FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ team captains for 2011, voted on by the team after Wednesday’s evening meal, are headlined by defensive end Jake Bequette and linebacker Jerry Franklin, a pair of senior defenders who will be serving as second-year captains.
The rest of the captain’s crew is senior receiver Jarius Wright, junior tailback Knile Davis, junior quarterback Tyler Wilson and senior linebacker Jerico Nelson.
“I thought the players did a good job,” said Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino, pointing out the vote last year came just after spring practice because the leadership crew looked pretty settled.
Petrino said Davis and Wilson have been out front since the team’s return from the Sugar Bowl, while Wright and Nelson have been making plays for years.
It’s been hotter
It’s hard to say temperatures in the 90s are mild, but that’s how it felt Thursday during the Razorbacks’ two practices.
After several days in the 100s, including 108 on Wednesday, the hottest it got during either of Thursday’s practices was 97 degrees.
“I thought we hit a good day,” Coach Bobby Petrino said. “The clouds came in, there was a little bit of a breeze. It actually felt hotter at the first practice than it did the second one.
“It is something that’s concerning when you see what’s going on throughout the country. We have to do a good job making sure we take our breaks, getting underneath the tents, cooling our body temperature.”
As directed by trainer Matt Summers, the team took a break for several minutes midway through both practices to get the players in a tent that is cooled by misting spray.
“That’s Matt Summers, always on me about what time we take the break, how long we stay there, and I basically do what I’m told,” Petrino said.
Defensive end Jake Bequette said it was “a cool day” relatively speaking compared to recent days.
“But once practice started going and we got that tempo up, it didn’t really seem like a break,” Bequette said. “It’s going to get even hotter the next couple of days, but we’ve got to control what we can control, and that’s our attitude about it, staying positive.”Corner correction
As expected, junior Darius Winston moved back to boundary cornerback to open camp, while senior Isaac Madison opened at the starting field corner spot, the toughest position in the Hogs secondary.
Winston and Madison had battled at field corner during the spring, while Jerry Mitchell and De’Anthony Curtis took the most reps on the other side.
Defense is tops
The passing game in the veterans’ evening practice looked a little rusty during team periods as blitzing and tight coverage made securing completions a chore.
In addition, even in pass skel and earlier periods, there were drops and overthrows that have become mostly uncommon in the past couple of years.
“There’s no question the defense is way ahead of the offense, with just the experience and the knowledge of what we’re doing,” Coach Bobby Petrino said.
“I expected us to be a little bit ahead of where we were today as far as the end result and the final product we showed today, but I felt it was an OK practice,” quarterback Tyler Wilson said.
Helping the defense was some five-man fronts that allowed defensive end Jake Bequette to drop in passing lanes and disrupt some plays. Personnel update
True freshman Brey Cook split his reps between tackle and guard, while Grant Freeman and Jason Peacock manned the starting tackle slots.
Coach Bobby Petrino said Cook’s flexibility and ability to bend came out of video study from the spring.
Senior Elton Ford took first-team reps at strong safety over sophomore Eric Bennett, who moved to the position from cornerback in the spring.
Worth noting
Transfer linebacker Alonzo Highsmith took reps with the starting defense at will linebacker, with Terrell Williams and Bret Harris serving as the reserves.
Junior Colton Miles-Nash, who moved back to the tight end spot he played as a freshman, has switched to jersey No. 6 from the No. 90 he wore as a defensive end last year.
Junior college transfer linebacker Robert Atiga from Snow (Utah) College, who was unable to enroll for summer classes, worked with the newcomers.
Safety signee Brett Weir from Ontario, Canada, worked with the linebackers in group drills.
Freshman Brandon Allen, who wore No. 18 at Fayetteville High, has switched to No. 13. Sophomore kicker Zach Hocker has the No. 18 jersey on offense. Safety Seth Armbrust wears No. 13 on defense.
Sports, Pages 26 on 08/05/2011