Football practice report

The University of Arkansas football team returned to practice Tuesday as preparation continued for Saturday’s game at Ole Miss. Following the workout, which was held in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, UA offensive coordinator Paul Petrino spoke with the media:

On third downs:"Part of getting better on third down is getting better on first and second downs and getting into third and medium situations. We’ve always worked hard on it and taken great pride in being real good at it. Right now, we’re not as good as where we need to be. Hopefully, this week will be our coming out week and we will light it up."

On Tuesday’s practice:"Tuesday’s meeting is a hard meeting because you are inserting a whole new plan and new offense on what you are going to do against this coming up defense and you are teaching them what the defense is going to be. I thought the energy was good and certain parts of the practice were real good. The end could have been better on execution, but I thought the energy was good. Each week you have to move on and get ready for the next opponent, especially when you have a tough opponent every week like we do."

On the Ole Miss defense:"They have real good defensive ends. I think that is the strength of their defense. I think their free safety is a real good football player and a real good tackler. I coached with Tyrone (Nix) at Southern Miss. It will be a battle."