FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ football team went through its 12th practice of the preseason on Thursday. The weather was picture perfect, so the Razorbacks worked outside Walker Pavilion.
Here are some notes and observations from the open viewing periods:
• Offensive lineman Marcus Henderson was the lone player in a green no-contact jersey. He is recovering and working his way back from a pectoral injury.
• Reporters watched periods 1-6 and took in the Fastball Start as well as several 1-on-1s between receivers and defensive backs.
Secondary players who tallied a pass breakup included Simeon Blair, Hudson Clark, Jalen Catalon and Dwight McGlothern. Latavious Brini and Jayden Johnson were among the defensive backs who forced incompletions.
The receivers had a good stretch. Warren Thompson, Matt Landers, Ketron Jackson, Harper Cole, Quincey McAdoo, Landon Rogers, Chris Harris, Sam Mbake and Bryce Stephens all made grabs in the end zone. Jackson had two of the more impressive reps, twice beating LaDarrius Bishop. And McAdoo made the grab of the period with Clark in tight coverage.
Defensive backs were at a bit of a disadvantage before the period began. Each player who went through a rep wore a pair of boxing gloves to eliminate holding and grabbing offensive players. The gloves prevented Clark from making an interception on one play.
• Running backs coach Jimmy Smith had his group go through a drill in which it worked on running off guard and then hitting a dummy with a strong stiff arm once at the second level. Sam Pittman walked by during this segment and told Smith he really liked the drill.
Later, running backs worked on pass protection. Smith brought over a few linebackers to assist him, and they rushed from both edges and up the middle. Raheim Sanders and AJ Green were solid throughout this drill, showing power through their hands and good leverage.
• From the Fastball Start, Sanders ran twice for minimal gains, Dubinion carried once then dropped a pass from KJ Jefferson. With the second team, Malik Hornsby completed a pass to Cole on the right side then was sacked by, I believe, Jordan Crook on the final play.
Cade Fortin finished the period with a completed pass to Jaquayln Crawford on a crossing route for probably 15 yards.
Here is a look at how the offenses and defenses were aligned during the team period:
First offense
QB: KJ Jefferson
RB: Raheim Sanders AND Rashod Dubinion
TE: Trey Knox
WR: Matt Landers
WR: Jadon Haselwood
LT: Luke Jones
LG: Brady Latham
C: Ricky Stromberg
RG: Beaux Limmer
RT: Dalton Wagner
Note: Ketron Jackson and Warren Thompson were present at practice but did not go through the Fastball Start. Jaedon Wilson was not present.
Second offense
QB: Malik Hornsby
RB: AJ Green
TE: Nathan Bax
WR: Sam Mbake
WR: Isaiah Sategna
WR: Harper Cole
LT: Andrew Chamblee
LG: Jalen St. John
C: Josh Street
RG: E’Marion Harris
RT: Ty’Kieast Crawford
Third offense
QB: Cade Fortin
RB: Rashod Dubinion
TE: Ty Washington
WR: Landon Rogers
WR: Jaquayln Crawford
WR: Kalil Girault
LT: Terry Wells
LG: Patrick Kutas
C: Eli Henderson
RG: Brooks Edmonson
RT: Cole Carson
First defense
DE: Jashaud Stewart
DT: Eric Gregory
DT: Isaiah Nichols
DE: Zach Williams
LB: Drew Sanders
LB: Bumper Pool
CB: LaDarrius Bishop
CB: Hudson Clark
S: Simeon Blair
S: Jalen Catalon
Nickel: Trent Gordon
Note: Myles Slusher did not go through the Fastball Start period and was not seen at practice.
Second defense
DE: Landon Jackson
DT: Terry Hampton
DT: Cam Ball
DE: Jordan Domineck
LB: Chris Paul
LB: Jordan Crook
CB: Malik Chavis
CB: Khari Johnson
S: Latavious Brini
S: Jayden Johnson
Nickel: Jacorrei Turner
Third defense
DE: Dorian Gerald
DT: Taylor Lewis
DT: Nico Davillier
DE: Eric Thomas
LB: Mani Powell
LB: Kaden Henley
CB: Keuan Parker
CB: Dwight McGlothern
S: Zach Zimos
S: Anthony Brown
Nickel: Jaylen Lewis