FAYETTEVILLE — Sound ricochets around an empty 72,000-seat stadium in an eerie manner.
The Arkansas Razorbacks should know. Five of their past six practices have been conducted at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in front of a limited number of team personnel only.
“You could hear a lot more yelling,” center Travis Swanson said, smiling.
“It was a lot different,” linebacker Terrell Williams added. “Whenever you have no fans, you’ve got to come out and be a little more motivated.”
Coach Bobby Petrino has conducted fan-friendly fall camps during his four year sat Arkansas, with almost full practice access to Razorback fans and members of the media through two-a-days.
But at the end of camp last Saturday, with two weeks remaining until the Razorbacks open the season against Missouri State, access tightened as the Razorbacks honed their schemes. Petrino indicated Thursday that practices will be closed to members of the media for the season.
“Like I’ve said before, I love having the fans there, I really do,” Petrino said. “I think that’s a great deal. I think it’s good for our players. It’s awesome for our fans. I enjoy opening up camp. I enjoy opening up spring ball.
“But I really feel lke the best thing for our players right now is to close practice and get a different focus and make it better for our players.”
The Razorbacks have differing opinions on the controlled atmosphere.
“It helps you focus,” tight end Chris Gragg said.
“It’s kind of hard because you’re used to fans being out there,” defensive end ChrisSmith added.
“It’s not very fun,” senior captain Jake Bequette said. “We feed off the energy of our fans.
“You know, we always say we’ve got the best fans in the SEC. We feed off their energy. So we can’t wait for Sept. 3 so we can pack it out.”
Then there’s the take of another senior captain, receiver Jarius Wright.
“I’ve been here so long, I just practice,” Wright said. “I don’t really look around to see who’s here and who’s not. There’s no difference for me.”
Tailback Ronnie Wingo said he could focus better in the team-only environment.
“We had been going in front of fans the last coupleof weeks, so it’s different,” Wingo said. “You’re not looking in the stands seeing your girlfriend or your friends, so it makes you focus better.”
The Razorbacks will conduct their mock game, which includes a pre-game meal, team warm-ups and situational substitution exercises, this afternoon at Razorback Stadium.
Sports, Pages 17 on 08/26/2011