Pittman gives thoughts on Arkansas' first day of fall camp
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Head coach Sam Pittman began his fifth fall camp with Arkansas on a very hot Wednesday afternoon in Fayetteville as the Razorbacks began preparation for a Week 1 matchup with UAPB scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 29.
While there were plenty of new faces all across the practice fields at the Fred W. Smith Football Center, it was hard to think of anything other than how hot it was. Pittman told reporters after practice that multiple players dealt with cramps.
"We didn't have any heat exhaustion or anything like that, but we had some guys that cramped up again," Pittman said. "I think the beginning of practice popped us pretty hard when we went out there, but we had probably four or five cramps."
Running back Rashod Dubinion was one who cramped up, but he did return to practice. Defensive tackle Cam Ball was complaining about cramps as he walked to the table for his post-practice interview.
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"I tell you (the heat) was something serious," Ball said of the heat. "But we’ll have to adjust to it pretty soon because we have a lot of afternoon games. It’s the first day, just knocking off the rust from both sides of the ball. I can really talk specifically about myself.
"I feel like I had an all right day in the heat. I kind of let the heat get to me mentally and once it got to me mentally it affected me physically. So we’ve got another day tomorrow, so we’ve just got to take it one day at a time. I know me, I’ll be better tomorrow."
Overall, the first practice of 25 over the next 29 days was a success, according to Pittman. It's hard to really gauge how good the team is after one practice in just shells and shorts (not full pads), but Pittman did mention a few standouts, most of whom were post-spring transfer additions.
VIDEO: Pittman, players recap Day 1 of Arkansas fall camp
Of the post-spring transfers, running backs Rodney Hill (Florida State) and Tyrell Reed Jr. (Hutchinson CC) were mentioned along with Jacksonville State transfer linebacker Larry Worth III and defensive back transfer Anthony Switzer (Utah State). Walk-on wide receiver addition Monte Harrison, a former MLB player, also caught a touchdown on a slant route in team drills.
"I’m talking about the new guys that we were really looking forward to seeing if they could — you know, the April kids coming in," Pittman said. "So, I feel like we hit on those guys... Hopefully we’ll be a little bit deeper than we thought. I thought both sides of the ball line-wise played extremely hard and we stayed up. The more athletic you are, the more you’ll stay on your feet, and I couldn’t tell you but maybe a handful of plays that someone was on the ground."
According to Pittman, Wednesday's practice did get off to a slow start. After individual drills and some inside run work, things picked up.
"I don’t think we were chasing the ball like we want to chase the ball, but I thought after the first break it picked up for us and we continued to get better as the day went on," Pittman said.
Starting quarterback Taylen Green didn't throw the ball as well as he would've liked to, according to Pittman, but the Head Hog didn't seem concerned about the Boise State transfer. He did, however, rave about the new-look offensive line.
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"They play really hard," Pittman said of Arkansas' offensive line. "They’re athletic. We’ve got to improve on pass protection. I think we had some great - not breakdowns - defensive linemen. They’ve got some great players over there.
"That’s usually the slowest thing that comes in fall camp. Your protection. We’ve certainly got to continue to work there. They are willing and I think they are athletic enough to do what Bobby (Petrino) and Eric (Mateos) are asking of them to do.”
RELATED: Mateos was key offseason hire for Arkansas
Arkansas will continue fall camp with practice No. 2 on Thursday, so be sure to follow along at The Trough premium message board for full coverage of the Razorbacks.