March 9 spring football practice notes and observations

Arkansas’ football team opened spring practice Thursday afternoon inside Walker Pavilion.

Reporters were invited inside to view the workout for roughly one hour. Here are some takeaways and observations:

• Defensive backs Quincey McAdoo, Al Walcott and LaDarrius Bishop were among a group of players who were not involved in the on-field activities. Running back Dominique Johnson and freshman offensive lineman Luke Brown were sidelined as well.

Many of the players spent time on stationary bikes and did a variety of exercises with team personnel. McAdoo watched a good bit of the practice from the sideline, too.

• During a period in which wide receivers and defensive backs went 1-on-1, cornerback Lorando Johnson broke up a KJ Jefferson pass intended for Sam Mbake. I came away impressed with a few reps from receivers Andrew Armstrong and Tyrone Broden.

Armstrong caught a deep ball for a score in 1-on-1s and Broden made a nice grab along the right sideline after breaking on an out route. Chris Harris made several catches and showed good speed. He has impressed in spring drills and pre-season workouts for years, it seems.

• Here is how Arkansas was aligned defensively during some team work:

First team

DE: Landon Jackson

DT: Eric Gregory

DT: Cam Ball

DE: Jashaud Stewart

LB: Chris Paul

LB: Jordan Crook

CB: Lorando Johnson

CB: Dwight McGlothern

S: Hudson Clark

S: Jayden Johnson

Nickel: Jaylen Lewis

Second team

DE: Nico Davillier

DT: Marcus Miller

DT: Taurean Carter

DE: Zach Williams

LB: Antonio Grier

LB: Mani Powell

CB: Landon Phipps

CB: Jaylon Braxton

S: Malik Chavis

S: TJ Metcalf

Nickel: Courtney Snelling

Third team

DE: John Morgan

DT: Kyle Thompson

DT: JJ Hollingsworth

DE: Trajan Jeffcoat

LB: Kaden Henley

LB: Carson Dean

CB: Landon Phipps

CB: Jaylon Braxton

S: Dylan Hasz

S: RJ Johnson

Nickel: Dallas Young

• Here is a look at the Razorbacks’ top two offensive line groups:

LT: Devon Manuel / Terry Wells

LG: Brady Latham / Patrick Kutas

C: Beaux Limmer / Josh Street

RG: E’Marion Harris / Josh Braun

RT: Ty’Kieast Crawford / Andrew Chamblee

• I walked to the far end of the indoor facility to take a look at the linebackers. It’s a group with a lot of impressive size and bodies.

Grier and Powell, in particular, impressed when going through a drill in which players were tasked with pushing a small sled with a 35- or 45-pound plate attached on the bottom, then attacking a tackling dummy. Grier turned the sled on its side after one rep, and I think Powell flipped it over completely.