Razorbacks Conclude Week with Focused Practice

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas football team spend an hour in shorts and helmets finishing up the work week on Thursday afternoon in preparation for Saturday’s SEC showdown at Ole Miss.

The Razorbacks focused on all aspects of the kicking game from kickoffs, to punts, to field goals and PATs. There was a little extra work geared toward the Rebels’ squib kick that will be used to help slow down the kickoff returns of Felix Jones and Darren McFadden. The Hogs also put in a lot of work on the two-minute drill at the end of Thursday’s practice.

“We had a good Thursday,” Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt said. “It was a good concentration day. They (Ole Miss) do a great job (on special teams). They blocked an Alabama punt and they squib a lot of kicks. They will try and keep it away from Felix (Jones on kickoffs) as best they can.”

Arkansas is looking for its fourth-straight win against the Rebels and the second-straight in Oxford after a 28-17 win in 2005. Ole Miss enters the game with a 2-5 overall record and a 0-4 mark in SEC play.

On the injury front, Robert Johnson returned to practice on Thursday and is expected to be ready to go on Saturday at flanker. Marcus Monk was dealing with soreness in his knee after a hard practice on Wednesday. Monk will be a game-time decision for the Razorbacks.

Arkansas defensive coordinator Reggie Herring spent more than five minutes following Thursday’s practice giving his unit a pep talk.

“You are always coaching right up until the last minute of the game,” Nutt said. “The thing about Reggie is that you love his intensity, his passion for the game. You are always trying to bring that out.”

The Hogs will board a charter flight to Memphis on Friday afternoon as they get set for a 1 p.m. kickoff from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford on Saturday.