Scrimmage leaves Bielema all 'giggly'

Arkansas head football coach Bret Bielema answers questions from the media Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014, at Fred Smith Football Center in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Saturday's scrimmage left Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema, in his words, feeling "like a giggly school girl" and had personnel from both sides of the ball encouraged after the Razorbacks first week in camp.

"I was so excited about what I saw," Bielema said Sunday at the team's annual media day.

"I thought our guys came with an attitude," defensive coordinator Robb Smith said. "I thought they ran to the football. I thought we were physical when we got there."

Bielema contends the Razorbacks are far advanced from where they were at this stage last season. The team had fewer mental mistakes on both sides of the ball Saturday, coaches said, and there were encouraging signs from newcomers who can impact depth.

Quarterback Brandon Allen, who completed 12 of 22 passes for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns, said ball security -- four loose balls that led to the scrimmage's only two turnovers -- was the biggest negative.

"I was proud of how we performed a little bit," Allen said. "We had a little bit of a ball security issue going on and I missed a few passes I wish I had back ... but I thought we did well. We can only get better."

Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney also liked what he saw.

"We were explosive on some vertical balls, which we need to be able to do, and we made some contested catches," Chaney said. "We had a couple of fantastic catches."

Bielema said one of the brightest spots from the scrimmage was that no players sustained serious injuries. Tailback Jonathan Williams, who tweaked a hamstring when safety Alan Turner yanked his leg, is expected to miss a couple of days.

While Williams will sit a day or two, sophomore tailback Alex Collins said he'll return today from a hip issue that left him out of the scrimmage, joining sophomore Korliss Marshall.

Linebackers coach Randy Shannon said the depth at his position, already buoyed by veterans Braylon Mitchell and Martrell Spaight and second-year starter Brooks Ellis, has gotten better with the addition of freshmen Randy Ramsey, Dwayne Eugene and Khalia Hackett.

"The young guys flashed a lot for us yesterday," Shannon said. "That was one thing we hoped could happen. You want to keep everybody competing at a high level and understanding ... if you don't, you have somebody right behind you to take your position."

Quarterbacks Austin Allen and Rafe Peavey, working primarily with the second and third units, combined to complete 23 of 30 passes (76.7 percent).

Austin Allen's 16 of 20 completions for 190 yards indicated he's made huge strides from last season. He completed his first nine passes of the scrimmage for 145 yards.

"He started out hot and continued that way all the way through the day," Chaney said. "I thought Austin made some good decisions and threw the ball accurately.

"I think Rafe was solid and delivered the ball accurately, but he still didn't have the command that Austin seemed to have yesterday. I like both of them. Real pleased with Austin, and I was OK with Rafe."

Sophomore Drew Morgan, who caught no passes while playing in all 12 games last year, had the biggest scrimmage with six catches for 117 yards and touchdowns of 25 and 16 yards.

"I've been under the radar for a while," Morgan said. "I've kind of took that under my belt and I'm saying, 'Look, I've had it. I'm trying to go to the NFL and I'm trying to build my resume.'

"Saturday was definitely one of those opportunities that I took advantage of. Every day in practice, I'm going to keep taking that advantage."

Bielema said Morgan and junior Keon Hatcher were neck and neck at the "Z" receiver slot, with freshman Jared Cornelius leading the way in the slot, and Demetrius Wilson and Cody Hollister followed by Kendrick Edwards at the "X" position.

Receivers coach Michael Smith said if Morgan and Hatcher continue to perform well, they could play either of the other spots.

"If they can continue to perform the way they've been performing, it would be a travesty on my part to have one of them sitting on the bench if they can both be on the field at the same time," Smith said.

Offensive tackle Brey Cook called the scrimmage a great foundation.

"Now it's the meat and potatoes of fall camp," Cook said. "We've got two-a-days. We're going to really get after it and correct those things that we messed up on [Saturday]."

Offensive line coach Sam Pittman said the improvement from the first week of last fall was drastic.

"I do think we're headed in the right direction," he said. "We are a pretty big and physical line. I think our one group protected the quarterback well and our two group didn't."

The Razorbacks will undergo their first two-a-day of camp today and will have three of them this the week. Saturday's scrimmage, scheduled for 2:25 p.m. at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, is open to the public, with fan day scheduled Sunday at Walton Arena.

Sports on 08/11/2014