FAYETTEVILLE — There will be pageantry tonight at Arkansas’ Red-White spring football game at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

There will be plenty of passing.

There will be much of the trappings of a real game, including the standard team walk in the Broyles Athletic Center at 4 p. m., a pregame performance by the Razorback Marching Band and players running through the “A” before the game.

There will be plenty to see and do for Razorbacks fans wanting their first glimpse of the new Bobby Petrino regime.

But the big question is this: How many people will flock to Razorback Stadium ?

ADVERTISEMENT

In an era when tabulating high spring game attendance figures is tantamount to a stamp of approval for your football program, the Razorbacks are looking for some validation from their fan base.

“I know everybody’s been working hard this spring, and I think the best reward is to see a lot of people show up and a lot of people excited about the new coaching staff and the new team,” junior tailback Michael Smith said.

The unofficial Arkansas spring game attendance record is 31, 000, set in 1972 in Little Rock. In 2006, a crowd estimated at close to 24, 000 attended the Red-White game at Razorback Stadium.

There is also another goal to aim for: the announced crowd of 28, 311 that attended former Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt’s first spring game at Ole Miss a couple of weeks ago.

Many Razorbacks fans on message boards seem obsessed with the current regime outdrawing the spring crowd at Nutt’s new digs.

Arkansas players simply would like to be recognized for the dedication they have shown during the strenuous stretch since winter workouts began.

“People don’t see the grind and the sweat and the blood we’ve put into it out on the practice field the last four weeks, so for them to come out and show their support and for them to recognize the practices and the effort we’ve put in, I think it’ll be a good feeling [to attract a big crowd ],” senior center Jonathan Luigs said.

“Just like the fans like to watch us, I like to look up there and see the fans out there, pushing for us to go hard,” junior receiver London Crawford said. “It’s a big deal for us to look up there and feel like, ‘Our fans believe in us. Our fans want to see what we’ve got.’ We’d want to go out there and push ourselves and show what we’ve got.” Not only is a new coaching staff in place, the Razorbacks ’ roster has undergone a massive change.

“We had a lot of big-time players leave, and everybody’s just trying to find the place they belong and they want to be a major part of this team,” Smith said. “I think it’s very important that a lot of people come out and show their support.” Count Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson as one who is hoping for a massive turnout. He hasn’t experienced the atmosphere of a spring game since a stint at Oregon State in 1999.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” Robinson said. “This is why I came back [to college football ], to experience the enthusiasm that this town and this state have for this football team.

“ Oh yeah, I’ll be geeked for this, seriously. This is going to be a great atmosphere and something I’ve missed dearly for a long time.” From a performance standpoint, Arkansas coaches are looking for a polished effort that reflects the teams’ retention of the new schemes on both sides of the ball.

“We want to end on a high note,” offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said. “We always talk about game day, showtime, ring the bell, go out there and have your best performance. When it matters most, that’s when we’ve got to go out there and play our best.” Rosters have been split up roughly to reflect the first units on both sides of the ball in red jerseys, the second and third teams in white jerseys.

The game will be played like normal, except there will be no live-action kickoffs or punts and quarterbacks are expected to be off limits to full contact. There will be a running clock in the second half.

Earlier this week, Bobby Petrino said the Hogs’ offensive plan had been covered twice during the course of the spring.

“The plan’s in pretty good shape,” Petrino said.

“We just need to do it one more time, add a few wrinkles here and there.” The Razorbacks scored 11 touchdowns, some of them on short fields, in last week’s scrimmage, so there should be fireworks on the field.

But will there be enough attraction to draw a record crowd ?

“Records are good,” Luigs said. “We broke a few last year, and it was always a good thing. If we can break some records and show some support for Coach Petrino and this new coaching staff and just get behind this program, we’ll be headed in the right direction.”