The Arkansas football team held its first scrimmage of fall camp Thursday in a closed setting at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Head coach Sam Pittman seemed pleased when speaking with the media afterward, but he made it clear that there is plenty of work to be done before the season starts, plus it’s worth noting that a long list of expected contributors were non-participants.
"I thought the offense started extremely fast, ones and twos offense started extremely fast," Pittman said. "Defense won a lot of situations, felt like they came back a lot in the second half. I talked to the team after the game, we got to figure out on offense how to finish the game.
"On defense, we got to figure out how to start the game, because we weren’t very good defensively at the beginning and we were a lot better — thought our run defense was a lot better after the beginning of the first two series by the ones and the twos."
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During today's closed scrimmage, the team ran around 130 to 150 plays and worked through different specific scenarios. Pittman also noted that very few penalties were called by the SEC referees who were present throughout the day.
"I don’t think the offense had but an illegal procedure until late in the scrimmage," Pittman said. "I think the first one there was with the threes, very clean there. We had about three PIs defensively, which in this I don’t want to make a mountain out of a molehill. We’ll have to get better, but you’re talking about first team, second team and third team playing.
"So, overall I thought our penalties were good. We had SEC officials, ones that have done four of our games with their entire crew here. So, that really, really is going to help us. You know, we’re three weeks out from today and that’s really going to help up with those officials."
Here are the stats from the offense, defense and special teams given to the media following Arkansas' first scrimmage of fall camp.
Pass Game
~ QB Taylen Green hit WR Isaiah Sategna for 45 yards on the first play of the game, which was later followed by 65-yard touchdown pass from Green to Sategna.
~ Late in the scrimmage, Green hit Sategna for a 20-yard gain.
~ Green hit TE Var'Keyes Gumms for 20 yards.
~ QB Malachi Singleton connected with WR Davion Dozier for a 35-yard touchdown.
~ Singleton later hit Dozier for a 12-yard touchdown.
~ Singleton hit RB Rodney Hill on a wheel route for a 45-yard gain.
~ Late in the scrimmage, Singleton threw to WR Monte Harrison for a 55-yard touchdown on a busted play.
~ QB KJ Jackson hit WR Kamron Bibby for a 60-yard touchdown with the third bunch.
~ QB Blake Boda found TE Andreas Paaske for a 60-yard touchdown
Run Game
~ Green had a 37-yard touchdown run.
~ RB Braylen Russell had a 15-yard run, and then in red zone had an 8-yard touchdown run.
~ RB Tyrell Reed Jr. also had an 8-yard touchdown in red zone work.
Defense
~ DBs Jabrae Shaw and Jayden Johnson had one interception apiece.
~ LB Brad Spence recorded a sack.
~ DT Danny Saili recorded a sack and tackle for loss.
~ LB Stephen Dix Jr. and DB TJ Metcalf each had a sack.
~ DB Jaylon Braxton made a tackle for loss in red zone.
~ DEs Landon Jackson and Quincy Rhodes Jr. both had a sack in the two-minute drill.
Special Teams
~ Kickers made all but one field goal.
~ K Matthew Shipley made field goals from 43 and 48. He missed from 42 and ended it with a made 51-yarder in 2-minute.
~ K Kyle Ramsey made field goals from 38 and 46 yards out.
~ K Charlie Von Der Meden made a 42-yard field goal.
