FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks football team will hold its longest live tackling session of spring training on Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, and fans will be able to watch.
Coach Sam Pittman said he expects there to be about 130 live tackle snaps in the eighth practice this spring, which will put the Hogs over the halfway point of their allotted 15 practices. Stadium scrimmages will begin immediately after the flex period and some individual practices, starting around 9 a.m.
Fans will be asked to enter through Gate 14 starting at 8:30 a.m. Parking in Lot 44 will be free and fans should be seated on the east side, officials said. You are welcome to bring your own food and drinks outside.
“I think the guys that are playing one-two are going to get about 50 snaps each,” Pittman said Thursday morning after a split workout between Walker Pavilion and the outdoor turf practice field. .
“There will be third-down situations. [run] Get the ball back, 2 minutes. Threes will probably be around 30 points. I think it will be a scrimmage of about 130, 140 plays. It ends with a two-minute drill to get the ball back. ”
The defense won in Thursday's drill, with both the first and second units holding off the offense when they needed a touchdown to take the lead. The top offense, featuring quarterback Tyren Green, reached the fourth and scored at 17 before Tyron Broden threw an incomplete in the end zone. The second unit, piloted by Malachi Singleton, reached 23 points before time expired.
Pittman said showing progress Saturday is the name of the game in his view.
“I just want to see how much it improves,” he said. “I think our tackling was decent. We want to improve in that regard.”
The Razorbacks have already completed two days of live tackling, holding a closed-door workout on Saturday during the first week of practice and a 72-play session on Thursday before spring break.
There are also offensive ideals behind better tackling.
“I want to see him break tackles,” Pittman said. “I'd like to see him throw consistently and catch catches. I like what we're doing in the secondary. But in the middle passing game, I'd like to get a little better at crosses under routes. Masu.”
The running backs, including Ja'Quinden Jackson, Rashod Dubinion, Isaiah Augustave, Dominic Johnson and freshman Braylen Russell, have performed well with pile moves in recent scrimmages, but new running backs coach Colby Smith Please take a closer look.
“We're looking for big plays and explosive runs,” Smith said. “I want explosive plays from the backs, like 15-yard runs and 20-yard receiving plays.
“It's just about having readiness in your pocket and protecting when you get blitzed, just being sane in those situations. At the end of the day, we want them to have fun.”
New receivers coach Ronnie Fauci said he wants to make sure the offensive unit is stable.
“Like Coach Pittman said, in the passing game we want a cleaner day and we want to go make some plays,” Fauci said. “Make sure you get the ball in the end zone.
“Just go into the offense with confidence and get a flow. Get in and out of the huddle. We're still trying to get used to the different tempos, fastballs, huddles. We just hope the operations go well. I’m here.”
Pittman hasn't always held open scrimmages for fans through his first four seasons, but he wants fans to feel closer to the program as the Hogs look to rebound from a 4-8 deficit in their fifth season. He expressed his desire to receive it.
Pittman also said he hopes the entire surgery goes smoothly.
“I hope it works,” he said. “I want to take good snapshots. There were several [Thursday] That wasn't good. And they weren't terrible. I didn't slam him into the ground or over his head or anything like that.
“But I want that consistent in-frame snaps and we're rotating on offense and defense and just improving on our last two records.” [scrimmaged].
“I can't really say we did anything terrible. I'm just going to say, 'Oh, oh, oh, oh.'” I want to play.”
