FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema debated all week about whether to use the third practice of spring as an opportunity to scrimmage, and when he decided to do it, he aimed to keep things simple.
The Razorbacks did just that on a sunny and mild Saturday during a 61-play scrimmage at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
"I told the guys today I really wanted to establish the run game, I wanted to play good fundamentals, good tackling on defense and kind of just play good basic football," Bielema said.
"If anybody was watching today, I wanted you to get bored. That was my phrase when we went to script. I didn't want it to be anything fancy, just good, solid football."
Every snap took place from the 25, with 22 pass plays and 36 run plays called by Enos. There were 3 muffed snaps -- 1 by Ty Storey and 2 by Ricky Town.
Austin Allen completed 3 of 6 passes for 28 yards while working with the starters; Rafe Peavey went 4 of 6 for 36 yards working with the second group.
Storey was 1 of 3 for 13 yards; Town went 1 of 2 for 5 yards.
Allen took 20 snaps, Storey 15, Peavey 14 and Town 12. Storey and Town took five reps each at the end of the scrimmage with third teamers on both sides of the ball.
"Dan and myself both thought going into this first week we wanted to give everybody ample opportunity and kind of keep it basic," Bielema said. "It wasn't balanced, but it was as close as we could get."
The defense was credited with five "sacks," two from defensive tackle Jeremiah Ledbetter. There were no fumbles or pass interceptions.
The running game produced a handful of big plays, mostly on cutbacks, with each of the participating running backs hitting at least one play of 9 or more yards.
Denzel Evans picked up 56 yards on 7 carries, including gains of 15 and 20 yards. First-team back Kody Walker had gains of 18 and 13 yards on his first 2 carries. He finished with 40 yards on five attempts.
Converted receiver Damon Mitchell had the longest run, for 32 yards around left end, and wound up with 51 yards on 9 carries. Juan Day ran 9 times for 43 yards, with high gains of 7 and 9 yards.
"We've got to work on some linebacker scrapes," Bielema said. "There were some nice holes that popped open with linebacker reads."
Anthony Antwine (2-21) was the only receiver with more than one catch. Antwine's longest catch was 16 yards; Will Gragg's only reception was good for 16 yards.
The Razorbacks did not conduct any move-the-ball segments , mostly because they haven't yet installed third-down plays.
"I kind of went back and forth during the week on whether to actually scrimmage, but I saw those guys were itching a little bit on Thursday to get out there and wrap up," Bielema said. "So we went 24 plays with the ones and 24 with the twos. Got a nice solid 10 reps there with the threes."
Bielema said trying to identify the best offensive linemen, particularly on the interior, is a key spring goal. Frank Ragnow and Zach Jackson ran with the first and second units, respectively, at center. Hjalte Froholdt and Jalen Merrick started at the guard spots, while Brian Wallace, who is in a battle with Colton Jackson at left tackle, and Dan Skipper started at right tackle.
Bielema said he expected more passing and more move-the-ball periods in next Saturday's scrimmage.
Sports on 04/03/2016