6 storylines to track in Hogs' second scrimmage

NWA Democrat-Gazette/MICHAEL WOODS • @NWAMICHAELW University of Arkansas linemen Frank Ragnow (72), Dan Skipper (70) Zach Rogers, (75) and Hjalte Froholdt (51) stretch out during practice Saturday, August 13, 2016 at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

— Arkansas is holding its second scrimmage of fall camp Saturday. Here are six areas worth watching with the Sept. 3 season opener against Louisiana Tech two weeks away.

1. Uncertainty on the right side of the OL

Three positions on Arkansas’ offensive line are set: senior Dan Skipper at left tackle, sophomore Hjalte Froholdt at left guard and junior Frank Ragnow at center. The right side of the line? Not so much. With Bret Bielema wanting to have the starting line in place by early next week, the scrimmage will go a long way toward helping the staff determine who the best five are.

Jake Raulerson has been a constant with the first team the last few weeks, whether at right guard or right tackle. All signs point toward him being a starter when season begins. But where he lines up is still up in the air. The first-team line has been up-and-down most of fall camp, but the steadiest version was the one that included Raulerson at right tackle with Zach Rogers at right guard in the first scrimmage last week.

Raulerson was at right tackle early in the week, before moving inside while Colton Jackson and Jalen Merrick worked outside. Merrick has been with the first team line all week at both spots on the right side, while Jackson and Brian Wallace, a redshirt freshman now with the second unit, have had their struggles in fall camp.

Arkansas may continue to experiment with Merrick and Wallace at tackle Saturday, but if neither clearly grab hold of the position, it wouldn’t be shocking if the Skipper-Froholdt-Ragnow-Rogers-Raulerson line took the field the first few weeks of the season. It’s the safest group and may be the one the coaches feel most comfortable putting out there at TCU in week two.

2. Backup QB

On the surface, a backup quarterback competition doesn’t matter as much as having enough corners, making pressure field goals or getting a starting defensive end back into playing shape. But all it takes is one snap for it to be of upmost importance.

Sophomore Rafe Peavey, redshirt freshman Ty Storey and true freshman Cole Kelley are competing for the No. 2 job behind Austin Allen, with Ricky Town on the outside looking in. Storey came across as the most comfortable backup in the first scrimmage, while Peavey still seemed a bit bothered by the minor back surgery he had in mid-June, an injury that came after he seemingly ended spring as the backup. Kelley has the most raw talent of the three and the strongest arm on the team, but is going through the freshman learning curve and has to be a near-lock to redshirt.

The staff wants to establish a No. 2 and divvy up the reps accordingly in the near future, especially with Allen being a new starter and needing as much practice as he can handle. In that light, Saturday’s scrimmage could go a long way toward deciding Allen’s backup.

3. Beanum’s return

Defensive end Tevin Beanum was added to the 105-man roster Thursday after missing the first few weeks of fall camp for undisclosed reasons. The junior was a projected starter after spring practice on a defensive line projected as one of the best in the SEC.

The coaches sound like they expect Beanum to play in the season opener, even with missing double-digit practices. He’s lost about 15 pounds since the end of spring practice and there’s sure to be some rust he’s working through, so it’ll be interesting to see how he plays Saturday after all that time off — and where he is in the pecking order. Junior Karl Roesler has worked with the first-team defense opposite Deatrich Wise during camp, with highly touted freshman McTelvin Agim behind him.

Beanum had 30 tackles, seven tackles-for-loss and two sacks in eight starts as a sophomore. He should be a key presence on Arkansas’ defensive front when he gets back in shape. It’s just a question of how long that’ll take.

4. Hackett or Williams at Sam LB?

Senior Josh Williams working with the starters at Sam linebacker early in fall camp was noteworthy, especially when factoring in that he was coming back from a grisly broken leg suffered last fall. It was telling he was able to beat out the rest of the group.

Williams worked with the first-team through the first scrimmage of the fall last Saturday, but junior Khalia Hackett leapfrogged him after a solid performance in the scrimmage. Hackett had an up-and-down season as a sophomore, but has earned first-team reps at the time.

That said, the position is still very much up for grabs between the two. And while Arkansas will probably be in nickel more than base, it’s worth following whether Williams or Hackett can take hold of the position and make it theirs.

5. CB depth

Arkansas went from having six corners that secondary coach Paul Rhoads viewed as starters to having four who he feels comfortable playing in the span of a few days thanks to injuries to DJ Dean and Britto Tutt.

Henre’ Toliver is entrenched as the starting boundary corner opposite field corner Jared Collins. Kevin Richardson is the nickelback. Ryan Pulley has worked primarily behind Toliver but may be needed elsewhere now.

That group could potentially be enough, if they stayed healthy. Behind them, there’s a lot of uncertainty. Junior Cornelius Floyd wasn’t in the mix for playing time, but is now counted on to provide depth along with walk-on Byron Keaton. Can either of those two prove to be reliable backups with increased reps.

Best case for Arkansas, Dean recovers from his hamstring injury quickly and is back in the mix soon. Saturday, the Hogs will hope for an injury-free scrimmage at corner with positive showings from Floyd and/or Keaton an added bonus.

6. Cole’s kicks

As evidenced by several losses in Bret Bielema’s first few years, a lot can hinge on the kicking game. Sophomore Cole Hedlund has reportedly had a strong camp, but clanked a 35-yarder, his only attempt of the day, off the right upright from the right hash in the first scrimmage a week ago.

Given past issues, not all of which have been Hedlund’s fault, the miss was notable. While it still doesn’t matter until he and the rest of the kicking team can execute kicks in pressure situations, a few made field goals in a scrimmage setting Saturday would no doubt help ease concerns the coaching staff has.