Wednesday football practice report
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas football team returned to the practice field Wednesday afternoon for a two-hour workout. Following Wednesday’s practice, UA’s defensive coordinator Willy Robinson spoke with the media.
On the anticipation of Saturday’s game:
"We are getting the chance to hit someone else and it’s been a year since we’ve been able to do that. We’re excited about it."
On Matt Harris moving back to the first team:
"He did all the things we’ve been asking of them. We want them running full speed to the ball. We want them making plays on the running game and the passing game. We felt like he did that. He was challenged and he responded. We had a lot of guys respond the same way. It assured us that this is still important to them."
On the various depth chart changes throughout fall camp:
"We got lots of responses. For the most part, they were all positive. For the most part, we saw that it meant something to them to be on that first team. They responded awfully well. There still might not have been a promotion but they decided they can be a better football player; they decided they were better than this."
On the progression of freshman linebacker Austin Moss:
"Austin has great anticipation. He’s still not quite as strong as you would like to have him. He can run to the football. He has great sideline-to-sideline speed."
On the progression of the defense:
"The way you get better is repetition, repetition, repetition. It will only improve. As long as they get faster and stronger, they are going to get better."
On newcomers who have likely earned playing time:
"Just staying within the secondary, Andru Stewart will play. Jerell Norton will have a roll for us. Anthony Leon will have a spot in there. He’s still learning so it’s my responsibility to find out how much he knows and how much he is comfortable with. DeQuinta (DD) Jones is going to play a lot. We have a rotation that we will use. We have to keep these guys fresh and roll with them. Terrell Williams will play for us. It’s important to keep our front four fresh and our back four."
On the importance of getting a turnover early in the season:
"We hope to see what happened in the last scrimmage carry over. Turnovers come in bunches. In our last scrimmage, we got the ball back considerably. Those things will turn your way. It’s all about luck sometimes. But you have to create your own luck and force those turnovers. You force those fumbles by running full speed to the ball."
