FAYETTEVILLE — It wasn’t Felix Jones’ 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that stood out most to Arkansas special teams coach James Shibest in the Razorbacks’ season-opening victory.

Shibest was more concerned with the returns that didn’t go as well. Arkansas’ terrific tailback tandem of Jones and Darren Mc-Fadden racked up 163 yards on four kickoff returns, a figure that places the Razorbacks fourth nationally after college football’s opening week. But it could have been better as far as Shibest is concerned.

“You can talk about that kickoff return from Felix, but we should have had a couple more,” Shibest said. “We could have had more big plays if we’d blocked a little bit better. The kids know that.”

Special teams play as a whole was a mixed bag for the Razorbacks in their 46-26 victory over Troy on Saturday. There were moments of brilliance and others that led to much head-scratching among Arkansas coaches.

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For every positive, like Jones’ return or the consistency displayed by freshman kicker Alex Tejada, there was poor decisionmaking from the team’s punt returners and inconsistent coverage on kickoff returns.

“There were a lot of bright spots,” Shibest said. “They weren’t just good, they were bright spots. There were some real bad ones, too, that we need to work on.

“ We’ve got confidence in the guys we’ve got out there. They just need to make things happen.”

Tejada, one of three new starters on the place-kicking unit, was one of the bright spots.

Arkansas started a new deep snapper (Rhett Richardson ) and holder (Clark Irwin ). Other than a poor snap that resulted in a missed extra point late in the game, coaches had few complaints with that group and Tejada, a freshman from Springdale, was especially sharp.

Seemingly oblivious to the 73, 926 fans at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Tejada hit all four of his field-goal attempts, from 35, 23, 28 and 30 yards.

Tejada’s leg means Arkansas can potentially take more risks with its play-calling.

“You just have so much confidence in Alex,” Coach Houston Nutt said. “First time for me in 10 years that I’m thinking, ‘Just get to the 35-yard line and let’s kick it. His demeanor, focus, attitude; it’s just excellent.”

Jones proved the confidence coaches have in him was warranted. He returned the opening kickoff 22 yards, then showed what a game-breaker he can be with the 90-yard return in the second quarter. That touchdown gives him three on kickoff returns in three seasons and puts him one shy of the SEC record held by Tennessee’s Willie Gault.

“That’s what we want to do,” Jones said. “We want to come out here and do that to every opponent.”

Similar results were expected from the Razorbacks’ punt return unit but never materialized in the season opener. Coaches had hoped to use the speed of tailback Michael Smith and wide receiver Reggie Fish for a potentially explosive return combination.

Instead, Smith’s was credited with two returns for minus-5 yards. He fumbled twice on punt returns, losing one, as Arkansas ended the first week ranked 103 rd nationally — last for teams that attempted to field punts.

Smith showed a great deal of indecision on when to field the ball and when to call for a fair catch. He typically made the wrong decision when the Razorabcks were lined up in “safe,” which gave him no protection on a potential return.

“I don’t know what happened because he was better at that position than anybody else in tryouts,” Shibest said. “Is he ready for it ? It don’t look like it now.”

Smith was still fielding punts during Tuesday’s practice, but fullback Peyton Hillis will begin to see more time in the rotation as Arkansas uses the next two weeks to prepare for Alabama.

Shibest said he wasn’t dwelling on mistakes by Smith or any other player. With a week off between games, the Razorbacks have time to take corrective measures. Arkansas travels to Alabama for a Sept. 15 game.

“Mistakes are not all that uncommon early in the season,” Shibest said. “That was the first game. It was not understanding the speed. These guys are adjusting. We’ve got a lot of good personnel on all the teams. We’ll get it all worked out.”