Takeaways from Arkansas' 1st scrimmage of camp

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas got a taste of game-like action Saturday morning when it hit the practice field for its first scrimmage of fall camp.

Head coach Sam Pittman said the Razorbacks got in about 150 plays and a lot of special teams work on a much cooler day, which also served as their eighth practice.

“I thought our defense outlasted the offense,” Pittman said. “In other words, I felt like maybe the last half of the scrimmage, I felt like the defense controlled the energy of the scrimmage.”

Most of the scrimmage was good-on-good, meaning the first-team offense went against the first-team defense and the same for the second and third units, but safety Jalen Catalon said the scrimmage actually started with a series of 1s vs. 2s.

“I thought for the most part we held our own, which is good for our first scrimmage,” Catalon said. “We have a lot to clean up, but as far as energy and enthusiasm and the stuff we brought, that’s definitely something we can take away from, so I’m proud of the defense.”

None of the scrimmage was open to the public or media, but Pittman, Catalon and quarterback KJ Jefferson spoke with reporters afterward. Here are the major takeaways…

Offensive Highlights

The biggest play of the day came when Kendall Catalon, who has turned some heads early on in camp, caught a “routine” 15-yard out route and turned it into a 50-yard touchdown. The pass was thrown by Jefferson.

“It was a man look, cover zero basically from the defense standpoint,” Jefferson said. “We knew coming in that we were going to have a 1-on-1 matchup with Kendall on the route that he had. Luckily I got the ball to him with great protection from our line.”

Another touchdown was scored by freshman Raheim “Rocket” Sanders on a two-yard run, capping a long drive.

Although he didn’t provide any statistics, Pittman said he was pleased with how Josh Oglesby and Sanders ran the ball, as they battle for the No. 2 running back job. Fellow freshman AJ Green was held out of the scrimmage as a precaution, but he’s also in the thick of that competition.