5 KEYS FOR ARKANSAS THIS SEASON

Countdown to UTEP

Questions fewer, but pertinent

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Hogs photo illustration.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Razorbacks open camp on Thursday with heightened expectations heading into their third season under Coach Bret Bielema.

Much of the optimism comes from the Razorbacks' strong 2014 finish, with three victories in their final four games -- beating No. 17 LSU, No. 8 Ole Miss and Texas by a combined score of 78-7.

STATE DIVISION I FOOTBALL SCHEDULES

ARKANSAS

DATE;OPPONENT;TIME

Sept. 5;Texas-El Paso;2:30 p.m.

Sept. 12;Toledo#;3 p.m.

Sept. 19;Texas Tech;6 p.m.

Sept. 26; Texas A&M*^;TBA

Oct. 3;at Tennessee*;TBA

Oct. 10;at Alabama*;TBA

Oct. 24;Auburn*;TBA

Oct. 31;Tennessee-Martin;TBA

Nov. 7;at Ole Miss*;TBA

Nov. 14;at LSU*;TBA

Nov. 21;Mississippi State*;TBA

Nov. 28;Missouri*;TBA #at War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock

^at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

*SEC game

ARKANSAS STATE

DATE;OPPONENT;TIME

Sept. 5;at Southern Cal;10 p.m.

Sept. 12;Missouri;6 p.m.

Sept. 19;Missouri State;6 p.m.

Sept. 26;at Toledo;TBA

Oct. 3;Idaho*;TBA

Oct. 13;at South Alabama*;7 p.m.

Oct. 20;Louisiana-Lafayette*;7 p.m.

Oct. 31;Georgia State*;TBA

Nov. 5;at Appalachian State*;6:30 p.m.

Nov. 14;at Louisiana-Monroe*;2 p.m.

Nov. 28;at New Mexico State*;TBA

Dec. 5;Texas State;TBA

*Sun Belt Conference game

CENTRAL ARKANSAS

DATE;OPPONENT;TIME

Sept. 3;at Samford;6 p.m.

Sept. 12;at Oklahoma State;6:30 p.m.

Sept. 26;at Northwestern (La.) State*;6 p.m.

Oct. 3;Abilene Christian*;6 p.m.

Oct. 10;at Houston Baptist*;2:30 p.m.

Oct. 17;McNeese State*;6 p.m.

Oct. 24;at Lamar*;6 p.m.

Oct. 31;SE Louisiana*;7 p.m.

Nov. 7;Stephen F. Austin*;3 p.m.

Nov. 14;at Nicholls State*;3 p.m.

Nov. 21;Sam Houston State*;7 p.m.

*Southland Conference game

UAPB

DATE;OPPONENT;TIME

Sept. 6;South Carolina State^;2:30 p.m.

Sept. 12;Morehouse College;6 p.m.

Sept. 19;Texas Southern*;6 p.m.

Sept. 26;at Alabama A&M*;1 p.m.

Oct. 3;Alcorn State*#;4 p.m.

Oc. 15;Alabama State*;6:30 p.m.

Oct. 24;at Jackson State*;2 p.m.

Oct. 31;at Prairie View;TBA

Nov. 7;Southern*;2:30 p.m.

Nov. 14;Grambling State*;2:30 p.m.

Nov. 21;at Miss. Valley State*;1 p.m

^at Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando #at War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock

*Southwestern Athletic Conference game

There is also a strong core of experienced players returning, especially on offense, where the Razorbacks return four of five starters on the line, two 1,000-yard running backs, a fifth-year quarterback, a slew of tight ends and a proven wide receiver.

Arkansas was picked to finish fourth in the SEC West by the media attending SEC media days, and the Razorbacks were slotted at No. 20 by the panel of coaches voting in the USA Today top 25 poll last week.

photo

Democrat-Gazette file photos

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Hogs photo illustration.

Offensive-line starters Denver Kirkland, Dan Skipper, Mitch Smothers and Sebastian Tretola are expected to provide veteran skill players Jonathan Williams, Alex Collins, Keon Hatcher, Hunter Henry, Jeremy Sprinkle and quarterback Brandon Allen with the room and time needed to make game-winning plays.

First-year coordinator Dan Enos inherits an offense that ranked No. 60 nationally and No. 8 in the SEC with 406 yards per game last season.

The Razorbacks hope to remain steady on defense after emerging at No. 10 nationally in total yardage (323 yards per game) and scoring (19.2 points per game) and No. 12 in rushing yards allowed (114.6 yards per game) to surprise the SEC under first-year coordinator Robb Smith.

Here are the five key areas Arkansas needs to address during the 29 practices of fall camp heading into the Sept. 5 season opener against Texas-El Paso in Fayetteville.

1. Identifying defensive playmakers

Arkansas' defense unexpectedly blossomed last year with a simpler scheme, better communication, better tackling, more ball disruption and strong leadership from Trey Flowers, Martrell Spaight, Alan Turner and others. Whether the Razorbacks can repeat that performance in 2015 was a big question mark at SEC media days with analysts pointing to the departures of the above-mentioned seniors, along with key contributors Darius Philon, who left early for the NFL draft, and cornerback Tevin Mitchel.

The defensive front lacks name recognition, but position coach Rory Segrest said he thinks the Hogs can assemble a quality 2-deep with returning starters Taiwan Johnson and JaMichael Winston bolstered by ends Tevin Beanum, Deatrich Wise and Jeremiah Ledbetter and tackles Bijhon Jackson, DeMarcus Hodge and Hjalte Froholdt. That grouping doesn't include Brandon Lewis and Mitchell Loewen, ends coming back from injuries. The Razorbacks managed to get strong production up front in 2014 while using a solid rotation.

Junior Brooks Ellis is the lone returning starter at linebacker, which got a new coach in Vernon Hargreaves, so determining the depth around him is crucial.

Three solid cover corners -- Jared Collins, D.J. Dean and Henre Toliver -- give the Razorbacks a good starting point in the secondary and sophomore Josh Liddell joins senior Rohan Gaines at starting safety. Developing quality depth at the safety positions is high on the camp to-do list.

2. Find complementary skill players

Arkansas returns a wealth of experienced offensive talent. The Hogs are the only team in the nation returning two 1,000-yard rushers in Williams and Collins, plus quality pass catchers in Hatcher and Henry and a third-year starting quarterback in Allen, who could be primed to join the upper tier of SEC quarterbacks this season.

More bang is expected and needed from other returnees, such as combo back Kody Walker and receivers like Jared Cornelius, Cody Hollister, Damon Mitchell, Drew Morgan and Kendrick Edwards, as well as tight ends Jeremy Sprinkle and Alex Voelzke.

New skill talent must be auditioned and assessed to see if they can be reliable options with the ball in their hands. The list is long, starting with redshirt freshman Jojo Robinson and incoming true freshman Austin Cantrell, Will Gragg, C.J. O'Grady, La'Michael Pettway, Deon Stewart and Rawleigh Williams III and junior college transfer Dominque Reed.

3. Needed: Game-ready linebackers

Linebacker and safety are probably the team's thinnest positions. Junior Josh Williams and sophomore Khalia Hackett ran as the starters alongside Brooks Ellis during spring drills, but more personnel will be needed. Dwayne Eugene showed flashes in the spring. Walk-on Josh Harris is undersized, but his hitting during the spring showed he can run with the big guys. Signees Derrick Graham, Dre Greenlaw and Kendrick Jackson will all get a shot in camp to break into the two deep.

4. Establish physicality on the line

Arkansas' offensive line was touted as the heaviest in college football last season, but it had some glaring defeats on short-yardage plays in a few losses. The personnel is stacking up for line coach Sam Pittman, but the unit must adjust to the position switches that moved Kirkland from right guard to left tackle, sent Skipper from left to right tackle and created a spot at right guard for sophomore Frank Ragnow, who was backup center in 2014.

Bielema asked himself why he would pit one of the SEC's more rugged teams against itself more than necessary during camp, and his solution was to cut back on or eliminate the available two-a-day sessions. Bielema said he must see the type of physicality he expects in the early practices to reduce or do away with a lengthy afternoon session.

The Razorbacks don't have a consistently strong fourth-quarter track record yet under Bielema, but he said he believes this season will mark improvement in that area.

5. Eliminate fumbles, penalties

Arkansas made a move in turnover margin from 111th nationally in 2013 to a tie for 27th last season, but for Bielema's style to be most successful that margin of plus 0.54 per game needs to be better.

New running backs coach Jemal Singleton introduced an assortment of drills and a mechanism called the fumble pro in spring drills, all designed to improve ball security, and if his track record at Oklahoma State is an indication, there could be fewer of the glaring turnovers that had major impacts in losses to Alabama, Georgia and Missouri last year.

Additionally, the Razorbacks took a slight step back in penalties last fall, ranking 35th in fewest penalties per game (5.2) and 37th in fewest penalty yards per game (44.7). An away-from-the-play tripping penalty shifted the momentum early in the fourth quarter of what looked like a sure victory over Texas A&M. Bielema's best teams stay away from those errors and keep penalties to a minimum.

Sports on 08/05/2015