Woods, Pulley finish strong in 2-minute scenarios

Mike Woods, Arkansas wide receiver, Saturday, March 3, 2018, during Arkansas football spring practice at the Fred W. Smith Football Center in Fayetteville.

— Arkansas' second spring practice ended with a bang on Saturday.

Chad Morris laid out the two-minute scenario: 1:40 on the clock, offense trails by five, one timeout. Drive the length of the field to win.

Arkansas' second-team offense made it happen, and freshman receiver Mike Woods put on a show. Woods drew a defensive pass interference and hauled in a pair of Ty Storey passes, including the game-winner to cap day two.

Senior receiver Jared Cornelius added it's not the first time Woods has made a big play this spring.

"Mike looks good," he said. "He's been running that outside position over on the boundary and that's just what we need - guys to step up and make plays. All the receivers are looking good right now, but Mike finished off practice right with that touchdown."

Woods' scoring grab came just moments after cornerback Ryan Pulley jumped a dig rout and picked off Cole Kelley, gifting the first-team defense a win in the two-minute drill.

"It felt good. It was my second one, actually," said Pulley, who also had a pick on Thursday. "It felt good coming back and competing with the guys with all the guys around me."

Personally, Pulley said he's still working to get back to the level he was pre-pectoral injury when he ranked second in the SEC and 12th nationally with 13 pass breakups, but he's felt 100 percent since Christmas break.

"It's coming along, you know, being out there with the guys every day motivating them and they're motivating me," Pulley said. "We're hungry. Everybody's happy with the defense we're playing and everybody's happy with their role.

"I think we're just hungry because we want to be better than 4-8."

Offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt was disappointed with the first group's run through the two-minute drill.

"That's the game of football. We were rolling pretty well, then suddenly we get an offensive holding and an INT," he said. "It's not good enough. We'll get it adjusted."

Among Saturday's standouts, Morris mentioned junior Sosa Agim, who says he's down to 280 pounds after playing between 287-289 at times last season. He credited his increased energy level throughout practice to offseason work with Arkansas' strength staff.

Morris has placed a big emphasis on finishing strong this spring, and it appears - at least early on - Pulley and Agim are at the forefront of that push on the defensive side of the ball.

"I feel like they did such a good job I'm not really tired mostly throughout the day," Agim said. "I get tired like 2-3 times, like dog tired, but it's not like I can't go.

"I've been feeling good lately, so dropping that weight I feel like has helped."

Initially, Morris was concerned with the team's energy level as day two began. But he liked the response, particularly in the two-minute drill.

"We strained them the last part of the practice. That was the hardest part," Morris said. "We're straining them and training them. Overall I was pleased.

"There's incredible competition going on. They're having fun, they're competing against each other, there's winners and losers and it's all about the finish. That's kind of what this whole thing is about right now."