Razorbacks Fine Tuning For Alabama at Wednesday?s Practice

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In preparation for their game against Alabama, Arkansas football practiced for 90 minutes, in full pads, on the practice fields just south of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Wednesday.

“We went inside today for a little bit,” head coach Houston Nutt said. “We are really trying to anticipate the hostile environment. We tried to turn the music up as loud as we can; I don’t if we got to 92,000 people. We are just trying to get them used to the idea of going into a loud place.”

Arkansas and Alabama will face off in Arkansas’ first SEC and road game of the 2007 season and Alabama’s first SEC home contest. The Crimson Tide edged Vanderbilt, 24-10, in Nashville last weekend.

“We hit on every area today; offense, defense and the kicking game,” Nutt said. “Third downs, all the different types of situations. We’ve had two good weeks of practice. Now we are in the mental stage of it. Tomorrow we’ll come back out here in shorts and shells and it’s time to go.”

This Saturday will also mark Arkansas’ first game against Alabama during the Saban era. Nutt has previously coached against Saban during his tenure at LSU.

“I know Coach Saban and I have played against him before,” Nutt said. “I don’t feel like he is a first-year coach. I know what he is bringing to the table. (Alabama) is well coached. They are going to be very disciplined. They are tough and they have a lot of confidence going right now. They are 1-0 in the conference and that’s what we are trying to get to.”

After topping Troy, 46-26, in the opening week of play, the Razorbacks had a weekend off. They have spent the last two weeks preparing for Alabama.

“Hopefully we are better now than when we played Troy,” Nutt said. “We have corrected a lot of things. We have to be better in our kicking game. Everyone has had a chance to learn from that first game. Hopefully we got the first-game mistakes out of us.”

The Razorbacks will be back on the practice field Thursday afternoon. Log on to www.hogwired.com for continued coverage of Arkansas football.