Hogs Prep for Spring Game at Thursday?s Practice

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas football team completed its last regular spring practice on Thursday and closes spring workouts with Saturday’s 6 p.m. Red-White Game in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Fans are welcome to sit on the east side of the stadium and can enter the stadium using gate one on the south side and gates 12, 13, 15 and 16 on the east side. These gates will be open through out the day.

Fan Day is set from 10-noon in the Willard and Pat Walker Pavilion, followed by RazorFest and the game. The south entrance and the west garage door will be open at 10 a.m. There is no charge for any of the events.

The first 2,000 fans will receive a Darren McFadden Heisman Trophy key chain card with football schedule courtesy of Taco Bell Restaurants. The first 3,500 fans will receive a free Razorback schedule poster courtesy of Cinuglar Wireless and General Mills.

Tailbacks Darren McFadden and Felix Jones will not be hit during the game, but head coach Houston Nutt said there’s still plenty to watch.

“We’re going to divide them up,” Nutt said. “The ones will be on one side and the rest on the other. The thing that is going to be tough because of the depletion of the defensive line is that it probably won’t be as long as it was last year, but it will be good. Darren McFadden and Felix Jones will not be hit, but there will be tackling with the rest of the guys. It’s hard when you lose as many as we did in that first week. We lost a lot of players and so our numbers are a little down. I think it will be fun. I would still love for everybody to come out. With RazorFest and a lot of former players coming back, I think it will be fun.”

“I would come to look at Ben Cleveland, Andrew Norman, Malcolm Sheppard, Jerell Norton, Marques Wade, London Crawford, Carlton Salters, Wendel Davis, Adrian Davis, Jamar Love and some of the new guys,” he said. “I would get a roster and go through it that way. It’s hard to pick a team like you used to do because of the numbers.”

Nutt plans to run between 60 and 75 plays during the game.

Before Thursday’s practice, former Miami head coach Larry Coker addressed the team.

“Larry Coker is a good friend,” Nutt said. “We got to spend some time together. He basically told them to appreciate these facilities. That was No. 1. He’s coming from the University of Miami and making a statement like that. Sometimes we take for granted that all the top 10 places have great facilities, but that was the first thing he mentioned. He talked about doing your best today and don’t worry about tomorrow. He had a good message for them.”

As for Thursday’s practice, Nutt was pleased, especially with the way it ended. The Razorbacks, who worked out in helmets and shorts, ran a two-minute offense and got a field goal from Jeremy Davis to end the session.

“We had a good day today,” Nutt said. “I love how quick we were today. That’s how quick we need to be with pads on. We’re ready to finish it up. We had a good mental day. We went through the two-minute and some third-down situations, and situational plays down the field and at different areas of the field. There was good execution on both sides of the ball. We ended with the two-minute and Jeremy Davis kicked a field goal with about 15 seconds left. That was beautiful.”