Razorbacks continue spring practice

The University of Arkansas football team went indoors Friday to close out its week of workouts. The Razorbacks focused on drills inside the Walker Pavilion before holding a scrimmage during the final half of practice. “I was happy with the way we came out and battled on both sides of the ball,” said UA head coach Bobby Petrino. “I think it was very physical, and the players did a great job of getting themselves ready. We came out with enthusiasm and a lot of emotion. We made some plays on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. That is what it needs to be. It needs to be a good battle. That is when we are getting closer to being the type of football team we want to be.” At quarterback, Tyler Wilson finished the day 14-of-26 for 356 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. Ryan Mallett was 15-of-28 for 144 yards and a touchdown. “Tyler has great vision,” said Petrino. “He sees things, but has to get rid of the interceptions. He certainly threw some real nice touchdown passes and had some guys get open and make some plays.” Brandon Barnett led the running backs with nine carries for 78 yards (8.7 avg.) and Joe Adams led the receivers with five catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns (36, 45 yards). London Crawford also had a big performance with three catches for 107 yards. Two of his receptions were for touchdowns (80 and 22 yards). “The last two times we’ve scrimmaged we’ve seen when you get the ball in Joe’s hands he can really make plays for us,” said Petrino. “We have to be able to get it to him in a position where he can run and get down the field. His speed is starting to show up, but he needs to make every catch. I thought he played well today.” On defense, the Razorbacks were led by linebacker Jerry Franklin who had eight tackles, including three for a loss. The defense combined for three sacks and eight tackles for loss. “I thought the defensive front put a lot of pressure on the offense,” said Petrino. “Adrian Davis seemed like he was in the backfield all day long. Jerry Franklin was running around and making a lot of tackles. I really feel like in the last week Wendel Davis has taken some big strides and is executing better at middle linebacker for us.” Following the team’s last practice on Wednesday, Coach Petrino emphasized the need for the team to do well in the first part of today’s workout. “It was better and they focused on it,” said Petrino. “We did some inside run and 7-on-7 and I felt like they really focused and we got better at that part, which was good to see. A lot of times you let young men know what you want and they’ll go out and try to do that for you.” Arkansas continues practice through next weekwith the spring game scheduled for April 18.