FAYETTEVILLE — Former Arkansas receivers Greg Childs and Jarius Wright felt right at home during practices for the East-West Shrine Game in January, among the postseason all-star games that give college players a chance to show off for NFL scouts.
Childs said the offensive scheme used by West Coach Brad Childress, the Minnesota Vikings’ former coach, was similar to what the Razorbacks ran the past four seasons under Bobby Petrino.
“Me and Jarius Wright were picking it up just like that while everybody else was like, ‘I don’t get this concept,’ or ‘I don’t get why we are doing this,’ ” Childs said. “But me and J. are like, ‘This is our offense. This is what we run, an NFL-type offense.’ ”
Wright said the experience of playing at Arkansas “will help a lot with the next level.”
Childs and Wright are among several players with in-state ties expected to be picked during the NFL Draft, which begins tonight and runs through Saturday. The first round will be tonight, the second and third rounds Friday and the fourth through seventh rounds Saturday.
Childs, Wright and Joe Adams, also a former Razorbacks receiver, are ranked among the top 100 players by several draft analysts and generally are projected to be picked in the third or fourth rounds. But trying to figure out which one will be drafted first isn’t easy.
Wright, from Warren, had the most productive senior season as a receiver, catching 66 passes for 1,117 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Adams, from Little Rock, showed the most versatility last season, catching 54 passes for 652 yards and 3 touchdowns, averaging 16.9 yards on 19 punt returns with 4 touchdowns and rushing 10 times for 139 yards, including a 92-yard touchdown run. He was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year and won the inaugural Johnny Rodgers Award as the nation’s top returner.
Childs, from Warren, may have the most potential as a pro, but he had a subpar senior season — 21 catches for 240 yards without a touchdown while continuing to recover from knee surgery. The previous three seasons he combined for 112 receptions for 1,826 yards and 15 touchdowns.
During Arkansas’ pro day March 6, Childs was timed at 4.41 seconds in the 40-yard dash, had a 40.5-inch vertical jump and pronounced himself almost 100 percent physically.
“Numbers don’t lie,” Childs said.
Adams said he’s been traveling “all over the country” meeting with teams, including Dallas, Houston, Charlotte and Tennessee.
“Every team said they were looking at me and they need a return guy and a receiver, so it’s just great to be in the position I’m in now,” Adams said.
Adams said he “would like to stay where it’s warm,” but he realizes that may not be his destination.
“Whatever team chooses me, I’m going to make them happy,” he said.
Childs said it’s “exciting” waiting to see how the draft will unfold.
“It’s just going to be a whole new experience,” he said. “Nobody really knows where you’re going to go or what round or who is going to pick you up.”
Childs said he’s worked out for several teams at their facilities or in Fayetteville.
“I’ve been getting some real good feedback,” he said. “It just lets you know that teams are interested in you, really looking to maybe snatch you up.”
Wright said he’s trying not to get “too nervous” as the draft approaches.
“I know I’ll get a chance somewhere,” he said. “But there’s just a lot of anxiety on where I might spend the next three or four years.”
Wright said he planned to try to play golf this week as a fun diversion from the draft.
“Teams are really doing a good job of being quiet,” he said. “They haven’t really said anything to me. But the ones I talk to, they told me ... it’s not really about what round you go in. It’s about what you do when you get there.”
Among defensive players from in-state schools, Arkansas State linebacker Demario Davis, Arkansas end Jake Bequette, Arkansas State safety Kelcie McCray and Arkansas linebacker Jerry Franklin are the most highly regarded.
Davis, from Brandon, Miss., might be the first player with in-state ties to be drafted. An NFL Network analyst projected Davis as a third-round pick.
An impressive showing at the NFL Combine, where Davis ran the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds and bench-pressed 225 pounds 32 times, helped raise his stock. He had 69 tackles last season, including 10 for lost yards.
Bequette, from Little Rock, had 10 sacks last season despite missing three games because of a hamstring injury. He had 23.5 sacks in his career.
“It will be somewhere in the middle,” Bequette said of his draft spot. “I’ve heard it all over the place, from late third round to fifth or sixth. Hopefully, it will be closer to the former than the latter.”
Bequette played outside linebacker during Senior Bowl practices and said several teams have worked him out there as well as at defensive end.
“The more I play outside linebacker, the more I like it,” he said. “But, by the same token, I’m really comfortable playing defensive end, and I loved doing that for five years here. So I’ll be happy either way.”
Bequette said Dallas is his favorite team and he’d love to play for Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a former Razorback.
“But I only have a 1 in 32 chance of playing for them,” Bequette said. “If that works out, great. But any team that wants me, I’d love to play for them.”
Franklin, from Marion, led Arkansas in tackles the past four seasons and had 101 as a senior.
“It’s a waiting game right now,” Franklin said. “Just making sure I’m in shape and ready when the time comes. You don’t’ have a clue. That’s really the hardest part about it. ... You want to find out so you can get into the system.”
McCray had 70 tackles and four interceptions for Arkansas State last season and is projected as a sixth or seventh-round pick by several draft analysts.
Arkansas safeties Jerico Nelson and Tramain Thomas could be late-round picks or free-agent signees.
Central Arkansas quarterback Nathan Dick, who passed for 3,275 yard and 32 touchdowns as a senior, could be a late-round pick.
Information for this article was contributed by Tom Murphy of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Sports, Pages 17 on 04/26/2012