Arkansas spring football analysis

Switch to 3-4 a key in spring practices

Arkansas defensive end Karl Roesler (96) and linebacker De'Jon Harris (8) run a play during a game against Alabama on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016, at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The 15 days of spring football practices open for the Arkansas Razorbacks on Tuesday with many areas of interest, including an overhaul of the team's base defense under new coordinator Paul Rhoads.

The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville will start spring drills later than every other SEC program for the second year in a row. It will conclude the five weeks of workouts with the annual Red-White game April 29. It is the only SEC spring game on that date.

The Razorbacks hope to conduct the spring finale at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, where construction on the north end zone complex and overhaul of the Broyles Athletic Center have been taking place since the home finale Nov. 12.

Arkansas will practice each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday through the course of spring.

The Razorbacks hope to become a factor in the SEC West, which has produced eight consecutive SEC champions, six NCAA title game winners and three other finalists in the past 10 years.

Last year's 7-6 record, including a 1-3 finish, by the Razorbacks blunted what had been a steady run of improvement under Coach Bret Bielema, who will enter his fifth season with an overall record of 25-26 and an SEC mark of 10-22.

Arkansas is changing to a base 3-4 set on defense, which Bielema says will bring more flexibility to the calls and a better ability to handle the dual-threat quarterbacks who ravaged the Razorbacks last season for an FBS-worst 39 rushing touchdowns allowed.

Putting together the new defensive schemes has been a priority for Rhoads and assistants Vernon Hargreaves, John Scott and Chad Walker through the winter. Rhoads implemented a 3-4 front in his seventh and final season as head coach at Iowa State in 2015, while Scott and Walker come from NFL systems that ran versions of a three-man front.

"The part that's been fun for that group has been being there at the grass-roots level, a bunch of guys in there that are low ego," Bielema said recently. "They just want to make things great. I think the addition of the two guys from the NFL, both coming from different 3-4 schemes, the addition of Paul being able to go through this before ... in addition to all of the people that we talked to, brought some ideas in."

Here are five key questions for the Razorbacks entering spring drills:

What will the linebacker spot look like in the new 3-4 defense?

The Razorbacks were thin at linebacker last season, and they lost senior Brooks Ellis -- a two-year team tackle leader -- and will not have Dre Greenlaw available for full-contact work through spring.

What that means is Dwayne Eugene, De'Jon Harris, Josh Harris, Alexy-Jean Baptiste, Dee Walker, Giovanni LaFrance, Karl Roesler, Randy Ramsey, Michael Taylor and early enrollee Kyrei Fisher will get lots of action in the implementation of the new sets.

The way Bielema has described it, Ramsey, Roesler, Taylor and Baptiste will be outside backers; Greenlaw, the two Harrises and LaFrance are targeted for the inside; and players such as Eugene and Walker could be trained at the inside and outside positions. The Hogs will need lots of bodies for the linebacker spots, which will be coached by Hargreaves and Walker.

Can the Razorbacks replace all their losses at wide receiver?

This is a tough task, but it is imperative to give quarterback Austin Allen an array of weapons at the spot to lend balance to a running game that should be better in 2017.

Keon Hatcher, Drew Morgan, Jeremy Sprinkle, Dominique Reed and Cody Hollister are all gone.

Senior Jared Cornelius is the clear-cut leading returner with 32 catches for 515 yards and 4 touchdowns last season. He has speed, strong open-field moves and can attack the middle of the field.

The second-most catches among returning players belong to running back Rawleigh Williams (15 for 220, 1 TD), which exemplifies the turnover at the position.

Junior college signees Brandon Martin and Jonathan Nance are expected to fill key roles, along with younger players such as Deon Stewart, La'Michael Pettway and Jordan Jones, a redshirt freshman who was impressive on the scout team last year.

Opportunity is abundant for players to rise into prominent roles.

What is Arkansas' injury situation?

In addition to linebacker Dre Greenlaw being limited due to foot surgery after the Belk Bowl, tight end Grayson Gunter had shoulder surgery in the winter and is not likely to have contact work.

Cornerback Britto Tutt and receiver Kofi Boateng, who each suffered a torn knee ligament during the early portion of fall camp, might not go through everything.

Defensive back Kevin Richardson, who missed the final 12 games after suffering a torn pectoral muscle, should be full go.

Bijhon Jackson, who is likely to begin with the first team at nose guard, tweaked a quad muscle during winter workouts, but he expects to be 100 percent for practices.

Can the offensive line improve?

The line should be better, with senior Frank Ragnow leading the way at center. The first task is finding a replacement for Dan Skipper at left tackle. Bielema is touting the strides made by Colton Jackson during winter work.

Guards Hjalte Froholdt and Johnny Gibson return as starters, as does right tackle Brian Wallace, whose performance began to match his promise in the second half of 2016.

After leading the SEC in fewest sacks allowed during Bielema's first three seasons, the Razorbacks were second-to-last in the conference and No. 106 nationally in 2016, giving up 2.69 per game. Not all the sacks were the fault of the offensive line, but the unit's inexperience contributed to the total, which had an impact on quarterback Austin Allen's decision-making in the second half of the year.

Will Arkansas be more productive in the red zone?

Offensive coordinator Dan Enos has implemented many innovative ideas into the Arkansas offense, and he's spent time this winter working on ways to improve execution inside the opponent's 20-yard line.

The Razorbacks ranked No. 100 at red zone scoring last year. The failures in the red zone included fumbles, interceptions, stuffed running plays, missed cuts by running backs, whiffed blocks, missed blitz pickups and questionable decisions by Allen.

That they occurred most frequently in the Razorbacks' most agonizing losses -- to Texas A&M, Missouri and Virginia Tech -- shows the thin line Arkansas walked between the big season that could have been and the average year that was reality.

Sports on 03/26/2017