 tackles last year.
Hurt for Houston
Arkansas linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves, a former assistant coach at the University of Houston, said he's kept up some with the devastation from Hurricane Harvey in southwest Texas.
"I've never seen that much water," Hargreaves said. "The little bit of time I was there, we had a couple of pretty good rainstorms, but obviously nothing like this. ... We're praying for those folks down there for sure."
Pulley on 'em
Arkansas defensive back Kevin Richardson was asked on Sunday how the Razorbacks would cover 6-6 Florida A&M receiver Chaviss Murphy.
"Um, like Pulley did against TCU," Richardson said, referencing corner Ryan Pulley holding TCU's 6-4 Taj Williams to no catches last year in the Hogs' 41-38 victory in double overtime. "If we go out there and play like that we'll play pretty well."
Williams' only catch against Arkansas was a touchdown in overtime against cornerback Jared Collins.
Opening statement
Arkansas is 96-23-4 in seasons openers, and Coach Bret Bielema has a 10-1 mark in opening games, with the only loss a 45-21 setback at Auburn in 2014. Bielema has never lost a home opener during his head coaching career, posting an 11-0 record in those games, including a 21-20 victory over Louisiana Tech last season.
Walker up
Outside linebackers coach Chad Walker will work games from the press box, taking the place of defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, who worked upstairs on game days as the secondary coach last year.
Walker, who is coming off a two-year stint with the NFC champion Atlanta Falcons, has worked from the field and the box throughout his career. A constant-motion kind of guy during press interviews, Walker laughed when asked if the press box was big enough to hold him.
"Of course," Walker said. "I'm really calm on game days. I'm abnormally calm. I'm in the zone.
"I've been on the sideline before and I've been in the booth a lot, so it's about equal in my career."
Sports on 08/29/2017