FAYETTEVILLE — Follow along as Bret Bielema and his coordinators updates the latest storylines in Arkansas' fall camp in week 3.
Bret Bielema
— Brought in his daughter, Briella Nichole, introduced her to the gang.
— Planning to go to Pat Gazzola's funeral. Grew close to him.
— Stuck elevators happen more than you think. Happened probably 20 times during his career. Ryan Pulley almost made it on and predicted it'd get stuck when he didn't. Had 18 stuck for almost 2 hours at Wisconsin.
— Hopefully weather will cooperate with fan day Saturday.
— In a 2-week practice phase with no other distractions, allows them to get into "the meat and potatoes of fall camp."
— Karl Roesler re-joined the team yesterday. Dre Greenlaw has practiced the last 2 days and is full-go. Will monitor him and could limit him going further. Jeremy Patton practiced half a day yesterday and should be full go. Dylan Hays, Cole Hedlund, Armon Watts and Will Gragg are full-go. Brandon Martin is out for a while with his back. Alexy Jean-Baptiste, Jared Cornelius and T.J. Hammonds are out but progressing. Cornelius should join by the time school starts and Hammonds has a good chance to be back by the opener.
— Dre Greenlaw is going through everything. May try to simulate game week rest and prep for him.
— Blake Johnson is a California native who he expected to contribute immediately. Toby Baker took a step forward and Johnson needed to grow physically and mentally. He's grown a bunch since the timeout this spring. Hit the ball extremely well Monday and Tuesday. His consistency from day to day has been good.
— Hedlund kicked Monday and Tuesday. Saturday, he should be able to kick. The kicking job between him and Blake Mazza is open.
— Since fall camp has arrived, RB has had the biggest change in depth adding David Williams and Chase Hayden. The added pressure of having the others has helped Devwah Whaley. "He's probably been one of the greatest assets to David." Always conversing about football. David Williams told him he was trying to make a splash and his only 2 bad plays were third-and-shorts where he tried to make big plays. Maleek Williams has been good, but I think the best new news has been Chase. Showed an ability to make something out of nothing in a hurry.
— Hayden is "fairly chiseled up." He'll put on weight over time here and become more athletic, but "I've been very impressed with his toughness and strength." Been productive between the tackles, too.
— As a whole, the offensive line has shown progress. Giving some younger guys opportunities and moving guys around with the second team. Zach Rogers and Jake Raulerson can move around. Jalen Merrick can, too. Paul Ramirez, Dalton Wagner and Merrick are options at tackle. Merrick, Raulerson at guard. Raulerson is 25 pounds heavier than when he first got here. Was underdeveloped when he got there.
— Wanted to let Austin Allen take a seat for the second half of Saturday's scrimmage to let Cole Kelley and Ty Storey try to separate themselves. They didn't, so they gave Ty Storey all the No. 2 reps yesterday and will give Cole today's. Storey plays within the offense and manages the game. Cole brings a different set of strengths. "He's probably got the livest arm of the group, which can be good and bad." Was smiling ear to ear about getting his chance today.
— Standard has been 29 days of fall camp since he started. Very few coaches use all 29. Always given guys Sundays off when they don't have games. Kept that and gives them that day for themselves. Has 29 scheduled practices this year before the opener. Doesn't intend to use every one of them. If they need a break, he'll pocket a day. Won't comment on new no two-a-day rules. They're the rules. Remembers three-a-days. Will have walk-throughs and practices on the same day, which is within the rules.
— The NCAA allows you to have 85 scholarship players, but it should bump up because it's an outdated number. Would like to see it at 90. Some of the most enjoyable professional days of his life were giving walk-ons scholarships. Those moments are very special. Anyone who gets one earns it. Only given one out as a result of having one left over his whole career.
— Ryder Lucas was one of the most productive special teams players in the entire conference based on his production every play. As deserving a player as any to be on scholarship.
— At the 85 limit when Montaric Brown joins the program. It's very difficult to budget scholarships when taking "at-risk" academic recruits. Jeremy Patton was supposedly that, but scored great. Giving kids support and a formula for success.
— Academics and football together are a premium. Feels like academic success correlates to athletic and vice versa.
— Bijhon Jackson, Austin Capps and Dylan Hays compliment each other well. They are 25-rep guys during gameday where if you ask them to do 50 they might have diminishing returns.
— Never know how young guys are going to handle the moment until they're there, but they try to stress and push them. Hayden Fry said they wanted to make Monday and Friday as hard as possible, so Saturday is easier.
— Thinks they'll have newcomers to contribute, including some returnees like T.J. Smith who were on the roster. Some freshmen will help, too. Six or seven guys on offense have played a lot of football. Have to keep bringing the others along.
Dan Enos
— Wanted to give Storey and Kelley more of a chance to have their own day. Try not to run them in and out every play, but it's hard to get rhythm with only 3-4 plays in a row.
— They've both been good. Neither one has had a bad day.
— Thought they were pretty good in Saturday's scrimmage. Starters need to run the ball more consistently. Did a tremendous job protecting the passer. Had 6 dropped balls, including 2 explosive plays and 3 on third downs. Formula is to avoid penalties, sacks, turnovers and drops. Had penalties and drops Saturday. Been working on physically running the ball.
— Thinks it would be tough to play 4 backs, but Whaley, David Williams and Chase Hayden could all play. Hammonds will be back there some when he's healthy.
— Could see them maybe giving each of the backup QBs another day next week because they've been good to this point.
— The worst thing you can do in a competition is watching what the other guy does and worrying about what he does. Can only control what you can do. Can't try to match a big play by forcing a throw. Both have done that a little bit in camp, trying to match the other QBs. Have to take what's given to you and let the offense work.
— Both backups would have the confidence of the entire team and organization if they had to play.
— Seen steady improvement with the WRs. They could be pretty good. Trying to press them on the mental and physical side of the game. Jonathan Nance and Koilan Jackson get better every time they go out. Jordan Jones, La'Michael Pettway and De'Vion Warren are impressing. Group has been very focused.
— As a coach, you want to have 7-9 WRs ready. Need to have 5-6 you feel ready to go. Guys are starting to establish themselves as they move through practice. Drew Morgan was the third WR in the nickel sets his first game as offensive coordinator his first year. Took advantage of opportunities after injuries the next game and became the featured guy. Jared Cornelius can be a featured guy. The rest of them are going to have to continue to earn it and prove it in game situations.
— Cornelius is extremely intelligent. Picked up the offense about as quick as anybody and coached guys this spring. Helped Allen with installation this summer. He's a gamer and will know exactly what to do this fall.
— Trust factor between Allen and the WRs is getting better, really good the last 5 practices. Everyone is getting comfortable. Very pleased with where they're at compared to the spring. Thinks the extended camp helps the WRs.
— Daulton Hyatt was in the elevator and came to the meeting drenched in sweat. Was one of the first guys on it and couldn't get off. "I don't think I'll be taking the elevator anytime soon." Had to take 3-5 minutes of the meeting to get Hyatt calmed down.
— Didn't remember having had an elevator incident before.
— Grayson Gunter has been getting reps with the ones too. Jeremy Patton got some reps with the ones, too, once he got back. Jack Kraus will play. Will Gragg was playing well before the concussion.
— Beliema is a big-hearted, emotional guy. When Enos became a dad, it changed how he coached because you think about how you'd feel if someone interacted with your kid like that. Bielema has always been in-tune with players. He gets to know players, families and wants them to be successful, but he's said he's even more in-tune with that since the baby. Bielema likes to have the kids around, which isn't like that at every program. He and Jen will be great parents because they're great people.
— Having his daughter recruited let him see the other side of recruiting. Can see why some kids want to commit early and get the process over.
Paul Rhoads
— Dre Greenlaw's return "is going very well." Haven't gotten a lot out there. The first day he was out there, there were 21 guys operating at one speed and him at his. Want to keep him healthy before the opener.
— Bielema hasn't made the decision about whether Greenlaw will scrimmage.
— Want to have less than 10 missed tackles per game. Had 16 in a long scrimmage which equates to about 8 per game, which was really encouraging.
— Had some surprising busts he thinks as a result of being hyped up for the first scrimmage. Thinks there'll be a significant drop in busts Saturday.
— Still figuring out inside linebacker depth. Very pleased with Grant Morgan. Gio LaFrance made plays.There's a fine line between making too many mistakes and making plays. Still need to bring him, Kyrei Fisher and Dee Walker along to find out who's 4, 5 and 6 moving forward.
— Would've won a lot of football games with the way Austin Allen threw the ball the other day. A lot of balls the defender couldn't play. Great opportunity for the defense to improve by going against him. His arm and checks make the defense earn everything.
— Randy Ramsey is getting both Razor and Hog work. Karl Roesler took reps with the ones at Hog. Gabe Richardson has gotten reps with ones and twos based on personnel. Dwayne Eugene can play OLB, too.
— Blake Johnson is hitting it very well in training camp.
— The defensive line is coming along nicely. Training camp is cyclical depending on when guys get fatigued. When they're fresh, they've been good with how they've advanced since the spring. Nose guard is a vital spot. If an offensive line is able to get blockers to the second level, you're going to pay for it. Hopefully they'll have a fresh group Saturday after backing off them following today.
— T.J. Smith is still holding down the end. Has added good weight.
— Thinks there's great pride at Arkansas in the walk-on history. Kevin Richardson and Reid Miller have provided great production after being walk-ons. Always fun to see the rally of the team when a kid gets awarded a scholarship.
— Didn't really think twice about the elevator incident. Bets two of every three years a team will get stuck on an elevator. Usually it's because they're late for a team meeting and trying to cram in there. Four of them were DBs.
— Head coaching aged him, but it wasn't that long ago. The game has changed with the finances generated. The SEC recognizes the value associated with it and pays the going rate. Lot of responsibility and pressure to perform that goes along with the title in 2017.
— Got to see Bielema's daughter for the first time today. Lot of hair. Pretty girl. Fun to see Bielema go home. He loves to work and keep everything organized, go the extra yard. He's prepared for everything and still is, but he's getting out of the office a little bit at the end of the day to spend time with her and Jen. Hopes he's able to keep that up as he gets into the season.
— Thinks the backup QBs are playing well. Their play has elevated from the spring. "Competition is the mother of all learning and they've got it at that position."