Six storylines through five days of Razorback fall camp
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Hogs have hit their first day off after five days of practice in fall camp. The next time they hit the practice field (Thursday) the pads will come on.
There have been plenty of storylines surrounding the team through the first five practices, most of which have come through talking with players and assistant coaches.
Some of the expected key contributors are getting the job done, and a few guys who flew under the radar entering camp have made nice plays.
Here are six storylines that have come up through the first five days of Arkansas' fall camp:
Malik Hornsby's reps at wide receiver
The talk of spring practice was Arkansas giving backup quarterback Malik Hornsby a look at wide receiver. KJ Jefferson has the starting spot at quarterback locked down — despite head coach Sam Pittman saying he's giving Hornsby a chance to compete for the starting job.
"We are obviously going to give him the...opportunity to win the job, but at the same time give him the opportunity to win the wide receivers spot too," Pittman said in his pre-fall camp presser. "So we’ve got a plan for it. I hope it works and I feel like it will."
Hornsby has not been studying film with receivers, but he does go over and take reps at receiver during practice.
"He doesn’t even really join us (in meetings)," Razorback wideout Jadon Haselwood said. "They go over his certain plays in their room, but when he goes out there he looks like he’s just having fun with it."
"He’s an athlete," Arkansas receiver Ketron Jackson Jr. said. "He don’t work at it. They put him in, he do what he’s supposed to do, catch the ball...like we work at it and he’s an athlete, so you put him out there, he’s a threat."
Arkansas receiver coach Kenny Guiton said Hornsby has the ability to make an impact on games at wide receiver.
"I mean, he's different out there," Guiton said. "He's a guy that we want to throw him out there, be smart about it all and let him get a chance to go affect the game, because he has that ability in whatever he's doing out there, whether it's quarterback, wideout, split out, whatever it is. He's got a chance to affect the game in a positive way, and so we want to give him that chance."
Dominique Johnson's injury
Arkansas running back Dominique Johnson entered fall camp still nursing a knee injury suffered in the Outback Bowl win over Penn State.
Though Johnson has been held out of team drills, Pittman said he expects Johnson to be able to work with the team at some capacity in fall camp. He might not play Week 1 against Cincinnati, but Johnson should be good to go for most of the season.
"I feel like he’ll be able to do some things," Pittman said. "Maybe not the first week, as far as team-oriented type things. But he’s progressing well. He’s ahead of schedule. So I don’t know if we’ll have him for the Cincinnati game or not, but I feel like we’re gonna have him the majority of the season."
Razorback running backs coach Jimmy Smith said he's been finding ways to keep Johnson busy while he is unable to work in team drills.
"I talk to him every day about it," Smith said. "I give him responsibilities for our room, I give him responsibilities and tell him what they're supposed to do for each other...He's always having fun and coaching the guys. He's in good spirits right now, he knows what I expect of him and he does it."
Johnson's responsibilities include things like making sure the running backs are on time to the facility, everyone is taped up before practice and doing signals for plays during film study.
"You don’t want him to come back and have to teach him everything and restart," Smith said. "That ain’t what you want. You want him to come back and be back, especially when he gets there physically."
Trey Knox is built like a tight end
After starting off his Razorback career as the team's leading receiver in his true freshman campaign, Knox has transitioned into the starting tight end role.
The move happened last season, but Knox was still learning the position. Now, he knows the role and he looks the part.
"When he walks through the door, he looks like what a tight end is supposed to look like," Arkansas tight ends coach Dowell Loggains said. "You have to give a lot of credit to Jamil Walker and his staff...It's a huge reason why we win, and those guys have done a great job. And Trey making the right decisions and doing the right stuff."
Knox is now up to 245 pounds after ending last season at 227 pounds. Loggains added that putting on weight can not always be a good thing, but Knox has found a good way to go about it.
According to Knox, he has just been stuffing his face as much as he can.
"Eating any and everything," Knox said. "I’ve said it before, literally I was just eating everything. Drinking chocolate milk before bed. Protein shakes. PB and Js. A lot of chicken and steak and potatoes. I love steak and potatoes. But just eating. And also working out, too, and I transformed my body, too. It’s not all bad weight. Like, it’s not bad weight at all. I feel good."
Last season was tough for Knox to break through as a true starting tight end because he couldn't pick up on the little things as much. With a full spring and summer under his belt, he should be ready to go this fall.
"Last year was definitely hard," Knox said. "Not being able to learn the little nuances of playing the position, of course, because you don’t have enough time to sit and really be coached on details when you’re getting ready for an opponent."
"But going through the spring and the summer, just really learning how to block D-ends, the footwork that you have to do, the hand placement, the striking. Just all the little details that make you so much better than just being raw strength and playing off of athleticism."
Hudson Clark in good shape, making plays
Arkansas cornerback Hudson Clark was the big story out of the first day of fall camp after he made an interception in the two-minute drill.
"Hudson Clark made a really nice catch in the two-minute drill, intercepted a ball against the ones," Pittman said. "He intercepted it and understood to get on the ground. There's no reason to do anything with it, the game is over at that point. Thought he made a great decision there."
Cornerbacks coach Dominique Bowman said Clark is "ripped up" in reference to the current shape he is in. He mentioned Clark as someone in the mix to start at corner.
"Talking about Hudson Clark, I mean, he's a good player," Bowman said. "He's athletic, he's long, he's smart, cerebral."
Clark gave a nod the Razorback strength staff for helping him get into his current shape.
"I feel like our strength staff and our nutritionist have done a great job preparing me throughout the summer and spring and put on a couple of pounds," Clark said. "My strength has definitely gone up this summer and it’s a big thanks to them."
Matt Landers is fast, really fast
When talking about Landers — who transferred in from Toledo — Razorback cornerback Malik Chavis made it pretty clear that Landers is fast.
"He's fast," Chavis said. "Matt is really fast. He has SEC speed. He's fast."
A lot of praise for Landers has come from his ability to stretch the field and create separation with defenders.
"It's just different when you've got a guy that long, that tall, that fast and can track the ball," Guiton said. "He's added to our room something different."
Haselwood said Landers provides more than just depth at receiver. He said Landers is a playmaker for the Hogs.
Sophomore wideout Ketron Jackson Jr. echoed Haselwood's thoughts.
"(Landers) adds, obviously, experience, speed, versatility," Jackson said. "He’s big, fast. He can play, he played ball. For the past few practices he’s been playing real good. We’re just stressing being consistent, but he’s been showing great."
Haselwood becoming vocal leader
Haselwood transferred to Fayetteville after spending three seasons at Oklahoma. He said he feels like he is where he belongs now.
"I feel like I'm here where I fit, I am here where I belong," Haselwood said. "I feel like I'm way more appreciated here, and I'm more, like, the coaches put me in more positions to contribute."
Guiton said that Haselwood is "by far" the most vocal leader in the wide receiver room. Being vocal is not his strong suit, according to Haselwood.
"To be honest, I’m not (talkative)," Haselwood said. "That’s just something for me stepping out of my comfort zone. I know what we need and I know sometimes I have to be the one to do it, even though I don’t want to. But that’s just a role I have to play as a teammate and that’s just me getting better and making the team better."
Having a veteran guy that can not just produce on the field, but also be a leader can really help the Hogs this year.
"He’s stepped in, an older guy who’s played some ball at another place, another conference and things," Guiton said. "He’s stepped in. A really, really smart guy who understands what’s going on around him. He steps up and he talks. He’s able to lead guys on."