FAYETTEVILLE -- Senior receiver Dominique Reed is expected to miss a couple of weeks after rolling his right ankle in Saturday's scrimmage and freshman running back T.J. Hammonds has undergone surgery for a torn meniscus in his knee, Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said after the first workout of a two-a-day session on Monday morning.
Bielema was not scheduled to speak on Monday, but he dropped in the media room at the Fred Smith center to provide injury and roster updates.
Reed was rolling through the Smith Center on a scooter with his right foot up in a walking boot.
"He's going to be out the rest of this week and probably most of next week," Bielema said. "We hope to get him back on game week. Nothing from a season-long standpoint, but he did roll that ankle pretty good."
Hammonds' knee twisted on a half-speed pass-catching drill during warmups prior to Saturday's scrimmage.
"He might have had something before, don't know, but he had a slight meniscus tear, so he went in and had that repaired as of today," Bielema said. "We're doing surgery right now, so he'll be out for two weeks, three weeks."
Bielema said Hammonds was likely targeted for a redshirt season, like receiver Kofi Boateng, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament last Thursday and is out for the year.
Whaley wows
Devwah Whaley's tackle-breaking 11-yard touchdown run in Saturday's scrimmage was a hot topic among the defensive players in Monday interviews.
Whaley juked linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who had a bead on him, bounced off a tackle attempt by end McTelvin Agim, then brought linebacker Josh Williams into the end zone with him on the powerful run.
"I was coming down and I wanted to come in and hit him pretty bad," Greenlaw said. "But then he cut back on me and I wasn't expecting that from him. I thought he was going to try and follow his blockers and run around me, but he cut it back, which was a smart move. ... He's going to be a great player."
Said end Deatrich Wise Jr., "That was a very impressive run. As defensive players, we have to learn how to wrap up.
"As a young guy, it's good for him to keep his feet moving and his shoulder lowered. ... He has more than enough toughness for a freshman running back."
Backfield boost
The Razorbacks got help at running back by adding Juan Day and Connor McPherson to the 105-man roster, with big back Kody Walker out after aggravating scar tissue in his foot and T.J. Hammonds undergoing knee surgery.
Coach Bret Bielema said a teammate landed on Walker's foot on his final carry of Saturday's scrimmage.
"We'll actually boot him up right now, get the soreness out of it next week, and he should be ready to rock and roll by game week, no problem," Bielema said.
Walker had four carries in Saturday's scrimmage, while Rawleigh Williams and Devwah Whaley had 14 each, Damon Mitchell had 11 and walk-on freshman Justice Hobbs had six.
In addition, Bielema said he has asked linebacker Kendrick Jackson to return to fullback, where he played significantly during the second half of 2015.
"He was just getting buried on the depth chart at mike linebacker and we have an immediate need at fullback," Bielema said. "He played it last year, did a nice job."
Behind Brooks
Freshman De'Jon "Scoota" Harris is playing well enough at middle linebacker that the coaching staff felt comfortable moving Kendrick Jackson back to fullback with Hayden Johnson. "Scoota" Harris and Josh Harris, who are unrelated, back up senior Brooks Ellis.
"I think Scoota's been doing really well," Ellis said. "He knows the playbook, knows what we're doing. Obviously he made a couple of plays in the scrimmage and he was looking really good."
'Dee'struction
Freshman linebacker Dee Walker might have handed out the hardest hit in the opening scrimmage.
Freshman Justice Hobbs was running around the right edge and looking to make a cut after catching a pass from Cole Kelley when Walker zeroed in. His jarring tackle to the freshman drew loud reactions from his defensive teammates.
Wise on hold
Defensive end Deatrich Wise said he and offensive tackle Dan Skipper are "as cool as ever" off the field after a couple of heated exchanges during last Thursday's practice, which was open to the media.
"I mean, it's what happens at camp," Wise said. "Testosterone is high and it's hot outside, you know, things happen."
Wise took exception to Skipper taking him to the ground while holding a handful of jersey.
Risky perch
Defensive backs coach Paul Rhoads said he wanted a good vantage point to see the helicopters bringing President Barack Obama and his entourage to the Iowa State campus a couple of weeks before the season opener in 2012.
But Rhoads' decision to watch from atop Jack Trice Stadium didn't last long.
"I made a mistake of going up on the stadium in sort of a perched area to watch them come in," Rhoads said. "That was a no-no with the Secret Service and the authorities who were in town. They were up very quickly to find out who that was and made sure he was down in a position.
"So from a better position that was well protected, I was able to watch them come in on those helicopters and get whisked away."
Obama touted the Cyclones season opener and said early in his opening remarks, "I won't pretend I can give a speech like Coach Rhoads can, but I'm going to try."
Said Rhoads, "I went right down to my office to watch ... and that's when he started with -- yeah, I had a pretty big smile on my face when he threw that out there."
Rhoads is known for his passionate, and sometimes fiery, speeches.
Special duties
Bret Bielema has assigned the various special teams units to the assistant coaches.
Bielema said Reggie Mitchell will handle kickoff returns, Paul Rhoads will deal with kickoff coverage and Barry Lunney will take care of the punt unit. Bielema will oversee the punt return team, just as he did last year.
Native tongue
Offensive guard Hjalte Froholdt goes back to his home language when he's upset, center Frank Ragnow said.
"He speaks Danish. When he gets a little [mad], he goes back to his origins," Ragnow said. "Then, I've kind of got to get him back to America."
Extra points
• Bret Bielema will be the featured speaker for the first meeting of the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Aug. 22.
• The Razorbacks' annual kickoff luncheon will take place on Friday at 11:30 a.m. at the NWA Convention Center in Springdale. Bielema and coordinators Dan Enos and Robb Smith, among others, are scheduled to speak.
Sports on 08/16/2016