State of the Hogs: Arkansas needs work on the outside

Arkansas linebacker Michael Taylor takes part in a drill Saturday, April 1, 2017, during practice at the university practice field in Fayetteville.

— It was a common theme last season: the Arkansas defense did not set the edge.

Perimeter runs were easy to come by against the 4-3 defense the Razorbacks were using under head coach Bret Bielema, especially over the last two seasons.

That's what I wanted to see Saturday when the Razorbacks put on full pads for the first time. There would be no full-scale scrimmaging and no tackling to the grounds in any part of the 13 periods (65 minutes) that reporters were allowed to watch on the practice fields south of the football offices.

But the linemen locked up in true contact. It was full speed, except for the tackling part. It's enough to get an idea on some aspects of the way the new 3-4 scheme as being installed by new defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads.

My question: What would happen if tight ends Austin Cantrell moved in motion to the boundary side of the field against the Hog linebacker where junior college transfer Michael Taylor is the first-teamer? Both are big men, perhaps in the 270-pound range.

It didn't take 10 minutes into the team segment of practice to find out. Cantrell dropped his hips, exploded into Taylor. The collision knocked Taylor back about 5 yards. He didn't lose his feet, but there was no way for him to contain the outside edge. Rawleigh Williams circled the outside and made it to the sideline for a solid gain before linebackers could get there.

It was something Bielema saw immediately and issued a challenge as players were going back to their respective huddles.

“You can't give that up,” Bielema said to Taylor. “Everyone is depending on you there.”

There were two other similar situations, once more with Cantrell handling Taylor. Fullback Kendrick Jackson had his sway with Taylor, too. To Taylor's credit, he did set the edge perfectly at other times.

One old hand watching practice confirmed my thoughts that it's still a work in progress for Taylor, the blue chip JUCO transfer who sat out last fall at Arkansas as he gained his eligibility. Mark Smith, an All-SEC inside linebacker at Arkansas, was watching at my side. The Webb City, Mo., product was in town for his daughter's volleyball game at Springdale.

“I got a pass from my wife to come by for a little bit,” said Smith, a UA letterman in 1993-96 and team captain as a senior. “I have heard about him. He's going to be a good player, Taylor. He's got the speed, right?”

Smith tested my knowledge on player after player. He knew the linebacker talent better than I did. He threw out names and hometowns. He thinks there is potential in that group and studied them hard on Saturday.

“I don't get back much,” he said. “But today I did and it's fun. I keep up with the team, the recruiting especially.”

Smith was my eyes as we watched Taylor. We didn't get to see Taylor's specialty, the pass rush. His quickness and first step was easy to see. He's a natural pass rusher.

There were also chances to see the Razor linebacker on the field side where Randy Ramsey is trying to win the job.

“I like him,” Smith said. “I saw him make some plays last year. He's got ability and can move in the open field.

“Those are the kind of players the 3-4 is designed to get on the field. It's more speed. You just have to keep adding speed like they have with those two.”

Bielema has said as much. I asked about those two positions when the interview session with the head coach took place after practice Saturday.

“Randy came alive today,” Bielema said. “That tends to happen with him when you put on the pads. He's playing that (strongside) hybrid spot, like our old Sam linebacker. I liked Dee Walker, too. He's playing behind Randy.

“Then you have Michael Taylor, a very gifted player, on our boundary side. Our offensive linemen will tell you that he's a natural pass rusher. It's fun to see that unless you are playing (offensive line).”

Is there something to worry about as far as the physical part of the job for Taylor? I don't think so, yet.

The best part of what's happening on a daily basis, Taylor is going against a physical blocking offense. He's seeing the tight ends like Cantrell that won't be there too many times as they face spread teams. His gifts are going to be perfect for spread teams and he'll get better against strong-blocking tight ends because he'll see it every day.

Taylor will learn leverage. That's the part of his new position that will come with time, and he does have the quick get-off that is going to work well against passing teams.

Those outside linebackers are going to help in pass rush situations, something lacking in the 4-3. Basically, there are five in the front instead of four in the past. I saw Taylor drop into coverage on pass situations on Saturday. There were no blitz packages when reporters were at practice.

To be honest, there were not a lot of situations covered in the first week of practice. The third downs, blitzes and goal-line plays will be installed later in practice.

So what else was there to see? It's easy to notice that offensive lineman Jake Raulerson is a bigger man these days, 15 to 20 pounds heavier than last year when he had trouble blocking the biggest, baddest dudes in the SEC when he was at right guard.

The other things I watched for were in the defensive line where the biggest question mark in the 3-4 starts with the middle. Do you have enough size and ability to cause problems at nose tackle, play on either side of the center in what they call “zero gap?"

Bijhon Jackson and Austin Capps are the top players at nose tackle. Both seemed to do well at times Saturday, but it's hard to get a lot of wins going against Frank Ragnow, maybe college football's best returning center.

Jackson is a proven player, a rising senior. Capps played some as a true freshman last year. The assignment for new line coach John Scott is to get those two going as disrupting forces, not holding a gap. They need to attack gaps, split the center and guard and live in the backfield.

“I know John likes them,” Bielema said. “I think Capps is going to be a really good player. He's got great, great hands. Playing inside on the defensive line is so much about hands. His are extremely quick.

“Capps was a very good baseball player and I think that's why you see such good hands. Swinging that bat every day helps that. After the first day with John, I was wondering what he would say about Capps. It was about his hands. He shoots them so quick, faster than anyone we've got.”

OK, it's early. There are four more weeks to go before the spring game on April 29. I wonder what those top hands in the defensive line will look like in another month? No doubt, they all have a long way to go in mastering the 3-4.

After one week, I do have one thought: They have a chance to be better.

Unfortunately, that's not saying a great deal of anything. That's a front that was part of a defense that gave up 39 rushing touchdowns last year. To change that, those outside linebackers have to prove they can set the edge. There wasn't a lot of proof in that after one week.

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Photos by Andy Shupe