First Practice Of The Morris Era
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas held its first practice of the Chad Morris era Thursday afternoon at the Fred W. Smith Football Center practice fields.
The Razorbacks worked out for 21 periods in helmets and shorts. It was the first of 15 practices this spring, including the annual Red-White Game on April 7.
Thursday’s practice was upbeat and high-tempo, and the new Razorbacks head coach was complimentary of how his team responded on the first day.
“Overall, the energy level was extremely high, which is what we expect every day,” Morris said. “It starts with our coaching staff, and I thought our coaching staff did a really good job of having our players prepared … We had great energy, and I’m really proud of our players.”
Throughout practice, Morris was full of energy bouncing around from drill to drill and encouraging his squad to pick up the pace and turn up the intensity.
“It’s all about movement,” Morris said. “They have to see that if you’re juiceful, you’re useful, and it’s got to start with the head coach. They have to see me bouncing around, and it’s all about sudden change. A football game is never going to go as scripted. You saw people moving all over the fields, changing fields and that’s part of the plan – keep guys on their toes … You never know when there’s going to be a sudden change in a ball game, and you’ve got to be ready.”
With the first practice in the books, Morris also noted he could tell the energy from offseason workouts transferred over to the field.
“The thing I was impressed with today was, with the length of practice and as much as we ran, I thought the guys were in shape,” Morris said. “They were really excited. I asked them if they felt like they were in shape, and they all gave Coach Tru (Carroll) and his staff a big round of applause. They see the difference. It’s all about the finish, and these guys did not taper off.”
Up Next
The Razorbacks will next return to the fields Saturday for practice No. 2.
2018 Arkansas Spring Football Dates
Thursday, March 1
Saturday, March 3
Tuesday, March 6
Thursday, March 8
Saturday, March 10
Monday, March 12
Wednesday, March 14
Monday, March 26
Wednesday, March 28
Thursday, March 29
Tuesday, April 3
Thursday, April 5
Saturday, April 7 – Red-White Game, 1 p.m.
Monday, April 9
Wednesday, April 11
