FAYETTEVILLE — The sun beat down like a weapon, and the humidity draped like an unwanted overcoat on participants and spectators alike.

The Arkansas football team conducted the first practice of fall camp in the Bobby Petrino era in scorching conditions on the Razorbacks’ practice fields.

There were heat-related fallouts, as would be expected, and the execution was nowhere near perfect. But all in all, it wasn’t a bad start for the Razorbacks with the heat index ranging between 105 and 110 degrees during the middle of the day.

“The heat was a big part of practice today, [and ] we didn’t do as good a job dealing with it as we needed to,” Petrino said.

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“For a first day, I’m going to say it was almost out of this world,” junior tailback Michael Smith said. “The speed and intensity and tempo of the practice, putting that together with the heat, it was extremely tough.”

Defensive end Adrian Davis, now wearing No. 18, said the heat is an acquired taste.

“We’ve got to come out here every day and get used to it,” Davis said. “We worked out a little bit in the summer with the heat, but running full speed every play, you’ve got to get used to it.”

The class of 23 freshmen, along with a group of seldom-used players and redshirt freshmen from a year ago, began practice at 3 p. m., about 40 minutes before the arrival of the rest of the club.

“We did get a lot of things accomplished, and it was good to see the freshmen out here by themselves,” Petrino said. “We taught them some individual drills, and they look like a good group.

“ But I wasn’t real happy with the first practice.... Offensively, there was a period where the Oline [offensive line ] wasn’t moving around and giving us any emotion and fire. And you go where your offensive line goes.”

Petrino showed his dissatisfaction with the offensive line by asking them, loudly, if they wanted to go inside or continue with practice.

Later, another offensive coach shouted, “Looking for some tough guys !”

If the opening practice was any indication, Petrino said he thinks he’s got some tough freshmen who could contribute this fall.

Freshman running backs De’Anthony Curtis of Camden Fairview and Dennis Johnson of Texarkana and a big group of receivers, including Central Arkansas Christian’s Joe Adams and Warren’s Jarius Wright and Greg Childs, took a variety of snaps with the first-team offense.

“Coach told us when he signed us that we were going to come in here and work, so I wasn’t surprised at all,” Adams said. “That tells us that we could get in and help the team out at different positions.”

While the freshmen didn’t have a perfect day, the speed and play-making ability for which they have been touted was on display.

“Joe made a couple of nice plays for us,” Petrino said. “Jarius Wright stood out to me. He’s very fast, very quick. And he’s tough. [The heat ] didn’t bother him at all.”

Told of Petrino’s remark, Wright said, “It makes me feel good just knowing he has a little faith in me. I kind of enjoy that. It makes we want to come out and work a little harder tomorrow.”

Curtis conducted some of his postpractice interviews while sitting on the grass.

“[The heat ] did take a lot out of me, but it’s just a mental thing,” he said. “You’ve got to keep it out of your mind and just work hard. It was pretty hot.”

Petrino had high praise for Curtis and Johnson.

“I thought they were both impressive,” he said. “They are very quick in the way they can cut and they both showed very good hands and caught punts well. I was very impressed with how easy it was for them and how natural they were.”

In the quarterback competition, freshman Tyler Wilson of Arkansas freshman receiver Joe Adams catches a pass during the first practice of the season on Monday afternoon at the practice fields outside of Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. Adams was among several freshmen who caught the eye of Razorbacks coaches on the first day of fall practices. Greenwood remained with starter Casey Dick and Nathan Dick during some group drills when Ryan Mallett, Alex Mortensen and Camden Fairview’s Jim Youngblood moved across the field for scout-team work.

“It feels good,” Wilson said. “I think I definitely have a lot of work to do still. There’s a lot of improvement I need to do in understanding the playbook. The vocabulary is pretty in-depth. It’ll take some time to learn.”

The Razorbacks return to the practice field in shorts and helmets today, with the freshmen starting at 3 p. m. The practice is open to the public.