FAYETTEVILLE -- Offensive coordinator Dan Enos said he had concerns about how the Razorbacks offense would look this week after taking a 12-day layoff for spring break.
He was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the unit got into sync.
"For the most part on Tuesday we did really well," Enos said. "We had a pretty lengthy practice, and I think we got a little fatigued near the end and we made some mistakes. But early in the practice our retention was pretty good, and we had another good one [on Thursday]."
Enos said he had not experienced a layoff of that length in the middle of spring drills in his previous coaching stops, but such breaks are nothing new for Coach Bret Bielema.
"I was a little concerned," Enos said. "Coach Bielema's been doing this for a long time. I've never done it so I thought, well, this'll be interesting."
Who's in?
Running backs coach Jemal Singleton said Thursday that he hadn't received definitive word from Coach Bret Bielema on how Arkansas' tailbacks will be used in today's scrimmage.
"Obviously you've got to be smart with your guys," Singleton said. "We've got some veteran guys that have kind of proven they can do some things."
Senior Jonathan Williams isn't likely to take much, if any, live tackling in the spring based on previous comments by Bielema, and junior Alex Collins is expected to be tackled on a limited basis as he recovers from appendectomy surgery.
"The guys have got to get some work," Singleton said. "Alex has got to get back into it a little bit. ... Really, Coach B is going to tell me who I can run and who I can't. I'm going to play them all until he tells me to do otherwise."
QB talk
Senior quarterback Brandon Allen had good things to say Thursday about the early performances of freshman Ty Storey, sophomore Austin Allen and redshirt freshman Rafe Peavey.
"Ty's doing a great job of just getting in there and getting his reps," Allen said. "He's still a freshman, so he's got some learning curve to get through, but he's doing a great job with it. Him not acting like a freshman is the biggest thing. He's showed a lot of maturity.
"Then we've got Rafe and Austin. All of them are kind of splitting the two reps. Austin's done a good job. He's a little more experienced than the other ones. He's doing a lot of things well. Rafe's throwing the ball really well, so it's a really good competition in that number two spot."
Lucky No. 70
Dan Skipper has a new position and a new jersey number.
Skipper is playing right tackle and wearing No. 70. As a freshman he played left guard and wore No. 76. Last season he moved to left tackle and took No. 63 at the suggestion of Coach Bret Bielema after five games to give him a new look after enduring penalty problems.
"Third year, third number, third position," Skipper said. "I'm rolling threes right? I ought to go to Vegas."
Coaches moved Skipper to right tackle so Denver Kirkland could work at left tackle. Switching to No. 70 was Skipper's idea. He wore No. 70 at Ralston Valley High School in Arvada, Colo., and that number became available this spring with Chris Stringer's graduation.
"It just felt like the thing to do,' " Skipper said. "It was like, 'I can get 70. Let's do it. Why not?' "
Considering Skipper is 6-10 and 307 pounds, he's going to stand out whatever number he wears.
"Oh yeah," guard Frank Ragnow said. "You can't miss Dan Skipper."
Unlucky Day
Running backs coach Jemal Singleton said the knee injury suffered by tailback Juan Day prior to spring break came in a strange way.
"He didn't really take a shot, just kind of went back and almost just kind of a little trip," Singleton said. "Some of those you see happen that way. It's just crazy, just a little twist, a little movement. He wasn't hit. It wasn't one of those helmet on the knee. It really was kind of a freak accident."
Combo Kody
The knee injury suffered by redshirt freshman tailback Juan Day is likely to impact senior Kody Walker as much as any of the backs.
Walker will learn responsibilities of both the fullback, as the returning starter, and the tailback.
"It may be harder on Kody because he plays No. 1 fullback and then he goes with the twos at running back," senior tailback Jonathan Williams said. "As far as me and Alex [Collins], we're still doing the same thing we did last year."
Bigger by Josh
Free safety Josh Liddell is packing more punch this spring.
Liddell said he weighs 210 pounds after arriving at Arkansas weighing 191.
"It feels good," Liddell said. "I can be more physical taking on blockers and getting away from them to make tackles."
Johnny be good
Johnny Gibson, a redshirt freshman walk-on from Dumas, drew praise Thursday from offensive line coach Sam Pittman.
Pittman said Gibson, 6-4, 337 pounds, has been getting quality work as a backup left tackle and left guard.
"He's been impressive," Pittman said. "He's got good feet and he works hard. He's a good kid. He's smart.
"He's actually a better player than I thought he would be coming out of high school. I wouldn't be shocked at all if he works into a consistent two somewhere."
Sports on 04/04/2015