Friday Practice Notes

Arkansas junior starting cornerback Jared Collins said. "We just have to keep our eyes in the right place," when speaking about the upcoming Arkansas-Auburn game.

— Arkansas practiced in full pads for the first time Friday. The practice was closed, but defensive coaches and players spoke to reporters following practice. Below are some excerpts from what they said.

-A big collision between linebacker Brooks Ellis and running back Korliss Marshall was the highlight of Friday's practice.

-Cornerback Tevin Mitchel is still wearing a green, no-contact jersey won't play in Saturday's scrimmage. Mitchel has been going through individual drills, but is limited in team work while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.

-Defensive backs coach Clay Jennings said Tevin Mitchel, Jared Collins and Carroll Washington are still being considered first-team cornerbacks. Jennings said Mitchel could play either of the team's cornerback positions. Rohan Gaines and Alan Turner are working as first-team safeties.

-Jennings said freshman cornerback Henre Toliver has made several plays in practice this week, including an interception Thursday.

-Jennings said the cornerbacks are doing well with their press coverage, but has had some busted coverages. "The good news is we don't play Auburn tomorrow," Jennings said. "The bad news is it's coming up quickly."

-Cornerback Jared Collins said he "struggled," but gained 5 pounds during the off-season and now weighs 175 pounds. Collins said he weighed 149 pounds when he arrived as a freshman.

-Collins said the cornerbacks enjoy playing press coverage more than when they played well off the line of scrimmage last season. Collins said playing so far back didn't allow to make some of the plays they could have made otherwise. "I feel like it means they can trust us to do our job every play if they're trusting us to press," Collins said.

-Collins said cornerback D.J. Dean has "put a couple of guys on their back" playing press coverage this preseason.

-By pressing more, Collins said he feels the Arkansas receivers have gotten better releasing in one-on-one situations. "They all got bigger in the summer, so getting off the line for them is easier," Collins said.

-Collins said Keon Hatcher, Demetrius Wilson and Jeremy Sprinkle had nice catches in practice Friday.

-Defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. said he felt he had improved everything but his quarterback sack dance during the off-season. Wise said he isn't allowed to dance anymore after sacking Johnny Manziel last season.

-Wise said "it was kind of cool" busting offensive tackle Brey Cook's nose during a hard collision in practice Wednesday.

-Redshirt freshman defensive end Tevin Beanum said he will start the fall semester with 56 credit hours, only 4 hours shy of junior standing at the university. Beanum, who scored a 30 on his ACT, is on track to graduate with his bachelor's degree in kinesiology in three years and said he could be working on a Master's degree in physical therapy by his redshirt junior season.

-Beanum said he has gained 23 pounds since arriving on campus. He currently weighs 264 pounds.

-Beanum is backing up Trey Flowers in practice. Brandon Lewis is working behind Deatrich Wise Jr.

-Beanum said defensive coordinator Robb Smith harps on three things: attitude, smart tackling and ball disruption.

-Beanum said new defensive line coach Rory Segrest emphasizes getting upfield quicker than last year's position coach Charlie Partridge, who Beanum said focused more on lateral movement.

-John Henson has been working with the first special teams unit this week in practice, backed up by heralded freshman Cole Hedlund. Alan D'Appollonio is the Razorbacks' first-team long snapper and Matt Emrich is the holder.

-D'Appollonio said Henson and Hedlund are 7-for-8 on field goal attempts during team drills. Both misses were from greater than 50 yards Thursday.

-D'Appollonio said gained 15 pounds from last season and currently weighs 248 pounds.

-AJ Derby, Alex Voelzke and Dan Skipper are the three players practicing as the shield in punt protection.