Razorbacks report

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/WILLIAM MOORE Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson at practice Tuesday, August 9, 2011 on the intramural fields on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.

— Offense improves with pads

Putting full pads on has helped Arkansas’ offensive flow, as predicted by Coach Bobby Petrino.

The Razorbacks have completed a higher percentage of passes the past couple of days in full pads, and there have been far fewer dropped balls.

“Much better,” quarterback Tyler Wilson said. “The first day it was pretty rough. The last few days you could see much improvement on that.

Guys are getting out of cuts a little better on this grass surface ... and we’re much better timing-wise.”

Petrino said full-pad work would benefit the offensive linemen, and that appears to be the case.

“Our offensive line, once we got the pads on, gave me some encouragement and showed that they have the ability,” Petrino said.

“Our receivers are starting to catch the ball better. The timing is starting to get back. When you’re not catching balls, it’s a combination of the timing, concentration on the football, accuracy by the quarterback, and tighter coverage. So we’ve got to make sure we can catch contested passes. That’s something we struggled with early, but we’ve gotten better at it the last couple of days.”

Said receiver Jarius Wright, “I definitely feel like our offense is starting to jell better, and it’s going to work out for the best once our offense gets that jell that we need to be a great offense.”

Petrino said the quarterback play has been inconsistent.

Picking it up

On Tuesday, quarterbacks Tyler Wilson, Brandon Mitchell and Brandon Allen combined to complete anunofficial 25 of 38 passes during team periods.

Wilson completed 12 of 19, but that included dropped passes by Jarius Wright and Maudrecus Humphrey.

Wilson threw a scoring pass to tight end Chris Gragg.

Mitchell hit 11 of 15 passes, including a 50-yard touchdown to tailback Knile Davis, who broke open down a sideline and quickly got to his top speed, which has been evident early in camp.

Allen competed 2 of 4 passes, and had one tipped and intercepted by linebacker Ross Rasner.

Tackle smart

Arkansas has not tackled to the ground yet, which Coach Bobby Petrino said is a luxury afforded a veteran team.

“We’ve been very physical in the drills that we do,” Petrino said. “I think when we have the experience that we have coming back, we do need to be smart. We do need to make sure we get our good guys to the game.

We’re practicing a little bit better because we do have experience, so we haven’t seen guys that are hitting and knocking guys to the ground when they’re not supposed to be.”

Petrino said Thursday’s practice should feature some live tackling.

Personnel report

Guard Grant Cook and defensive end Lonnie Gosha, who have sustained apparent ankle injuries in camp, did not practice, and safety Darrell Smith missed a second day out of the last three.

Meanwhile, freshmen receiver Keante Minor and defensive tackle DeMarcus Hodge were back at work.

End notes

Arkansas has two preseason All-SEC defensive ends in Jake Bequette and Tenarius Wright, and sophomore Chris Smith is expected to earn more playing time this season.

But the position goes thin after that, especially after Colton Miles-Nash’s move to tight end over the summer.

D.D. Jones, who is part of the Hogs’ defensive tackle depth, is also working out wide.

“We’re trying to get D.D.

where he can help us out there, because we don’t have anybody else right now,” defensive ends coach Steve Caldwell said. “Those freshmen are so far away, there’s no way you can count them in the numbers rightnow as depth.”

Still, in a conference that demands depth at defensive end, Arkansas might need to play one of its four true freshmen - Lonnie Gosha, Horace Arkadie, Tyler Gilbert or Trey Flowers.

“We’ve got to get one of those young guys ready to play, and that’s what I’m busting my rear end to get done,” Caldwell said.

Horton sharp

Julian Horton had three catches in team periods, including two on passes from Tyler Wilson that resulted in gains of 20-plus yards.

“He’s coming along and has really learned the offense,” Wilson said.

“He’ll be a big contributor, absolutely.”

Wilson said there will be chances for Horton to get on the field despite all the older stars ahead of them, led by seniors Greg Childs, Joe Adams and Jarius Wright, when the Hogs go four and five wide.

Horton said his work on Tuesday could have been better.

“I still had some drops, and I’m not happy about that,” he said. “I’m going to keep working hard, trying to have no drops.”

Jack and ’back

Freshman Rohan Gaines is getting double duty at the “jack” linebacker spot as well as cornerback as the coaches get a feel for the 5-11, 190-pounder’s skills.

Strongside linebackers coach John L. Smith said Gaines could inherit the hybrid role Jerico Nelson has made popular with the Hogs.

“We’re definitely not going to give up on him at a corner spot, so we want him to do both,” Smith said.

Oden lands

Former Razorback offensive tackle Anthony Oden has enrolled at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, the school announced.

Oden was dismissed from the Razorbacks in July after a second drinking-and-driving arrest.

Sports, Pages 18 on 08/10/2011