Childs’ welfare

FAYETTEVILLE — Observers noticed a hitch in wide receiver Greg Childs’ gait Thursday during Arkansas’ first practice of fall camp, and Coach Bobby Petrino said he detected issues with the star receiver’s deceleration.

Childs said don’t worry about him.

“Nah, I’m fine,” Childs told reporters after the Hogs’ 90-minute Thursday evening workout at the UA intramural fields. “I’ve been cleared for three months now.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been out here with the team and everything, but I think everything will be OK.”

But the 6-3 senior, now nine months removed from the knee injury he suffered in the fourth quarter of a 49-14 victory over Vanderbilt on Oct. 30, has a ways to go before reclaiming the form that made him one of the most formidable receivers in the nation, according to his coach.

“I didn’t think he looked full speed today,” Petrino said late Thursday. “It looked like he was struggling a little bit, particularly getting in and out of his breaks and decelerating.

“He was having trouble decelerating and stopping. We’ve got to find out exactly what was the cause of that today and get him healthy for that first game.”

Childs, a first-team preseason All-SEC choice by conference coaches and media, is projected as a huge cog in an Arkansas offense that has established itself as one of the nation’s best.

The Warren native, who suffered a torn patella tendon and missed the rest of the season, had team highs of 46 receptions for 659 yards and 6 touchdowns in 8 games at the time of his injury. He ranked third in the SEC with 5.8 catches per game and 82.4 receiving yards per game.

Cobi Hamilton came on in Childs’ starting spot last year and put up two big games statistically against South Carolina and LSU down the stretch. But the Razorbacks need their deep-ball threat in Childs, who has caught a wealth of big-play scores during his career.

Childs said working on the grass of Arkansas’ intramural fields might have been a factor in how he practiced.

“We’re on a new field,” he said. “Everybody’s got to get used to the field because that’s the first time we came down.”

Junior quarterback Tyler Wilson said Childs had days like Thursday in the summer during team-led passing drills.

“I imagine at the end of the camp he should be good,” Wilson said. “He’ll be kind of ginger on it the first few days, I’m sure, but realize the speed and everything and get back into the pace he needs to play.”