RAZORBACKS REPORT

UA takes keen look at JUCOs

Arizona Western tight end Jeremy Patton runs after the catch during the El Toro Bowl against Garden City Community College on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in Yuma, Ariz.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said the Razorbacks have tried to sharpen their focus when it comes to landing junior college talent, like they did by signing tight end Jeremy Patton of Arizona Western College and receivers Brandon Martin and Jonathan Nance of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College last week.

"My time at Wisconsin, I think we signed only one junior college kid, so I was new to that market," Bielema said, before referencing that his first class at Arkansas included a couple of productive junior college players like linebacker Martrell Spaight and punter Sam Irwin-Hill, but also had several misses.

"Where I made a big commitment is that if we're going to go the junior college route, I wanted to know a lot about these kids, from A to Z," he said. "The two wide receivers we signed this year out of Gulf Coast, we've been on them for nearly two years. We knew who they were and what they were.

"We've been over to see them any time the NCAA would let us. I went and watched them play during our bye week. I feel really good about those two guys. Both have really unique qualities."

Arkansas is losing senior receivers Keon Hatcher, Drew Morgan and Dominique Reed and junior Jared Cornelius is considering early entry to the NFL Draft.

Bielema is looking for replacements.

"Nance is a really gifted athlete," Bielema said. "He probably reminds you a little the style of play of J-Red [Cornelius]. He can move around really well, has great hands, is very mature.

"Brandon Martin is a very big, powerful, fast and kind of a Keon-type guy by nature is what you would describe him as. He's a guy we're very excited to get our hands on."

Bielema said Arizona Western Coach Tom Minnick is the coach who sent him his first junior college signee at Wisconsin, defensive lineman Dan Moore.

"Jeremy Patton is a guy that jumped off the film for us going back two years ago," Bielema said. "I first saw him in Indianapolis. ... He's a perfect fit. He came in for a visit in the summer, his mom and dad came, and he liked what we had. A lot of people came in on him late, a lot of Pac 12, West Coast schools tried to come in. I think he's probably the best tight end in the country. He stayed strong and we're glad to have him."

Quick 3-4?

The Razorbacks' tinkering with a 3-4 defensive front might not take place exclusively during spring practice and fall camp next season.

Arkansas would not have to make drastic changes to add a package featuring three linemen and four linebackers for the Belk Bowl against Virginia Tech on Dec. 29.

"You're always looking for new looks and anything we can do to bring some pressure from both edges, boundary and field," Coach Bret Bielema said. "This quarterback obviously is a very athletic quarterback, so we have to keep that in mind, that anything that involves different looks that they haven't seen are going to be beneficial."

What's next

Bret Bielema laid out the practice plan for the Razorbacks up through the Dec. 29 Belk Bowl against Virginia Tech, which included workouts Monday and today that resemble the normal Tuesday and Wednesday practices of a game week.

"We'll practice a pretty good amount," Bielema said. "I'll give them a little bit of Wednesday and Thursday as time to go home, if they can, and probably about 30-40 of our guys will go home locally."

Bielema said the staff has planned some fun events for the players through the week to recognize the Christmas season.

"Then we'll come back in Friday, get a good workout in on Friday, then Saturday we'll leave, which will be like a Monday of game week," he said.

The Razorbacks will undergo a rugged practice on Christmas day and the following day in Charlotte.

Whaley update

Running back Devwah Whaley got stepped on in the Missouri game, Bret Bielema said, which might have impacted the Razorbacks' scoreless second half.

"He just kind of got a bruise," Bielema said. "He got stepped on, and it shows the growth that he had."

Whaley rushed for 54 yards on 8 carries in the first half, including a 30-yard touchdown run that ended with a dive for the pylon. He did not have a carry in the second half. Rawleigh Williams III ran 25 times for 117 yards and a touchdown against the Tigers.

"When we didn't have another option to go to, that put everything on Rawleigh, and he was a little bit winded," Bielema said. "That had to be a factor. We probably had six to seven plays in the third quarter, and especially in the fourth quarter, where offensively they could have easily been scores. We just didn't execute.

"It shows the validity that you've got to have two backs. I think about this all the time. We lost two junior running backs in the draft last year that still are on NFL rosters, and we had our newest running back come in and lead the SEC in rushing. So I know we can get some things done here. You've just got to continue to have the right people."

Baby news

Bret Bielema said the projected due date for he and his wife Jen's first child is during the middle part of July.

"It was actually the SEC media days date, the exact date," Bielema said at his Monday news conference. "We'll navigate that as it goes."

Jen Bielema announced her pregnancy on Friday, the day of the Razorbacks' team banquet.

Bret Bielema said she broke the news to him on a Thursday night during the season.

"I can't remember which week now, but it was a Thursday night," he said. "We revamped our house a little bit, so she showed me this piece of art. And I'm like, 'Oh, that's great.' She had the Go-Pro out and was all excited to show me this piece of art, and ... you have to act like you love it.

"I'm like, 'Wow, that's great' and acted excited. Then I turned around and she had all the balloons and a little saying that we always say in our house. It was a pretty cool night."

The saying: Papa.

No SEC love

Arkansas receivers coach Michael Smith expressed his frustration last week by the lack of All-SEC consideration for senior receivers Keon Hatcher and Drew Morgan this postseason.

Morgan caught 61 passes for 664 yards and 3 touchdowns; Hatcher had 38 grabs for 638 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Texas A&M's Christian Kirk and Alabama's ArDarius Stewart were voted first-team All-SEC by league coaches, while Alabama's Calvin Ridley and Mississippi State's Fred Ross made second team.

In Associated Press voting by a panel of 14 media members, Ross and Kirk were voted first team, while Stewart, Missouri's J'Mon Moore and Texas A&M's Josh Reynolds made the second team.

Sports on 12/20/2016