FAYETTEVILLE — It was a day to make an old linebacker smile as Arkansas scrimmaged Wednesday. It wasn't down and dirty, just down and wet.
Former All-SEC linebacker Mark Smith from Webb City, Mo., wanted to see what the new coaching staff was all about.
Never mind that it was raining - although never hard - and Walker Pavilion wasn't an option unless lightning struck nearby. Oh, it could have been an option, just not in what new head coach Chad Morris wants in a scrimmage.
That was obvious when I ran into Bobby Allen, an old-timer on the UA staff. Morris wasn't going to duck into the indoor facility no matter how much it rained.
Smith was nearby and was all smiles. Football is meant to be played outside and it should be tackling to the ground.
“This is the kind of stuff I like,” said Smith, noting it's the only way to learn about linebackers. You have to tackle.
Morris put the Hogs through a grind-it-out day on the artificial surface of the practice fields. Most of it was hand-offs in the shotgun formation, although there was enough passing to keep linebackers from stepping up too much.
It was almost all set up to be against nickel looks in the secondary, but there was at least one bomb from Cole Kelley to tight end Grayson Gunter that produced an end zone celebration for the offense and the coaches.
There was some intensity that flowed out of the norm when offensive lineman Jalen Merrick slugged it out with defensive end Gabe Richardson. Even Morris said later, it was fine because they'd settle into their roles as “Razorback teammates as soon as the practice was over.”
Morris liked the rain, too. He had hoped for a downright downpour when he saw the forecast and told everyone, “We are going to be outside and see how everyone handles it.”
There were some dropped passes. Kelley had his best day despite dropping one snap and mishandling another. He seemed to get the best of the other quarterbacks, although Daulton Hyatt had his best day and Ty Storey executed some red zone magic.
Storey and Kelley each spent time with the first-team offense. Morris said it's a full-blown battle at quarterback and there won't be a verdict reached anytime soon.
"It's a wash right now at quarterback.,” Morris said. “I'll say this: Ty (Storey) started out the spring well and progressed heavily. Cole did not start as fast as Ty, but he's come on."
There won't be a starter declared in the spring and maybe not until fall camp is underway. Morris acted like he's enjoying the way the competition is driving his quarterbacks. There were some reads where the quarterbacks kept, but they were in no-contact black jerseys.
Kelley sparkled on several plays on the goal line. He rolled out to wait until LaMichael Pettway stepped away from Ryan Pulley in the end zone for a short touchdown flip. That followed a play where Kelley thought he scored, but officials blew the play dead on a touch at the 5-yard line.
Storey had a touchdown run on an inside keeper, but wasn't sharp in the passing game. He had several passes dropped, some by his receivers and at least one by a defensive back.
D'Vonne McClure, the former minor league outfielder who recently converted to safety from wide receiver, didn't drop one Storey throw near the end of the scrimmage. He cut in front of a tight end to grab an interception and was probably headed for a pick six when the play was blown dead.
The linebackers seemed to sparkle for much of the day. Both De'Jon Harris and Dre Greenlaw popped running backs in short-yardage situations between the tackles, but backs T.J. Hammonds, Chase Hayden and Maleek Williams all had big plays on outside scampers.
Hammonds drew praise from Morris for his development as a complete back. There were questions about his pass blocking after the first scrimmage, but that seems to be falling into place, the head coach confirmed. Hammonds lined up at wide receiver on a few plays.
Morris liked some aspects of the scrimmage, especially the heavy contact work, but he isn't satisfied with the pace. He said tight ends were slow to get in position on motions and shifts, and not always sure of their elaborate roles in the no-huddle offense. He said the entire offense was about five seconds off his target of getting plays snapped.
“We were snapping it in the 26-second range (on the 40-second clock) and I'd like it to be at 21,” he said. “We will get there. Some of it is the tight ends. I have said that tight end is the second-toughest position to play in our offense behind the quarterback.
“I think the tight ends had questions on how much they were going to get used when we got here. Now they are asking when someone is going to sub in for them.”
Morris said the lack of depth at the two interior defensive line positions has posed problems and is one of the reasons McTelvin “Sosa” Agim is working both at end and tackle. It's also clear that there is some talent at defensive end with Randy Ramsey and Richardson blossoming as pass rushers.
There was praise for right offensive tackle Brian Wallace, gaining steam in the no-huddle system after struggling with conditioning the last two years in his bid for playing time in Bret Bielema's pro style. Wallace is 20 pounds lighter and getting better daily.
“He's a good athlete,” Morris said. “He's having a good spring. He struggled with our pace early, but he's gotten so much better.”
Morris said it's tough to scrimmage with low numbers in the offensive line. The Hogs are at 10 scholarship linemen, one of the reasons several are being cross trained at several positions.
“We'd like to be at 15 in the offensive line,” he said. “We are at 10 now and we'll add three in the fall to get to 13. We still will be too short of where we'd like, so you see someone like Shane Clenin having to play guard and tackle.”
Morris said it's a slow process going to such a different style of offense and defense, but it's right on schedule.
There were clues about the Red-White game, set for 1 p.m. Saturday, April 7 in Little Rock. Morris said it would be “good on good and about what you saw today," at the scrimmage, and he issued fans a challenge “to pack” War Memorial Stadium.
There wasn't a wish for rain, but it's clear that Morris never pulls against rain. It was just fine Wednesday.