Liberty Bowl report

MEMPHIS — Hogs face frost, rust at Rhodes

Arkansas kicked off its on-site Liberty Bowl practices with a frosty morning session at Rhodes College, a small Presbyterian school that occupies 100 wooded acres near downtown Memphis.

Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino termed it a get-out the-cobwebs and Christmas kind of practice that equated to a normal Thursday workout for the Hogs.

“We’re a little rusty,” Petrino said at his afternoon news conference. “We didn’t throw the ball and catch the ball like we need, and certainly our execution wasn’t where it needs to be, but that was to be expected.

“That’s why we wanted to get a practice in this morning, so we could start our regular routine [today] as a normal Tuesday practice and be a little more physical.”

Petrino said quarterback Ryan Mallett brought a lot of enthusiasm and leadership to the workout.

“It was a little chilly to begin with, but we got warmed up and got cranked up,” Mallett said. “Today was a pretty good day. We’re just going to keep getting better as we knock the rust off again.” Memphis talk

Bobby Petrino said Arkansas is looking to make a recruiting push in Memphis under his watch, thus the team’s open practices at Rhodes College this week.

“It’s very important to us,” said Petrino, who said he talked to recruiting coordinator Tim Horton about considering Memphis part of the Razorbacks’ instate recruiting areas.

“I don’t feel like we’ve done a good enough job here in the city,” Petrino said.

“There’s always good football players here. ... That’s why practice is open. It’s not so you [media] guys can come to practice.” Injury report

Defensive tackle D.D.

Jones will not play in the Liberty Bowl after suffering a high ankle sprain and a knee injury in scrimmage work before the Hogs left Fayetteville.

“That’s the downside of going live is having somebody get injured,” Coach Bobby Petrino said.

“It hurts us. He played every game this year and he’s a good football player and he’s very physical.”

Jones, a true freshman out of Bastrop, La., had 24 tackles, including 3 1 /2 for 26 yards in losses.

True freshman cornerback David Gordon (foot/shoulder) traveled with the team and is undergoing rehab work on site.

Trey Mallett

Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett joined offensive coordinator Garrick McGee in the Rhodes College gym for a few minutes of shooting hoops after Monday’s practice. Mallett was warming up for his gig that evening, when he and defensive end Adrian Davis were scheduled to shoot three-pointers at halftime of the Memphis Grizzlies’ home game against the Washington Wizards at the FedEx Forum.

No to Julio?

Arkansas receiver Jarius Wright was taking up for teammates Joe Adams and Greg Childs when he questioned why neither of them made the All-SEC coaches team, and Adams was just a second-team pick by The Associated Press.

Childs had 45 catches for 862 yards, the second-highest total in the conference, and 7 touchdowns. He ranked third in the SEC with 71.8 receiving yards per game and seventh with 3.8 receptions per game. Adams had 28 catches for 553 yards and 7 touchdowns, despite missing three games, and finished fifth with 61.4 receiving yards per game and led SEC regulars with 19.8 yards per catch.

“I was real surprised,” Wright said. “It’s probably going to go in the paper and I’m probably going to get criticized about it, but I looked up Julio Jones’ numbers and his numbers weren’t better than any one of our starting receivers and he still made first- or second team All-SEC.”

Alabama’s Jones, also a sophomore, was a preseason All-SEC choice, but he dealt with injuries for parts of 2009. A second-team All-SEC pick by league coaches, Jones finished with 42 catches for 573 yards and 4 touchdowns, with his 47.8 yards per game ranking 10th in the league.

Wright had 37 catches for 591 yards and 4 touchdowns.

On Hudson

East Carolina defensive coordinator Greg Hudson has interviewed with Florida State for its vacant position as linebackers coach, but he’s in Memphis with the Pirates.

“At this point, a decision has not been made,” East Carolina Coach Skip Holtz said. “Greg and I will sit down when this is all over, and he’ll have a decision to make. But he’s not being pressed on the other end by Florida State because they have all their coaches in place for their bowl game.”