Razorbacks Report

Strides noticeable for Hogs

Arkansas defensive back Joe Foucha is shown during practice Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, in Fayetteville.

— The University of Arkansas had its 13th preseason practice Tuesday, so the Razorbacks are just more than halfway through their allotted 25 workouts before opening against Georgia on Sept. 26.

“We’ve made major strides since the first day of practice,” said senior defensive tackle Xavier Kelly, a graduate transfer from Clemson. “Just by watching film you can see guys getting better.

“We’re going to get better throughout the season. I feel the sky is the limit for this group.”

Junior safety Joe Foucha said he believes the defensive backs have been progressing at a good pace.

“I feel like we’re in a pretty good spot,” Foucha said. “We’re communicating more. There are some little things we can fix, but as far as that, we’re all together as one in the safety room. Even if you include the corners.

“Us just taking the next step to get ready for the Georgia game is to get ready mentally. The physical part is pretty much over with.”

Defensive rebound

The defense got the better of the offense in Friday’s second scrimmage, coaches and players agreed, after it was the other way around in the first scrimmage.

“I think we just got better the next week,” defensive tackle Xavier Kelly said. “We had a chance to look over the film from our first scrimmage, was able to correct some mistakes. And the second scrimmage, we applied what we went over during the week. Then we had more energy and probably got more in shape, as well.”

Offensive tackle Dalton Wagner said the second scrimmage was a good learning experience for his side of the ball.

“[The defense] did a really good job responding, and we came out and we knew … that the scrimmage on Friday wasn’t our standard and isn’t what our expectation level is,” Wagner said. “It’s not what we want to put on film. We had to live with it and learn from it.

“It’s unfortunate that we put it out there. But everyone came out [this week] with that hungry mindset … wanting to get into that ‘attacking the defense’ again and really getting that bad taste out of your mouth.

“I think we learned a lot from that scrimmage. This week, I think the offense has been doing a great job.”

Healthy ankle

Quarterback Feleipe Franks, asked last week whether he would need to take a snap in a game to fully trust his surgically repaired ankle, had this take: “I think my confidence is through the roof right now.

“We had a scrimmage this past Friday and I felt wonderful, 100%. I take it personally every rep. I treat it like a game rep. So to say that when game time comes that’s going to be my first game rep, I think that would be far from it.”

You on cardboard

The Razorbacks have joined the craze of fans having their images put on cardboard to be placed in the stands at venues with limited or no capacity to give the appearance of a crowd.

Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek last week posted a picture of himself, in shades and a Razorback blazer, in a cardboard cut-out placed in a seat at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

The campaign, called “Hog Cutouts,” will help raise money for the athletic department.

A Coach Sam Pittman cut-out was also prominently displayed on social media last week.

Soapy Hogs

UA students looked to be having a ball frolicking in the suds created from someone pouring soap into the fountains in the Wild Band of Hogs monument at the northeast corner outside Reynolds Razorback Stadium late last Wednesday night.

A 10-second video of the event was circulating on social media the following day.

Former UA baseball player Carson Shaddy and current UA football freshman Jashaud Stewart were among those who responded, not in a good way, on social media. Shaddy did not like the disrespect it showed to the monument, and Stewart pointed out the lack of social distancing and mask wearing during a pandemic.

A UA spokesman said crews were sent out to clean up the area, and that the filters and water lines in the monument had to be replaced or cleaned out. Additionally, three light bulbs had to be replaced, but it was not known if they had been damaged in the incident.

New whistle

The coaching staff had been testing out a new kind of whistle that does not need to be held between the teeth and does not require blowing earlier in camp.

Coach Sam Pittman said last week he had been using an electronic whistle, but those days are past. The whistle wasn’t loud enough so Pittman went back to the tried-and-true metal whistle with a ball in the interior and a loop for the neck.