Making them miss. It’s a great concept for a running back, but on the field of play in the Southeastern Conference, it remains an idea much easier to conceive than achieve.

However, Arkansas Razorback tailback Felix Jones may be the best the SEC has at forcing tacklers to grasp air. He’s practically a latter-day Gene Kelly on the football field.

“ Felix just has that knack for making guys miss, particularly that first guy, ” Arkansas head football coach Houston Nutt said. “ He’ll give you a leg and then take it away.

“ He’s able to get sideways, cut and then get back north better than any back I’ve seen in person since Barry Sanders when I was coaching at Oklahoma State. He’s got a special gift with that. It’s more quickness than speed. But he is fast, too. ”

ADVERTISEMENT

While Jones’ backfield mate Darren McFadden is getting the lion’s share of the preseason hype after finishing second in the Heisman balloting, Nutt said he considers Jones a co-starter with McFadden.

“ Felix could start anywhere else in the nation, and truly we consider him a starter, ” Nutt said. “ We use him and Darren together a lot, particularly in the Wildcat. And remember Felix made All-American as a kickoff return specialist as a freshman. We’re blessed to have two outstanding tailbacks. ”

Jones, who ranked second in the SEC last season in rushing with 1, 168 yards on 154 carries to McFadden (284 carries for 1, 647 yards ), owns a gaudy 7. 1 yard-per-carry average for his career, which is the best in school history. He is only the eighth Razorback ever to crack the 1, 000-yard mark in a single season and he and McFadden are the Razorbacks’ first rushing tandem to break the barrier in the same season.

While Jones doesn’t deny that he is athletically blessed, the Tulsa native said the ankle-breaking moves he makes on the football field aren’t natural. He works at them.

“ It’s a wonderful feeling to practice a move and then to have it work on the field, ” Jones said in an interview in late April. “ I don’t really think about it a lot, but working on things off the field is what makes it work on the field.

“ You don’t have time to think on the field, but little things you work on just become a part of your running style. The more you work on them the more and more natural they become.

“ Every back has his own style. I don’t run like Darren or Peyton [Hillis ], and they don’t run like me. You just get it done the best you know how. ”

Razorback preseason All-American center Jonathan Luigs agrees with Nutt that the 6-0, 207-pound Jones is an entertaining runner.

“ He’s fun to watch on film because sometimes he’ll get lost in the crowd and then just come shooting out of the pack, ” Luigs said. “ He knows how to follow and use his blocks to his best advantage. Sometimes it’s like he’s playing hide and seek behind us. ”

Jones was rarely out of sight last season. After a rough, three-fumble start in the season-opener against Southern Cal, he rarely disappointed.

Jones ranked third in the SEC in all-purpose yardage at 130. 64 yards per outing and his total of 1, 829 allpurpose yards broke Arkansas’ previous single-season record; however, McFadden’s total of 2, 058 is now the single-season record.

Jones ranked third in the SEC in kickoff return yardage with 554 yards. Jones is one of only two SEC players ever to return two kicks 100 yards for a touchdown along with Ole Miss’ John Avery. Jones accomplished the feat against Mississippi State first in 2005 and then hit Ole Miss with his second triple-digit return last season.

Jones has topped the 100-yard rushing mark seven times, and he is coming off the best rushing effort of his career with 150 yards on 14 carries against Wisconsin in the Hogs’ 17-14 Capital One Bowl loss on New Year’s Day.

Jones is also an excellent receiver. He started two games last season in the slot and caught 15 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns.

“ Felix is a very skilled player, and he gives us a lot of options because of the way he runs and catches the football, ” Nutt said.

While Nutt appreciates Jones’ abilities, he favors his attitude even more.

“ Felix is a special guy, ” Nutt said. “ He could start anywhere else in the nation, but here he’s kind of behind Darren. A lot of young men would resent that. They might even want to transfer.

“ But that’s not Felix. He’s behind Darren like everyone else and Darren is behind him. They are great friends and they encourage each other each and every day. ”

Jones said the competition between himself and McFadden has only served to make both of them better players.

“ We push each other and there is no slack given, ” Jones said. “ We know the type of competitor the other is and that makes us only want to work that much harder. ”

McFadden agrees.

“ I couldn’t do what I’ve done without Felix, ” McFadden said. “ We’re there for each other. We keep each other fresh. We work well together. He keeps a lot of the pressure off me, and I keep it off him. ”

Like his fellow teammates, Jones enters the upcoming season with a bittersweet taste in his mouth from the 2006 season.

The Razorbacks went 10-4 last season and captured the Western Division title, but fell short of winning the SEC title or a bowl game, going 0-3 against LSU, Florida and Ohio State to close out the season.

“ We got so close to really have a special season, the kind you dream of, ” Jones said. “ A play here or there in each of those games and, man, it still hurts.

“ But that has us hungry for this season. Every game is going to be tough, but I think we can win the SEC title and even the nation title. We just have to focus and make every play count. ”