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Notebook: Hogs go full pads for first time in fall camp

FAYETTEVILLE – After two days of helmets only and another two with shoulder pads, Arkansas finally went full pads for Wednesday’s practice.

The Razorbacks didn’t do any live work during the 20 minutes open to the media, but had two or three later in the day. They were so amped up, linebacker Grant Morgan said, that head coach Chad Morris eliminated a scheduled break.

“We went into halftime still pumped up,” Morgan said. “Coach Morris cut out halftime because we all still had energy, so he said, ‘Enough of halftime. Let’s keep going.’”

The first period of live tackling featured 10 straight plays with no substitution. Later on, Arkansas did some goal line work in which LaMichael Pettway caught a fade ball in the corner of the end zone and Jared Cornelius caught a pass in the back of the end zone.

Defensively, the highlights of the day came were courtesy of defensive end Jamario Bell and safety Kamren Curl. The former punched a ball out during inside drill and returned it for a score, while the latter came down with an interception and drug his foot in bounds along the sideline. There was also a stretch during which McTelvin Agim made three or four sacks in a row and looked “unstoppable,” Morgan said.

Morgan added that turnovers have been a huge point of emphasis on that side of the ball and that they came up with eight Tuesday. He didn’t have a final count for Wednesday, but said he saw four or five.

Arkansas will practice in full pads again Thursday and take a step back Friday before scrimmaging Saturday. Offensive lineman Johnny Gibson Jr. said “urgency is high” right now with the Sept. 1 season-opener against Eastern Illinois just around the corner.

“It’s going to be so competitive because it’s a scrimmage and it’s the first one, too,” Gibson said. “It’s going to be the first impression of a game-like situation for a lot of people, so that’s going to be a big deal.”

Here are a few other notes and tidbits from Wednesday’s practice…

Froholdt at Center

The most notable change along the ever-changing offensive line was Hjalte Froholdt moving from left guard to center. He flipped positions with Shane Clenin, who had been the first-team guy with Dylan Hays dealing with a back strain.

Going into his third year as a starter, Froholdt is widely regarded as the Razorbacks’ best offensive lineman. He is a preseason second-team All-SEC selection and was the leader of the group during summer workouts, so the switch came naturally for him.

“With Hjalte being there, I know that he sees the fronts and sees the defense and he looks at everything just like I do, right beside me,” Gibson said. “He knows the offense just as much as anybody else and having him out there making the calls is just another man up doing his job.”

The move puts him right next to Gibson, a fellow senior who seems to have firm control of the starting right guard spot.

“Out there on the line, you have to communicate and talk,” Gibson said. “I told him yesterday, because I knew he was going to get some reps today, I said, ‘I talk a little bit right here, so I hope I don’t confuse you when you get there.’”

Gibson gave a positive review of Froholdt’s performance at center, saying he did a pretty good job of snapping the ball, with only one or two bad snaps. He was also consistent with his blocking and the schemes while playing with “borderline perfect” technique that Gibson described as “clinic quality.”

Offensive Line Depth

The reason Froholdt is getting work at center and several other players are cross-training is because there has been a rash of injuries on the offensive line.

Walk-on Tyler Hall joined the list Wednesday, watching from the sideline in a yellow jersey. That meant the Razorbacks had only 10 linemen – nine on scholarship and one walk-on – dressed out and able to go through practice, putting Trumain Carroll’s offseason training to the test.

“It’s not the easiest, but we get through,” Gibson said with a sly smile. “Thanks to Coach Tru and the conditioning staff, we’re at a conditioning point now where it’s not as tough as it used to be.”

Gibson said he understands that injuries are part of the game, as football has a 100 percent injury rate, but it’s still tough to see your teammates go down.

However, it is forcing offensive line coach Dustin Fry to move players around and make sure each player knows all five spots.

“He doesn’t teach the player, he teaches the position,” Gibson said. “Each player has to watch that position because you never know…he might text you the night before and let you know you might have to play this spot or this position.”

Other Tidbits

~Gibson said each individual player’s goal is to improve by at least 1 percent every day, but left tackle Dalton Wagner is exceeding that because he’s having to block defensive end Randy Ramsey at practice. “His technique is getting better,” Gibson said. “His attitude is getting better. Everything is getting better.”

~One guy who seems to be making the most of his opportunity with the new staff is senior defensive tackle Armon Watts, who has been part of the two-deep rotation so far in fall camp. “One thing I challenged myself this offseason is to just try to move forward,” Watts said. “I know with the old staff, I had a lot of ups and downs. I’m thankful for the opportunity they gave me, but Coach Morris and Coach (John) Scott have been pleased with what they see, so right now I’m just taking it one day at a time trying to make the best of this last season.”

~Watts has been impressed with what he’s seen from defensive end Dorian Gerald so far, saying he has done a good job of adjusting since arriving in Fayetteville on Friday. “You can barely tell he was a new guy,” Watts said. “He missed a summer, so I think he’s taking everything the coaches are saying and making the best of it. I think Dorian has great upside. I’m excited to see how he can help us this season.”

~The tight ends are one of the oldest positions across the board on Arkansas’ roster. They take pride in that and even made a rule to be the “model position group,” Cheyenne O’Grady said.

~The linebacker depth chart is really only set in the two deep, with De’Jon Harris backed up by Morgan at the Mike and Dre Greenlaw backed up by Dee Walker at the Will. Everyone else – Giovanni LaFrance, Alexy Jean-Baptiste, Bumper Pool, Kyrei Fisher, Andrew Parker – is rotating at those spots in the third group, with Hayden Henry and Deon Edwards getting work at the Sam, according to Morgan. He added that the three players rotating the most at nickel are D’Vone McClure, Derrick Munson and Nate Dalton.

~Morgan is set to graduate with a degree in pre-med kinesiology in May – after just three years in college – and then start working on his masters. He also plans to attend medical school.

~Although he has primarily been working at right guard, Gibson said he got a little bit of work at right tackle near the end of Tuesday’s practice.

~A 24-year-old former professional baseball player, McClure is the oldest guy on the team and is known by his teammates as “Granddaddy Pluck.” The nickname comes from his childhood. He used to watch Looney Tunes and repeat Plucky the Duck’s saying ‘water go down the hole’ when he used the bathroom, so his aunt started calling him “Pluck.” Senior safety Santos Ramirez added the “Granddaddy” part. For more on his story from Trent, click here.

QUOTABLE: “He was already a freak athlete, just being able to do a lot of things that some people just can’t do. But now it’s another level. You see him out there, he’s flying around. The plays come second nature to him. He’s seeing more out there and he knows what he has to do and he goes out there and does it at an incredible speed.” – Johnny Gibson Jr., on right tackle Brian Wallace

TWEETS

(Construction crews are installing a giant Razorback on the back of the south end zone scoreboard.)

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