Tuesday practice report

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Arkansas Razorback football team continued AutoZone Liberty Bowl practices at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. on Tuesday. Head coach Bobby Petrino spoke with media after practice.

On Tuesday’s practice:

"Today was better that yesterday. Yesterday was a good practice to get back into the rhythm of things. Our execution was much better today. Our speed was much better today. We need to practice at full speed so it doesn’t take us a quarter of the game to get used to the speed. That was a major emphasis for us today.

On East Carolina:

"We need to stop their running game. We need to cover their receivers tight so they don’t go to their quick passing game that they are very good at. We have to keep (Patrick) Pinkney in the pocket. That’s always a challenge with a quarterback who can throw the ball and make plays with his legs. I have noticed that Pinkney has gotten better each game as the season as progressed."

"I think they have a very good defensive front. Their front seven make a lot of plays for them. Their defensive line stops the run and puts pressure on the quarterback. We need to get our quarterback plenty of time and allow our receivers to run their routes and get in to position."

On Arkansas’ offensive improvements in Tuesday’s practice:

"The receivers did a better job of running their routes at full speed. The quarterbacks’ timing was better. We have the scout team defensive line rushing better. All in all, it was just better execution."

On replacing DeQuinta Jones on the defensive line:

"Our defensive linemen have all played a lot for us this year. They give us a lot of depth at that position and have made some plays. Patrick Jones and Lavunce Askew are doing a really nice job for us. The only difference will be we won’t be able to play Malcolm Sheppard at the nose tackle as much as we did late in the year."