FAYETTEVILLE — Practice habits begin at the top.
Two days before Arkansas’ football team opened preseason practice on a muggy Friday afternoon in Fayetteville, coach Sam Pittman outlined what he wanted to see from his third team during its first days back on the practice field: sharp coaching, sharp execution, fast paced, physical and organized.
In the 20 minutes open to media members on Day 1 of practice, Pittman had to like the attention to detail shown by his coaches.
More from WholeHogSports: Full coverage from Day 1 of preseason practice
When Nathan Bax showed good hands to catch a pass from his position coach, former Arkansas quarterback Dowell Loggains, during a drill for tight ends, Loggains asked him where he caught the ball.
“Outside the line,” Bax replied, referencing the sideline.
“Go back,” Loggains said, instructing the fourth-year tight end to run the route again.
At another point, Loggains sent redshirt sophomore Collin Sutherland back to a starting point twice.
“Do everything the right way,” Loggains told his group.
If Arkansas is to take another step in the SEC West following a 9-4 season, Pittman said the Razorbacks will have to be ahead of the other teams in practice. It was a point he seemed to underscore with his staff Thursday.
“All the first days are about setting the tone of practice and how we do things,” Pittman said following a two-hour practice.
“I felt like our coaches really pushed our players through the practice today and felt like our coaches did an outstanding job, along with the players.”
Try as they might, the Razorbacks could find little relief from the heat Friday. Pittman said the practice periods inside the Walker Pavilion might have been hotter than the periods outside. The Walker Pavilion is not air conditioned, but the occasional breeze provided temporary comfort on a day when the heat index hovered around 100 degrees and the sun beat down on the outdoor practice fields.
“It’s important for us to set the standards,” linebacker Bumper Pool said, “especially for the younger guys coming in, showing them that, yeah, when you get tired, it is hot, you have to push through that. Everyone in the country is dealing with it. We’ve just got to continue to push, and whenever we do get tired, continue to lean on our teammates, encourage them and make sure that we’re building off of each other.”
Pittman said he was happy with the first portion of the team’s practice, but said players began to wear down around the 11th or 12th five-minute period about an hour into it. He admitted afterward the practice lasted longer than he hoped it would.
Some players could be heard saying they weren’t conditioned to practicing in the heat. Pittman said tight end Hudson Henry didn’t finish the practice due to a potential conditioning reason.
“We had more cramping issues than what I was hoping we would, but it was hot,” Pittman said.
“All in all, I thought they fought through the weather well and had a great attitude all day.”
Pittman praised the quarterbacks’ passes, said there were not a lot of errors or “balls on the ground.” Transfer receivers Jadon Haselwood from Oklahoma and Matt Landers from Toledo had good practices, said Pittman, who added that Haselwood might have had more catches Friday than he did in all of spring practice.
In work open to reporters, Haselwood took first-team snaps in the slot while Ketron Jackson and Warren Thompson lined up at the outside receiver positions. Bryce Stephens backed up Haselwood inside, and Landers and Jaedon Wilson were second-team receivers on the outside.
Catches that stood out were an interception by cornerback Hudson Clark on a pass from KJ Jefferson during a two-minute drill, and a long touchdown pass from Malik Hornsby to Wilson over the top of cornerback LaDarrius Bishop. Hornsby spent about 15 to 20 snaps working as a receiver with the first and second teams, and took every second-team quarterback rep, Pittman said, as the Razorbacks look to get their athletically gifted backup quarterback on the field more.
“We know we're straining him because he got every snap at second-team quarterback,” Pittman said. “However, we can always pull back on him, you know, once we feel how much we're going to play him out there. He’s going to play somewhere, so those numbers at wide receiver will probably increase. They didn't need to today because it's the first day, but they'll probably increase.”
PHOTOS: Day 1 of Razorbacks' football preseason
Jefferson came to the post-practice interview room roughly 10 pounds lighter than a year ago when there was concern he reported to camp overweight. Jefferson said he weighs around 240 pounds and expects to lose some more during the grind of August.
“’I’m flying around a lot better, like confident in myself, just being able to get out and make plays on my legs and stuff like that,” Jefferson said. “So it's being able to just knock some of the extra weight off and just lean up a little bit, and just being able to just come out there and just put my team in the best position to win.”
Offensive line coach Cody Kennedy’s instructions boomed across the field. With players holding a long, thin piece of padding that resembled an oversized pylon, Kennedy told his group to “strike with violent, tight hands and lift” during a workout that focused on hand placement and lasted for at least a couple of five-minute periods.
Pittman, a line coach in major conferences for the better part of three-plus decades, gravitated toward the northwest end of the field on multiple occasions to teach alongside Kennedy. They stressed a more forceful second step as the linemen came out of their breaks.
“I believe that your power comes in your second step,” Pittman said.
Pittman praised the work of Kennedy, a Broyles Award semifinalist a year ago who a source said was approached about an assistant position at Georgia during the offseason.
"Cody is better at blocking movement than I've ever been as a coach," said Pittman, who later added, "He sees things better than I did when I was coaching. He teaches it better."
There were no surprises on the first-team offensive line on Day 1 which included returning starters Ricky Stromberg at center, Brady Latham at left guard, Beaux Limmer at right guard and Dalton Wagner at right tackle, as well as veteran Luke Jones at left tackle.
The second-team offensive line included Devon Manuel at left tackle, Jalen St. John at left guard, Josh Street at center, E’Marion Harris at right guard and Ty’Kieast Crawford at right tackle.
Pittman said there is plenty to assess about line play while the players are not in pads, areas such as footwork and technique. The Razorbacks won't practice in full pads until Aug. 11, two days before their first scrimmage of the preseason.
Pittman said the line had a good first day of work and was complimentary of backups Manuel and Street, the latter of whom took advantage of more practice time while Marcus Henderson was limited with a pectoral injury that might cause him to miss the first week or more. Henderson wore a green no-contact jersey and worked to the side Friday.
“In life or in coaching, you either look at an injury as a negative or as a positive,” Pittman said. “Henderson is going to come back but this allows us to find another center that we believe in. I believe that's the most important spot on the offensive line and basically the second-most important spot on offense, because he handles the ball every snap.”
On the defensive line, Zach Williams, Eric Gregory, Isaiah Nichols and Jashaud Stewart took first-team snaps, backed up by linebackers Pool and Drew Sanders, the transfer from Alabama.
Clark and Malik Chavis took first-team snaps at cornerback. Jalen Catalon and Simeon Blair at safety, and Myles Slusher at nickel back rounded out the first-team secondary.
The Razorbacks are scheduled to practice for the second time Saturday afternoon and will practice for five consecutive days before their first day off next week.