State of the Hogs: Pass protection must improve

Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen is sacked by Louisiana Tech defender Deldrick Canty during a game Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, in Fayetteville.

— Four sacks in the opener is too many. Everyone watching Arkansas sneak past Louisiana Tech 21-20 gets that. So do the Arkansas coaches, but the play-caller isn't blaming the offensive line.

Offensive coordinator Dan Enos took the blame for one of the sacks, on a naked bootleg early in the second half. He didn't recognize that Tech had changed the posture of the defensive end at halftime, a switch that takes away the bootleg, but probably gives something in return.

Enos did fault protection on the other three sacks and the lack of time to execute the deep passing game, but he didn't throw the offensive line under the bus. Clearly, with three new starters up front, that's where most would start, especially with a left guard converted from defensive tackle.

Hjalte Froholdt is the left guard, a sophomore from Denmark with a letter last year for playing nose tackle for the Razorbacks. He was moved to the offensive line over the winter. So how did he play?

“He graded out in the mid 70s,” said Bret Bielema, the head coach who had the grand idea to move Froholdt to the offensive line.

“For your first game starting for an SEC team, that's good. He can improve. He made a mistake when a linebacker ran through (for a lost yardage play on a running call). We made an adjustment and he didn't get that what was happening on one side was going to effect what he did.

“That was a really good teaching point in the tape. He wants to be aggressive and sometimes you have to be passive.”

Enos was clear on what he thought of the overall protection. Quarterback Austin Allen was hit way too many times. That has to improve.

“A lot of it is correctable,” Enos said. “Obviously, there was way too much pressure. Some of it was first-game structure (from Tech) of things we didn't see. We got it corrected as the game went along

“One time it was a back, another time it was a back, a tackle another time. Some of it was the quarterback not seeing things."

Allen was sacked four times against the Bulldogs and hurried three more.

“The offensive line gets credit and blame," Enos said. "They were not perfect. But pass protection starts with the quarterback, then the receiver has to recognize things and get open. The backs have to protect. It's not all on the offensive line. It's a team thing.”

Some thought redshirt freshman right tackle Colton Jackson missed some pass sets.

“It was a back on both of those,” Enos said. “It was a missed assignment. One time a true freshman (fullback Hayden Johnson) didn't see it.”

Enos pointed out that there were two fourth-down successes directly due to Froholdt's play. The first was a fourth-and-goal play at the Tech 4-yard line, a throwback pass from Allen to tight end Jeremy Sprinkle. The pocket was rolled right. Austin had solid protection, enough time for Sprinkle to run a route from the right all the way to the left corner of the end zone that provided the winning touchdown.

“It was a special play we worked on,” Enos said. “It was in the game plan. Sometimes you need them, sometimes you can carry them over. It started with excellent play from the offensive line. The left guard, Hjalte, had a hard technique and he executed it perfectly.”

Bielema said there was no doubt that the last fourth-down play of the game, on fourth-and-inches, was the right call when he saw the look from center Frank Ragnow and Froholdt.

“First, what we've done on fourth down is something we've studied,” Bielema said. “We were 11 of 14 last year. As a head coach, you have to be proactive. I think we needed to do that for our offensive line. It's a nonconference game and we wanted to put the dagger in right there.

“I looked at our (offensive line) and Frank was pleading. Hjalte was asking for it. So I ran it right behind those two and they gave a push and Kody Walker got it.”

Enos said there were some deep passes open, but protection didn't hold up. Tech did give a cushion with a deep free safety.

"We had some guys open, but the execution of the protection wasn't there," Enos said. "Also, they were playing cover three and the underneath things were probably the things that we had in this game."

Bielema was pleased with certain aspects of the defense, especially the effectiveness of rush end Randy Ramsey, who will perhaps factor more in the game plan this week against TCU.

“He's going to get a lot of reps this week,” Bielema said of Ramsey. “I like what I see of him, (Sosa) Agim and Austin Capps.”

With better pressure, there may be more press coverage against spread teams. There was some against TCU, probably more than Bielema has allowed in the past.

“That's a lot more press than we've ever played,” Bielema said.

Defensive coordinator Robb Smith wouldn't say how much press was called. It seemed to take place on the boundary corner side more than the field, but it could become a higher percentage in weeks to come.

“I don't want to do TCU's work for them (on percentage), but it was quite a bit,” Smith said. “The big challenge is to tackle better and we have to get our hands on receivers in space more. We have to re-route their receivers better.”

One of the takeaways was a perfect grade in assignments for linebacker Brooks Ellis. Smith did admit that Ellis played some weakside with Dre Greenlaw rolling into the middle linebacker spot. Bielema said he didn't recall a linebacker grading 100 percent on assignments in the past.

“We are going to do that as we move forward,” Smith said of playing Ellis on the weakside. “We don't want to have guys in the same spots every time. We want to give teams something to worry about. We did have Brooks in space and he did a good job of getting his hands on the receiver.

“I will say it was nice to look out there and always see Brooks lined up right and Tech did some things that we haven't seen. So he was making nice adjustments.

“Brooks was one of the guys who was in the right place all day. They tried to expose him in coverage and he did a good job on (receiver) Trent Taylor.”

Fullback play is one thing that will be graded closely this week. Bielema said Hayden Johnson, the freshman from Columbia, Mo., got better as the game progressed.

“We ran the isolation play to start the winning drive and that was all Hayden,” Bielema said. “He played his best football right there.”

But Kendrick Jackson will battle Johnson in practice this week, with the winner getting more playing time against TCU. Jackson was not in at fullback in the opener, but was a starter there last year.

Bielema said there are several others on track to get more time. Freshman running back Devwah Whaley should get more than two carries like he did against the Bulldogs. The Beaumont, Texas, star seemed to understand why Rawleigh Williams got the bulk of the carries in a tight opener.

“Those two plays he was in, we were one block away from probably a touchdown,” Bielema said. “He maybe needed to be a little more patient (waiting for the block) on one of them.

“He understands (the rotation) and he's a guy who is not afraid. He was great after the game Saturday and was great when I talked to him Sunday.”

Bielema said Whaley will play more, as will running back TJ Hammonds - another true freshman - and junior Duwop Mitchell. Bielema also was pleased with the way running back Juan Day has scrimmaged in the last week.

There was a lot of praise from Bielema and Enos for senior wide receiver Keon Hatcher. The Owasso, Okla., product made big plays in the winning drive on runs after the catch. He also was an effective blocker.

“It was the Keon of old here lately,” Bielema said. “It took awhile for it to come out. He's a physical player and came down on the defensive end hard. It was fun to see him compete. Our kids respond to him.”

Enos was smiling about Hatcher's return.

“He played a really solid game,” Enos said. “He's got to clean up his route technique, but he's competitive and he stepped up and made plays. I think Austin is really comfortable with him.”