FAYETTEVILLE — Wideout Warren Thompson had a standout performance against man coverage early in Thursday’s sixth practice of camp for the University of Arkansas as the wideouts continued to shine.
While linemen from both sides of the ball, linebackers and running backs worked on an inside run drill on the new artificial turf field during period No. 5, the wideouts and receivers got after it in one-on-one work in the red zone on the grass field.
Thompson caught a low pass over the middle from Malik Hornsby early in the period versus tough coverage from Hudson Clark, drawing hoots from his teammates for the snag with a high difficulty level. The 6-3 Thompson later caught a pass on slant pattern from KJ Jefferson in the end zone against more tight coverage from Clark. That reception earned a visit in the end zone from Jefferson for congratulations.
Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said Thompson is “as improved as anybody” on the team from last season.
“I think he’s in a really good space,” Pittman said. “I think he’s comfortable. I think he went through a year last year where he didn’t know if he wanted to be here, go home, who’s my friends?
“He had a lot of things going on, I think, last year. You’d have to talk to him. But I think he’s in a good space. He’s always been very talented, but he’s catching a contested ball and catching some where you go, ‘Man, how’d he catch that one?’ He’s always been fast, he hasn’t always used it, but he is now. So I’ve been really pleased with him. You’d have to ask KJ [Jefferson] because I think KJ looks for him now.”
Breakup
It wasn’t all domination by the wide receivers in the Razorbacks’ individual red zone passing drill Thursday. The defensive backs won a good share of reps also, none better than transfer cornerback Dwight McGlothern, who timed his jab perfectly on Malik Hornsby’s in-cut route for Ketron Jackson Jr. and batted the ball up and away in the end zone.
More scores
A replay official probably would have had to make the final determination on catch or no catch, but perhaps the day’s best grab came from walk-on wideout Kalil Girault during one-on-one work in the red zone.
Girault, who earned a spot on the roster during an open tryout during the spring, went high on the right sideline in the end zone with fellow freshman Jaylen Lewis, a nickel back. The 6-0 Girault won the battle in the air, high-pointing the catch and dropping a foot for a toe tap as bystanders expressed their appreciation for the handiwork and footwork.
Matt Landers had another good touchdown catch during one-on-one drills. A 6-5 transfer wideout with good speed, Landers has been a tough cover for the Razorback defensive backs throughout camp.
D-tackles down
Defensive tackle Marcus Miller is out of practice to have an arthroscopic knee procedure, dropping the 6-5, 286-pound junior from Warren off the 110-man camp roster. Logan Horst, a 6-4, 255-pound senior transfer from Nebraska Wesleyan, was added to fill his spot.
Coach Sam Pittman sounded confident Miller, who was off to a good start, would return fairly soon.
“It is disappointing because he works so hard and he was doing well,” Pittman said. “But you’re looking at a, I believe, and I mean this, I believe that he’ll be back no later than when school starts.
“So I think he’ll have two weeks before the Cincinnati game. He had a little clean-out in his knee and that was it. Marcus had been having a good 3-4 days. He’s got a good attitude that serves him well, so I anticipate him being back probably the first day of school.”
The Razorbacks have had a stretch of bad injury luck at defensive tackle since potential starter Taurean Carter suffered a knee injury during the spring showcase on April 16 and will miss a chunk of the season.
Pittman seemed to indicate tackles Cam Ball and Taylor Lewis had concussions or concussion-like incidents earlier in the week as he referenced the padded helmets being worn by all but quarterbacks and special teamers.
“Sure we are,” Pittman said when asked if the coaches were concerned about defensive tackle depth.
“The thing about that is, we can move [Eric] Gregory inside, which you guys have been out there, we’ve done that a little bit. So you have him, Nic [Isaiah Nichols].
“And then I’ll tell you who’s come on a little bit is Nico Davillier. Because of these injuries, we’ve moved him inside. Terry Hampton has been a blessing for us. He’s really done a nice job in there.”
Fastball starts
Another standout catch from Jaden Haselwood highlighted Thursday’s four-play “fastball start” for the first unit on offense.
With safety Simeon Blair holding inside position and screening him, Haselwood still managed to haul in a deep ball from KJ Jefferson down the left sideline as both players fell to the grass. Prior to that, Raheim Sanders had a pair of runs, the second one reaching the right edge for a chain-moving gain.
Jefferson’s pass for Ketron Jackson Jr. on the final play of the segment was broken up by either linebacker Bumper Pool, who had dropped into coverage, or cornerback Malik Chavis, who was shadowing Jackson on the play.
For the second unit, Malik Hornsby had a couple of incomplete throws before A.J. Green gained a few yards on a run play. On the fourth snap, Hornsby threaded a ball down the right sideline into Matt Landers for a good gain.
For the third unit, freshman Rashod Dubinion had a couple of running plays, quarterback Cade Fortin had a keeper, then Fortin threw long for freshman wideout Isaiah Sategna down the left sideline with a miscommunication on the play, as Sategna did not turn to look for the ball.
Roster notes
Cornerback Dwight McGlothern and nickel back Trent Gordon were among the small handful of players who were not dressed in full pads Thursday, likely indicating they had missed at least part of a day of practice because NCAA protocols call for strict adjustment periods for the amount of pads worn for each player.
Who’s here
NFL scouts representing at least three teams attended the first full-pads practice, and they were all from the same division, the NFC East. Scouts from the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants were spotted on the sidelines.
Practice attendees included a couple of former Razorbacks, linebacker Brooks Ellis and receiver Koilan Jackson.