FAYETTEVILLE -- The most critical full-tackling session of training camp for the University of Arkansas will take place this morning at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
The Razorbacks will conduct their first lengthy tackling of camp, and all their healthy standout players will have roles, however brief they might be, in practice No. 8 of fall camp. The scrimmage is closed to the media and the public. Second-year Coach Sam Pittman and a couple of players will conduct interviews after the workout.
Arkansas will have just two major scrimmages this fall, both closed, with the second taking place next Saturday. In that one, a group of trusted veterans such as tailback Trelon Smith, linebackers Grant Morgan and Bumper Pool and perhaps others such as receiver Treylon Burks, cornerback Montaric Brown, a few offensive linemen and others will be held out as an injury precaution.
Players looking to advance on the depth chart will have perhaps their best opportunity to impress in camp in the scrimmage, which will consist of roughly 125 plays from scrimmage plus special teams work.
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"Obviously we haven't tackled, so I want to see how well we tackle," Pittman said. "We're finding out a little bit more about our pass-rush abilities.
"I want to see if we can protect the quarterback, and I want to see if we can run the ball. And I want to see if we can stop the ball carrier."
KJ Jefferson will direct the first-team offense at quarterback, as he's done since winter workouts and the transition into spring ball. Malik Hornsby has held down the No. 2 quarterback job. Each of those two will be on units that take roughly 50 snaps apiece in the workout.
The quarterback combination of John Stephen Jones, Lucas Coley, Cade Renfro and Landon Rogers will have about 25 snaps to split up, giving their work a stronger sense of urgency. The winner of the third quarterback job is expected to compete with Hornsby for second-team reps the rest of camp.
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"The No. 3, to be honest with you, I don't know who it is right now," Pittman said. "A lot of times you say that and you don't have a 3. I'm not saying that. I'm saying we've got three guys in there battling it out. They all have done well at times. We still have ... probably more like 14 or 13 [practices] to figure that out."
There will be a lot riding on today's events for positions in the kicking game.
"We have to find our punter, who that would be, and returner," Pittman said. "But I think this will be a big deal for us Saturday on how we have it, depth chart, and special teams and how it comes out. I think it will really be a telltale sign of where guys are."
Pittman briefly spoke on his philosophy regarding scrimmages in camp.
"I believe in the first scrimmage you go play your people, you go play your best people in the first scrimmage," he said. "Then your second scrimmage, you might -- you may or may not, depending on if you have a guy that you just can't afford to lose. But the bottom line is we can't afford to lose any of them."
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Senior receiver Tyson Morris noted the game-day feel is hard to re-create, so gearing up for the scrimmage is important.
"Coach Pittman wants us to treat it just like a real Saturday game, and that's our mindset going into it," Morris said. "Each rep we're going to be getting after it, and ... keeping a high tempo. I feel like we're going to be able to build off this scrimmage."
Tight ends coach Dowell Loggains, speaking on Friday, wouldn't go into the depth chart at his spot because there hasn't been a scrimmage yet.
"There's some guys with more experience than others and there's obviously an edge that way," Loggains said. "There always is. But to define roles at this point, it's way too early. I might be able to answer those things a little bit better after our first scrimmage when we see these guys in live action and unscripted situations."
Pittman laid out the scrimmage game plan in his Thursday media session.
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"I'm going to guess right now that the number of plays will be somewhere up around 50 per unit of 1s and 2s, and then the 3s are gonna get somewhere around half of that, around 25," Pittman said.
The Razorbacks will cover every phase of the kicking game, but will not tackle the returners and will not cover every kick. The special teams work will include an all-out punt block rep and various field goals as well as punt and kickoff scenarios.
Tight end Blake Kern said the defense has been throwing all kinds of looks, formations and blitzes at the offense, and now it's time to combat them in a live setting.
"[Today] in the scrimmage, I'd just like to see physicality and finish," Kern said. "Just a Hog mentality throughout the day."
Tight end Hudson Henry wants the Razorbacks to play like their namesakes in the scrimmage.
"I'm just excited," he said. "Just kind of get back to playing like a wild band of Razorbacks. Kind of like that term that was coined a long time ago that gave us our nickname and gave us our mascot.
"I'm just excited to go back to playing like that and showing people that we're not just some push-around team. We're going to come out, and we're going to play as hard as we can because that's just who we are."
