Game week is different for Arkansas’ date with Tennessee because of a new NCAA rule to leave an open day for national elections. The Razorbacks did not practice Tuesday.
But Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said on his weekly radio show that he didn’t back off on a heavy work load for the Razorbacks, something he believes gives his team an advantage.
“We didn’t wear pads on Sunday, a day we are normally off,” he said, “but we hit on Tuesday and Wednesday.”
It’s usually three days of padded practice for the Hogs under Pittman, perhaps one more day than other SEC teams. It’s a way to emphasize physical play.
“We steal a practice on other teams (by practicing on Monday),” Pittman said. “We had a really good practice on Sunday, although we didn’t put on pads since we got back at 2:30 Sunday morning.”
Pittman revealed that wide receiver Treylon Burks used only one hand to snag a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. It was the second one-handed touchdown catch of the season by Burks.
“The defender had his left arm,” Pittman said. “So his left hand never touched the ball. He’s got those 5X-size hands. Of course, he made a big fourth-down catch for us, too.”
Burks, a guest on the radio show, said catching a pass with one hand is a daily routine.
“That’s something we do in practice,” he said. “The receiver group works on it.”
Pittman said the plan each week is for the Hogs to get Burks “10 touches either in his route tree or with screens or called runs.”
Burks caught seven passes and two touchdowns against the Aggies.
“He’s dynamic once he gets his hands on the ball,” Pittman said.
The Hogs scored 31 points against the Aggies, one game after scoring 33 against Ole Miss with the aide of two defensive touchdowns.
“Our offense is getting closer to where we want to be,” Pittman said. “We’ve gotten 33 and 31 after scoring a lot lower earlier in the year.”
Pittman said quarterback Feleipe Franks “understands the offense better” and the Hogs are “practicing better.”
Franks ran for 90 yards against the Aggies. That was not a surprise, Pittman said. Franks does not object to called quarterback runs.
“He came here for a reason and it wasn’t to hand the ball off,” Pittman said. “If the defense has an extra man in the box, it doesn’t account for the quarterback. So you have to run the quarterback with that extra man in the box.
“He’s a good runner. He reminds me — and this will be someone most won’t remember — of a big, strong quarterback, Roman Gabriel. Roman just said, ‘Get off me.'"
The game against Tennessee this week could hinge on turnovers. The Hogs lead the SEC in turnover margin at plus 1.20 and rank third nationally. The Vols are eighth in the SEC at minus 0.20, 66th in the nation.
“They have turned it over,” Pittman said. “They led Georgia at halftime, but had turnovers.”
Pittman knows the Vols will try to establish the run in a Jim Chaney offense. Chaney is an old friend of Pittman’s and is the Tennessee offensive coordinator. They worked together at Tennessee, Arkansas and Georgia for six seasons between 2012-18.
“If Jim has to call 81 running plays to win a game, he’ll do it,” Pittman said. “Their team is built for it with a big, physical offensive line with five-star players. They look like an SEC football team, like Texas A&M.”