Hogs feeling out who gets touches

FAYETTEVILLE -- Is it any wonder it has taken Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen a solid month to begin meshing on game days with the team's top talent?

Excluding Allen, the Razorbacks have only two healthy offensive skill players back from among their top 10 ball handlers through four games in 2016: sophomore tailback Devwah Whaley and sophomore tight end Austin Cantrell.

Receiver Jared Cornelius, who ranked sixth on the team with 18 touches through four games in 2016, is tied for ninth with Cantrell this year with five touches, but the senior was lost for the season in Week 3 with a torn Achilles tendon.

In Cornelius' absence last week, two receivers joined Jonathan Nance as top targets for Allen: sophomore Deon Stewart and freshman Jordan Jones.

Stewart had four catches for 71 yards, including the game's first touchdown on a 38-yard screen to the right flank in the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville's 42-24 victory over New Mexico State. Jones followed the Texas A&M game, in which he had two jet sweeps for 50 yards, by catching 4 passes for 84 yards.

The four catches were career highs for both players, who entered the game with a combined five catches for 38 yards and a touchdown this season.

"I've seen those guys in practice like that all the time, so it really wasn't surprising to me," Allen said. "Once they get the ball in their hands in the open space, they can make one guy miss like Deon did and take it.

"I thought those guys played well, and I thought they got a lot of confidence in themselves."

Stewart said he's used to making plays in practice.

"To me, it really wasn't a breakout game," Stewart said. "I come here in practice and I do this stuff every day. To me, and I think to everyone else, it really wasn't a surprise that I had a game like that."

Receivers coach Michael Smith opened his interview session with the media Tuesday in a humorous way. As soon as the first reporter began to speak, Smith blurted with a grin, "No, I'm not surprised," anticipating the question would be about strong contributions from receivers other than Nance.

"I'm happy for those guys, man," Smith said. "You know, I keep telling you when they come out and do what they're coached to do, they're talented kids. They would not be playing in the SEC conference or big-time college football if they couldn't play.

"They got opportunities, they took advantage of them. The thing now is the consistency. We've got to go out and do it again this weekend."

This weekend the Razorbacks (2-2, 0-1 SEC) pick up their level of competition by a big notch, opening their road slate at South Carolina.

One thing that is certain Saturday is offensive coordinator Dan Enos will make it a point to push the running game.

Enos spent a portion of his weekly news conference Monday touting the Razorbacks' responsibility toward giving the ground game a chance.

"Obviously in three or four games, we've made a big emphasis on running the football," Enos said. "We had 51 rushing attempts this week, and I think we had 45 against A&M. With our commitment to running the football first and foremost, obviously you can't become predictable."

The numbers back up Enos.

Arkansas has 172 carries for 821 yards, with 10 rushing touchdowns and 4.8 yards per carry this season. Compare that to 167 carries for 632 yards, with 6 touchdowns and 3.8 yards per carry through four games in 2016.

Enos said that's a reflection of an improving offensive line.

"They're getting better," he said. "They're jelling. Again, we run the ball a lot. We'll continue to run the ball a lot. They're doing a good job there."

Whaley, David Williams and Chase Hayden are the Razorbacks' leading ball handlers by a huge margin.

Whaley (with 49 touches), Williams (47) and Hayden (41) have combined for 137 touches, 770 all-purpose yards and 11 touchdowns. Williams leads the team with 279 all-purpose yards, with Hayden ranking third (246 yards) and Whaley fourth (245 yards).

Among the receivers, only Nance -- with 16 touches for 270 yards and 4 touchdowns -- has more than 200 all-purpose yards.

At this stage last season, receivers Keon Hatcher, Drew Morgan, Dominique Reed and Cornelius all had 200-plus all-purpose yards, which include punt and kickoff returns as well as end-around handoffs and jet sweeps.

Nance, with 15 catches for 258 yards and 4 touchdowns, is Allen's favorite target through the first third of the season. But Stewart and Jones -- along with tight ends Cheyenne O'Grady, Cantrell and Jeremy Patton -- have begun to notch key receptions.

"I think outside they're young," South Carolina Coach Will Muschamp said. "You look at Jordan Jones and Deon Stewart and Jonathan Nance, they're all guys that are vertical big guys that go down and attack the ball, and I think they're coming into their own.

Enos was asked what helped Stewart "turn it around" Saturday.

"I don't think he turned it around," Enos said. "I think he got more opportunities. He got open when he got the opportunities, and he caught the ball."

Coach Bret Bielema said training camp and the first couple of weeks of the season, when Cornelius was being held out of practices with a back problem, laid the groundwork for new faces at the skill positions.

"We were repping a lot of guys, but it's not the same as game speed," he said. "We've got new faces, but they've been growing and getting better, and hopefully we'll continue to get better."

Sports on 10/05/2017