Razorbacks back on the gridiron

FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas football team got a well deserved day off on Sunday and came back to practice on Monday afternoon for a high octane session on the practice fields behind Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

The Razorbacks got a break from the heat with overcast skies giving head coach Bobby Petrino some cause for concern as the season opener on Aug. 30 against Western Illinois quickly approaches.

“It is nice for practice, but you worry about September when it’s going to be 100 degrees and humid,” Petrino said about Monday’s weather. “We need more heat and humidity, and need to work a little harder.”

Arkansas began Monday watching film of Saturday’s scrimmage and the coaching staff liked what they saw.

“It was good getting in and having the time this morning with the players to go over the video of the scrimmage,” Petrino added. “We did a lot of good things, we made a lot of good individual plays, and we just need to get better as a unit, as an offense and defense. The way you do that is all 11 guys do their job on a given play and with great effort.”

Monday’s practice saw the Razorbacks run through each of the drills that they have been through for the past two weeks of practice with focus on one-versus-two. Arkansas practiced on its passing game as well as pass rush at different points in the two-hour session as it attempted to build on Saturday’s action.

“I think that we threw and caught the ball well,” Petrino said about his offense on Saturday. “We were accurate throwing the ball and we didn’t have drops. We made catches and made plays, that’s something that we keep talking to them about is the consistency and how contagious that can be.”

Petrino was also complimentary about his defense which has improved with each day and paid considerable compliments to his defensive line.

“We just need to have our poise and keep working hard,” Petrino said of the defense. “Keep believing in what we are doing and you know eventually all 11 guys will do their job at the same time and we’ll be good on defense. We just need to keep improving.

“One thing about the defensive line is that scrimmages are probably hardest on them than anybody else. What you would like to do is have eight guys that you can rotate in and keep fresh. When you go one and twos you have to go every rep so it’s a little bit more difficult for them.”

The Razorbacks plan to practice two times on Tuesday with a longer morning session followed by a shorter afternoon practice. For more information regarding Razorback football or University of Arkansas athletics please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.