Razorbacks report

Whaley day to day after hit

Jeremy Patton, Arkansas tight end, congratulates Devwah Whaley (21), Arkansas running back, after Whaley scored a touchdown in the second quarter vs Eastern Illinois Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas tailback Devwah Whaley will enter the week on a day-to-day injury status, Arkansas Coach Chad Morris said.

Whaley took a hard shot from Auburn cornerback Jamel Dean on a pitch play that went for a 5-yard loss midway through the third quarter of Saturday's 34-3 loss. Whaley stayed down for a moment, got up woozily, left the field and did not return.

Morris did not say whether Whaley is in concussion protocol.

"I'll talk about that later in the week," Morris said. "I don't know at this stage, but it's day to day with him right now."

Whaley is the Razorbacks' leading rusher with 231 yards and two touchdowns entering Saturday's 11 a.m. game against Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas.

Rakeem Boyd, Chase Hayden and Maleek Williams finished out the Auburn game at tailback. T.J. Hammonds was not on the travel roster after suffering a thigh bruise in practice last week.

Morris said Hammonds was back this week.

In other personnel news, Morris said there was no change in the status for cornerback Chevin Calloway,

Asked Monday whether he thought Calloway was planning to transfer, Morris said, "No, I think right now Chevin has stepped back for personal issues and personal reasons, and we're going to honor that. We're in contact with him and talking with him."

Morris added that he expects receiver and lead kick returner De'Vion Warren and defensive end Dorian Gerald back this week. Gerald has missed three games with an ankle injury while Warren has missed the past two with a lower leg injury.

Not accepted

Coach Chad Morris opened his weekly news conference Monday by saying he was proud of the way the Razorbacks battled against Auburn, which was nearly a 30-point favorite in Saturday's game at Auburn, Ala., won 34-3 by the Tigers.

"But make no mistake ... let's just get this out right now. Make no mistake, losing is not acceptable in this program," Morris said. "There's nothing about it that's accepted. There's no moral victories. That's totally not accepted."

Coordinators John Chavis and Joe Craddock also hit on that point.

"We certainly walk away from the game understanding that losing isn't one of the things we're going to become accustomed to," Chavis said. "I'm really proud of our guys and proud of the effort they gave.

"The execution was better, but there's still a lot of room for improvement."

Ty's story

Coach Chad Morris said quarterback Ty Storey showed his grit just by the amount of grass stains on his back after the loss at Auburn.

"He got the heck knocked out of him several times and he kept getting back up," offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said. "He's tough.

"I think he earned a lot of respect from his teammates the other night in that game. And we showed the whole offense him taking a beating and getting back up."

Storey completed 13 of 31 passes for 141 yards, with 1 interception and no touchdowns. He was sacked twice and had 12 runs for 44 yards, including a 17-yard draw.

"He graded out really high," Craddock said. "He had a couple of missed assignments, missed a motion during a red-zone [drive]. But he did really well.

"He got us in a lot of right calls, the right checks. He managed the game really well. We've got to get better on third down. We have to protect him a little better on third down and give our receivers time to get open down the field."

Storey took all but three snaps at quarterback. Cole Kelley had a 2-yard run on a fourth and 2, was stopped for no gain on a third and 1, and also ran for a first down on a third-and-2 play on the third snap of the game that was wiped out due to an offsides infraction by Auburn.

Up and down

Tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. and offensive line coach Dustin Fry switched places for the Auburn game, with Lunney moving from the press box to the sideline and Fry moving upstairs.

"We'll continue to keep it that way," Coach Chad Morris said. "I wanted a little bit more information from the run game standpoint from the box. I felt like moving Dustin upstairs would provide that, and I think definitely the information that we were getting flowed better."

Morris said having Lunney on the sideline helped with personnel changes on special teams.

Offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said he and Fry hadn't been in the press box together since both were graduate assistants at Clemson in 2014.

"It was good to have him next to me, and we were able to share ideas," Craddock said. "We ended up coming up with some wrinkles in the second half. That helped us a lot.

"Having him up there right next to me was great. I think coach Lunney enjoyed being down [on the sideline]. It was a little bit different for us, but I think that's where we'll be moving forward."

Early kick

The Razorbacks will kick off their home game against No. 1 Alabama at 11 a.m. on Oct. 6, the SEC announced Monday.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Chavis knows Aggies

Arkansas defensive coordinator John Chavis held the same position at Texas A&M the past three years, so he coached and recruited many of the players the Razorbacks' offense will face Saturday.

"Just like always, we're going to bounce ideas off each other," offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said of getting personnel information from Chavis. "I think he will give us a little more take this week on their personnel."

Razorbacks safeties coach Ron Cooper coached with Chavis at Texas A&M last season.

Munson starts

Sophomore Derrick Munson made his first career start at nickel back against Auburn, played the majority of the game and made six tackles.

"I think he performed well," defensive coordinator John Chavis said. "Certainly we're pushing the envelope and trying to get better and moving some things around with personnel a little bit, and that's what we're going to do. I was pleased with him.

"The first play of the game he's got an opportunity to make a big play. He forced an incomplete pass, but you'd like for him to go in there and make that sack on the first play. That kind of turns that drive around, but he's doing a good job for us."

Sophomore D'Vone McClure, who started the first three games at nickel back, played a few snaps off the bench.

"We're going to keep moving guys in and out until we're sure we've got the best 11 guys on the field," Chavis said.

Sports on 09/25/2018