FAYETTEVILLE - Bret Bielema’s coaching staff put a fresh spin on some positions, and perhaps the biggest has been linebacker, where Daunte Carr is expected to start in the middle in Arkansas’ Red-White game Saturday.
Carr signed with the Razorbacks as a safety, tore up his knee during practices for the 2011 Sugar Bowl, then shifted to outside linebacker, where he had not resurfaced under the previous coaching staff.
Now the redshirt junior could be in position to earn playing time.
“We said this from the start when we got here: We don’t care what anybody has done in the past. It’s a new slate for everybody,” defensive coordinator Chris Ash said Thursday. “He’s done a great job. Does he have a long way to go? Absolutely.”
Carr and Robert Atiga, who has been sidelined during his Arkansas career by tendinitis in his knees, have been manning the middle linebacker spot for much of spring with Otha Peters slowed by a hip issue.
“[Carr] is a lot better,” Ash said. “He has shown a presence out there at the Mike linebacker position. He’s communicating better. He’s trying to become a student of the game. He’s becoming a more physical linebacker. All those things are making him better and they’re making us better.”
Global what?
The Razorbacks were greeted with unseasonably cool weather for a large chunk of their five weeks of spring drills.
Arkansas worked indoors at Walker Pavilion for a majority of its spring practices, including its first scrimmage March 30, and the Hogs were inside again Thursday.
The temperature was in the mid- to high-40s on Thursday after overnight and morning rain showers ushered in a cold front.
“This weather is awful,”defensive coordinator Chris Ash said. “Up in Wisconsin, there’s probably still snow on the ground. I was hoping to come down and be nice and sunny, and we’d be outside for every day in spring. But it’s been a shock from that standpoint.
“It’s amazing. Just a couple of days ago it was 80 degrees outside, and it feels like 30 out there.”
50K, they say
Coach Bret Bielema and the Arkansas staff are pushing to draw 50,000 fans for Saturday’s Red-White game, which would break the school record estimated at 45,000 last year.
“I’m ready to get some fans out there,” defensive end Chris Smith said. “I hear it’s supposed to be 50,000. I hope it’s more than 50,000. This is my last spring game, so just come out with a bang.”
A ton better
Defensive coordinator Chris Ash sounded upbeat about the defense’s strides for the second week in a row Thursday.
“From the first day we started through 14 practices, we’ve made a ton of improvement,” Ash said. “Now I don’t want you to mistake that as, ‘Hey, we’re ready to play an SEC game’ or we’re any good.
“But we’ve made a lot of improvement from where we were at. Am I pleased with that? Yeah. That’s the only thing we can control right now is our improvement on a daily basis. We’ve done that.”
Dyer doubtful
Former Little Rock Christian, Auburn and Arkansas State running back Michael Dyer created a ripple in the state when he mentioned in an interview on KHTV that if given a chance at Arkansas “I would definitely go down there and do the best that I can for the team and for the coaches.”
Dyer had off-the-field problems at Auburn and Arkansas State and has spent the past year at Arkansas Baptist.
Sources said Dyer has reached out to the Razorbacks to gauge their interest, but there has been no indication the Arkansas staff would be willing to take him on.
Sports, Pages 24 on 04/19/2013