RAZORBACKS REPORT: Wallace's first start impresses

Arkansas offensive lineman Brian Wallace takes part in a drill Tuesday, March 29, 2016, during practice at the university's practice field on campus in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The more Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema and offensive line coach Kurt Anderson studied it, the more Brian Wallace's first career start improved.

"Brian Wallace ... performed, I think, admirably against two very good defensive ends," said Bielema, referring to Texas A&M's Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall, whom Wallace opposed most of the game.

Texas A&M's only sack came from Hall, and it was costly, as he forced a fumble from Austin Allen that turned into a touchdown moments later. Wallace only got a small piece of Hall after the 6-6 end eluded a chip block from tight end Jeremy Sprinkle.

"He did a lot of really good things," Anderson said. "He could obviously have taken a better set on that sack/fumble. ... There's execution on that, not just B-Wall, there's execution elsewhere that needs to get some help. A combination of a poor set and no help on that turns into a bad result."

Otherwise, Anderson said, Wallace had a pretty strong performance.

"It actually felt amazing," Wallace said. "I loved it. There's always room to improve, but from what I see on film, I feel like I played good."

Wallace said he had to elevate his play after redshirt freshman Colton Jackson beat him out at right tackle in the preseason and started the first three games.

"You just have to not give up," Wallace said. "[Anderson], early in the spring he was telling us, when stuff gets hard, you've got to find a way, and if you really want it, you can go get it."

Arkansas coaches have always talked up Wallace's athleticism, but picking up the nuances of the offensive scheme had slowed the 6-6, 335-pounder.

"Brian's obviously physically talented," Anderson said. "I think his care factor is out the roof. He loves this game, he loves this team, he loves this line ... and he works hard."

Allen's recovery

Quarterback Austin Allen said he's "feeling great" this week, thanks to trainer Matt Summers and his staff, after a game full of hard knocks against Texas A&M.

"They do a lot of stuff with us," Allen said. "They got me back right pretty quickly."

Allen said a key to the recovery process has been taking two ice baths each day, along with massages.

Dean defeat

Defensive backs coach Paul Rhoads said cornerback DJ Dean did a lot of things well on his coverage against Josh Reynolds, but he was beaten by a near-perfect play on the Aggies' go-ahead 92-yard touchdown pass.

"It's the life of a corner, and when you're going to pressure corners you're going to get some of that," Rhoads said. "Technique in press coverage is all the way through. There's a portion of it that's at the line of scrimmage. There's the next piece of it that occurs after the release, and then there's the finish.

"And he was pretty good on a good bit of that. Trevor Knight threw a perfect pass and hit the guy in stride. Unfortunately it came at an inopportune time for our football team."

Rory knows

Arkansas defensive line coach Rory Segrest understands Alcorn State's attitude as a Football Championship Subdivision team playing the Razorbacks.

Segrest was an assistant coach at Samford, an FCS team, when the Razorbacks struggled to beat the Bulldogs 31-21 in Little Rock in 2013.

"When [Samford] came in a couple years ago, it obviously was big," Segrest said. "It was an SEC opponent. But at the same time, it all comes down to execution. I'm sure that's what these guys are thinking this week. They're going to come in with a great game plan and try to execute it and get that win."

Crossett guy

Alcorn State defensive tackle Kenyon Brantley is a senior from Crossett.

"He's a good player, and you know he's going to play hard against the Hogs," offensive line coach Kurt Anderson said. "When you play guys from this state that are on somebody else's roster, it's going to have more meaning to them and they're going to dig down deep and find a little something extra."

10 for 2

Arkansas junior Austin Allen is one of 10 quarterbacks in the FBS ranks to have two or more touchdown passes in all four games this season. Allen and Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly are the only two SEC players to accomplish the feat. Missouri quarterback Drew Lock is the SEC leader with 14 touchdown passes, but he had only one scoring pass in the Tigers' season-opening loss at West Virginia.

Braves data

Alcorn State is playing a ranked FBS opponent for the second consecutive season after falling at No. 16 Georgia Tech 69-6 in last year's season opener.

The Braves' last victory over an FBS team came in a 52-10 rout of Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 13, 2014.

Alcorn's last game against an SEC team ended in a 51-7 loss to Mississippi State on Sept. 7, 2013.

No record

Arkansas will play Alcorn State, the two-time defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champion, for the first time. The Razorbacks have never faced a team from the SWAC.

Third-down data

The Arkansas defense is allowing a 50 percent conversion rate on third downs, a figure that ranks No. 119 in the nation and No. 13 in the SEC. Texas A&M went 8 of 12 on third downs (.667), including a first down by penalty after an incomplete pass on third and 7 when De'Andre Coley was ejected for targeting for a hit on Speedy Noil.

The Razorbacks have allowed 10 of 26 (.385) on third-down conversions in the first half, and 18 of 29 (.621) in the second half and overtimes.

Offensively, the Razorbacks are coming off their best game converting third downs, 9 of 16 (.562), against Texas A&M, including pass completions of 5, 18, 38, 18, 9, 38 and 17 yards.

Arkansas has converted 23 of 53 (.434) third downs to rank fifth in the SEC, 50th in the country.

Box array

While Arkansas coordinators Dan Enos and Robb Smith work from field level, and only two of the Hogs' nine assistants -- tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. and secondary coach Paul Rhoads -- work from the press box, Alcorn State takes a much different approach.

Head Coach Fred McNair is joined on the field by only four assistants: defensive coordinator Cedric Thomas, offensive line coach Ryan Stanchek, receivers coach Shannon Harris and defensive line coach Kye Stewart. In the press box are offensive coordinator Fred Kaiss, linebackers coach Cedric Thornton, quarterbacks coach Brian Hayes, tight ends coach Elliot Wratten and outside linebackers coach Kenry Tolbert.

Two-state tango

Alcorn State's roster features 38 players from home-state Mississippi and 22 from Florida, the total of 60 from those states comprising nearly 66 percent of the team's 91-man roster.

The Braves have a group of 31 players not from Florida or Mississippi, led by 7 from Texas, 6 from Louisiana, and 3 each from Alabama and Georgia. The team's lone Arkansas native is starting defensive tackle Kenyon Brantley from Crossett.

Extra points

• Dre Greenlaw had a team-high 11 tackles to bring his season total to 32, surpassing Brooks Ellis (30) for the team lead.

• Arkansas receiver Jared Cornelius has scored a touchdown in six of his past eight games, including four receptions and two running plays.

• Arkansas cornerback Ryan Pulley is second in the SEC with 7 passes defended, with 6 breakups and 1 interception. He's one behind SEC leader Aarion Penton of Missouri.

• Former Arkansas quarterback Clint Stoerner will handle the color analyst role for the SEC Network Alternate broadcast of Saturday's game. Mike Morgan will handle play-by-play duties, and Kevin Weidl will be the sideline reporter.

Sports on 09/30/2016