The Arkansas Razorbacks have all but completed two weeks of spring practice under Bobby Petrino and his coaching staff, and while a college head coach isn’t a professor, he does have to test his pupils.

And that’s exactly what will happen today at 4 p. m. in Reynolds Razorback Stadium when the Hogs undergo the first full scrimmage of the Petrino era.

Last Sunday, those who made it out to the stadium got a brief glimpse of what Petrino’s system is all about in an 80-play scrimmage that was as rough and tumble of an affair as has been witnessed at a Razorback practice in years.

According to Petrino, that was just the tip of the iceberg.

“ That was a short and easy one, ” Petrino quipped Thursday after practice. “ We’re going to have a long one [this afternoon ]. ”

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Execution, execution, execution is what Petrino and his staff will be looking for in the outing from top to bottom.

Petrino’s plan was to install an eighth of the his playbook each day in practice, but the learning curve got a bit steep this week and the mistakes were evident in Tuesday’s and Thursday’s practices.

Petrino said he plans to slow the installation process to give his players more time to get a grasp of the offense.

Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson already slowed things down with his troops, Petrino said, and got a more precise effort out of them on Thursday.

Petrino did brag on the Hogs’ tackling and wants to see them demonstrate that even more thoroughly in today’s scrimmage.

When asked if the scrimmage would have a bearing on the depth chart going into August’s practices, Petrino said it was too early to worry about that at the moment.

“ We don’t have to have a depth chart until the season opener, ” Petrino said.

He just wants his players to give their best on each play, not just in effort but in technique.

Technique and fundamentals are words and actions Petrino and his staff are attempting to mold into their players.

Effort alone is not enough for the detail-demanding coach. Effort without a purpose is wasted time. Petrino wants supreme effort channeled into the proper function.

Today should be a big test for the Razorbacks’ quarterbacks. Petrino said he is not putting limits on the defense in order to see how his signal-callers perform under pressure.

He wants to see the Razorbacks line up correctly and if the offense is in a bad play based on the defense’s alignment, he wants to see if the QBs can right the situation at the line of scrimmage.

And again he wants to see execution. Is their footwork right ? Are their shoulders square ? And most importantly, are the Hogs’ passes accurate and on time ?

Last Sunday we got a small glimpse of what the Razorbacks will be like under Petrino. Today we should get an even better indication.

Practice begins at 4 p. m. and it is open to the public.

Terry J. Wood is the sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.