State of the Hogs: Bielema Looks for O-line Improvement

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema hugs offensive lineman Frank Ragnow following the Razorbacks' loss to Alabama on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, in Fayetteville.

— There was good news for the Arkansas offense on Tuesday when quarterback Austin Allen predicted that his injured knee would be improved enough to play in two weeks against Florida. An open date will be do wonders for his health.

That's probably not the big question though. Can Arkansas protect him? Can it run the ball?

Florida's defense is not chopped liver. It is at least comparable to Texas A&M, Alabama and Auburn – the three teams that have defeated the Hogs in a 5-3 start.

I know the defense allowing a school-record 543 rushing yards to Auburn is a serious problem, too. There are some personnel moves – perhaps Jeremiah Ledbetter moving to end – that could help a defense that hasn't disrupted any blocking schemes of late.

But I want to know about fixing the offensive line? Can anyone help there? What about tackle Brian Wallace's injured ankle? What about the ankle of guard Jake Raulerson? Surely, he's not healthy with the way he performed against Auburn?

Head coach Bret Bielema tackled those questions on Wednesday with his first public visit with the media after the 56-3 loss at Auburn last week. He'd been on the road recruiting on Monday, but was present for practice Tuesday. He'll see at least three junior college games on Saturday with another recruiting trip.

Hopefully, Bielema is finding some offensive linemen. He admitted the Hogs could take as many as five, if they are the right ones. He also admitted that they should have taken more interior linemen in recent recruiting classes.

Wallace isn't seriously injured. It appears to be an ankle sprain. He will probably sit out practices this week. He'd be out if the Hogs played this week, like Allen. But it's an open week, the first for the Hogs after playing eight straight weeks. Bielema said Wallace is questionable for next week.

So the first order of business is to get another tackle ready in case Wallace can't go, although the early prognosis is that he'd probably be able to play. But the idea of playing a linemen hobbling isn't a good one after watching Raulerson try to play right guard.The Texas graduate transfer had trouble against about everything.

“Bless his heart, he can play a lot better than that,” Bielema said. “His ankle was the size of a small balloon. He tried to play through it the last two weeks.”

The idea is to try Zach Rogers there in practice this week. Rogers has worked mainly at center backing up Frank Ragnow, getting most of the practice snaps three weeks ago when the center was gone to Minnesota for his father's funeral. Rogers did work at right guard in practice two weeks ago with Raulerson fighting through the ankle sprain.

We are looking at guards at tackle and vice versa this week,” Bielema said. “But nothing drastic. We have to be prepared if Brian isn't there at tackle. We have to find some answers at guard.”

Hjalte Froholdt, the left guard all season, is practicing after suffering a “rolled up knee” against Auburn. He shouldn't miss any time and is expected to start.

Bielema said the other options at guard are Johnny Gibson and Paul Ramirez. Both Gibson and Ramirez have played. Colton Jackson, Jalen Merrick and Jake Hall are options at tackle.

Offensive coordinator Dan Enos provided a clear picture of what happened with the offense last week with his description of the offensive line play although he noted that no one played well in other areas on that side of the ball, including Allen at quarterback.

“We got overwhelmed up front,” Enos said. “When that's happening to you, there is not a lot you can do (as a play caller). The (Auburn) defensive line and linebackers were much more physical and beat us to the punch.

“We had receivers running open down the field, but we got pressure. It was one of those nights.”

Enos said the Hogs are glad to have an open date, but by the same token everyone looks forward to playing a game “to get the taste of that game out of our mouth. We made them look better than they are. But it was not just the line. It was the tight end, wide receiver, quarterback and coaching. It was a collective deal. One play it was one guy, the next play someone else. We had receivers cutting off their routes 10 yards.”

The Hogs only ran for 25 yards on 31 running plays. Auburn defenders were in the backfield throughout the game.

Bielema added, “Anytime you don't get a push up front, you can't run effectively and that effects everything.”

Bielema tried to take some of it off Enos by saying the play calling becomes different when the deficit goes to 21-0 early in the game. Enos wasn't buying that.

“We were down 14-0 at Tennessee last year after three minutes,” he said. “What we did the next time we had the ball was go score a touchdown. That's what you have to do. Our second possession we had a 10-play drive, but we got a sack and penalties.

“When something doesn't work, you can call different plays. But when you are not able to control the line of scrimmage, it does make it difficult to call plays.

“We were not able to get running lanes. We were not able to give the quarterback enough time to get to the second receiver.

“The offensive line took a step back Saturday. I thought we we jelling (after the Ole Miss game). But we need to play a lot better than we did. Our players know that and the staff knows that.”

The Hogs are not getting anything out of their newcomers in the offensive line from the last class. Bielema said he likes the future with those three – Deion Malone, Jake Heinrich and Ramirez.

Ramirez has played in blowouts, but Bielema said he's “not ready” for a bigger role. Malone and Heinrich are both going to stay on the redshirt list and have bright futures. Bielema said there were some interesting battles Tuesday in developmental practice between Heinrich and highly regarded defensive line redshirts Briston Guidry and Jonathan Marshall.

Some of the disappointment in not getting more out of Ramirez and Malone might be tied at the way Sebastian Tretola, another juco transfer, took control at left guard as soon as he stepped on campus two years ago.

“It's surprising how quickly Tretola caught on,” Bielema said. “It usually doesn't happen that quickly. We still like Paul and Deion.”

Ramirez sustained a knee injury early in camp that derailed his development.

“Heinrich is going to be OK,” Bielema said. “But he's a redshirt guy and is in a development process.”

Would he remove a redshirt if someone could change the picture?

“We talked about that (on offense and defense) and we are not opposed to that if we thought they could help,” he said. “We went through all of the developmental roster (on Sunday).”

Bielema said he second guesses a decision on numbers in past recruiting classes.

“We probably should have taken more interior offensive linemen,” he said. “As far as how many in this class, I'd say four, but we could go as high as five if they were the right kind of guys.”

The protection is being addressed. The Hogs have given up 21 sacks. Allen has thrown seven interceptions, lost four fumbles. That's probably not a surprise for as many times as the quarterback has been hit. Bielema said some of that probably could be avoided by more quick passes.

“You could go with a quick game,” Bielema said. “But Austin is a guy who loves to hang on to it. He hangs on a little too much and he's going to get hit. But he's trying to make a play. That probably skews the numbers a little bit. We've talked to him about that.

“What has to happen, we have to run the football. We have to get guys playing better.”

They'll have to do it against a quality defense. Florida has a talented secondary, there is strength in the defensive line and the linebackers can run. It doesn't get easy, at least not this week.

“Our players are resilient,” Enos said. “I thought we had energy yesterday. I think Coach Bielema understands the big picture and he's handling the team the right way.”

Bielema said Sunday was a long teaching day with careful attention to the tape study. Perhaps there wasn't a lot of loud jumping of players. He said that probably happened more Tuesday. Bielema said he let the coordinators handle the early part of the talking.

“I waited about 10 minutes before I stepped in,” Bielema said. “I had a first year coach tell me that it was dead quiet as the players came into the room. He said none of them said a word coming in.”

Maybe the quiet was because they didn't know if they were going to be without their quarterback. Allen's injury had to be a concern, as much as losing by a big number to Auburn. Enos admitted it's a big concern.

“Obviously, we are a different team without him,” Enos said. “He's the guy who makes us go. He's made so many third down plays and in so many critical situations.”

Allen can still do that, if he gets some blocking.