New Worlds Record Brown Trout
I can remember when Rip Collins caught the first brown trout weighing over 40lbs on the Little Red River in Heber Springs a long time ago, it was a huge deal, and an even bigger fish. Rip Collins has since passed away but replicas of his fish and the infamous photo of him holding it are still on display all over the Greers Ferry Lake area. If you are interested, fishing guide Duane Hada has Rip Collin’s information on his site.. To the best of my knowledge no one has came close to topping his record until now.
I was watching CNN this morning and a headline caught my attention of a man in Michigan who caught a 41lb Brown Trout, I think that Rip’s fish was just slightly over 40lbs. If that is true, that would make this catch a new worlds record.
My Observations from the Razorback Opener
This past week has been a blur for me so I apologize for the late post regarding the Razorback opening game. My wife’s grandfather passed away a few days prior to the game so we naturally weren’t in the right frame of mind going into the game but we quickly perked up after the kickoff in which we ran the ball all the way back for a touchdown.
In my jubilation I accidentally knocked one of those hearing devices you can order on television for $19.95 out of an elderly gentleman’s ear that was seated beside me when my attempt to give a total stranger a high five went terribly off target, this is a story within itself but will spare you the details of our seating agony during the game. I will just say that I was forced to squeeze in behind a 350lb dude that had one of the longest tallest heads I have ever seen and an elderly gentleman that couldn’t hear a word that was announced during the game and had to ask me each time a flag was thrown what the penalty was for. My preference for ballgames is within the comforts of my parents air-conditioned box in Fayetteville and I guess I am ruined now…
All in the all the Hogs played great I thought, it was hard to guage how good we are going to be however because we didn’t see enough of Ryan Mallett. Tyler Wilson looked good, but is not anywhere in the league with Mallett. He (Mallett) was so poised and relaxed in the pocket that I think we are going to see great things out of him when we do face some opposition on defense. He never panicked.
Having been to several games during the Houston Nutt era at Arkansas, this game was a strong contrast, we moved the ball, and never wasted any downs trying to make a hole somewhere there wasn’t one. Oh, and by the way, in case you missed it, Houston Nutt took his Ole Miss team into Memphis this weekend and demonstrated once again how to take a much more talented team into a game and almost throw it away.
Other players I was impressed with during the game were Wendell Davis, Wingo and Michael Smith. I also hope London Crawford is ready to go soon, I haven’t heard a report on his injury yet. If anyone knows anything on this be sure to let me know. Here’s the report from KTHV about the game:
The Arkansas Razorbacks began year two with Bobby Petrino by racking up 447 yards through the air in a 48-10 thumping of Missouri State. In the state of Arkansas, black bear hunting season typically does not begin until the winter. Second-year head coach Bobby Petrino and the University of Arkansas Razorbacks got a head start with a 21-point first quarter to begin a 41-10 rout of the Missouri State Bears before a sellout crowd at War Memorial Stadium. The Razorbacks, 1-0, passed for a school record 447 yards behind the efficient work of sophomore Ryan Mallett and freshman Tyler Wilson. Both quarterbacks had sustained touchdown drives for the Razorbacks as Arkansas combined to hit 30 of 41 attempts with a lone interception. Missouri State drops to 0-1 in the season opener for both teams.
"We came down here and did what we set out to do," UA head coach Bobby Petrino said. "I was really happy with our preparation and the way that we traveled. We are a more mature team than we were a year ago and it showed in the game. There is a lot we have to learn, but first and foremost I want to emphasize the positive aspects. We will get to work and fix the negatives by next game."
The Razorbacks took control of the game at the kickoff as Dennis Johnson took Matt Hottelman’s opening kick off 91 yards for the first touchdown of the 2009 season. The PAT from Alex Tejada gave Arkansas a 7-0 lead 18 seconds into the game and led the way for the first 21-point quarter of offense in the Petrino Era at Arkansas. "That kickoff return was demoralizing," Bear cornerback Cedric Alvis said. "College football is all about momentum and we started out without momentum."
Nearby Rogers, Ark., product Cody Kirby managed a first down after the Razorback kickoff, but under pressure from Freddie Burton hurries his pass and was picked by Wendel Davis. Mallett opened his Razorback career with a completion, and guided Arkansas to a short six-play, 46-yard drive capped by a 15-yard untouched draw from Michael Smith for the touchdown. "The opening kickoff and the interception put us in a hole and we’re not a sure enough or good enough football team yet to overcome that," MSU head coach Terry Allen said. "I did see some things in the second half that showed me we were better this week." Missouri State managed to get on the board when Hottleman connected on a career-long 53-yard attempt with 3:16 left in the first quarter. The Razorbacks responed before the end of the quarter with a one-yard touchdown run by Broderick Green, set up by a pair of receptions from Mallett to Jarius Wright.
Petrino went to his backup quarterback, Tyler Wilson, for the next series, and the 6-3 freshman led Arkansas to its fourth touchdown of the night. Wilson’s drive saw two fourth down conversions, including the two-yard TD pass to Van Stumon. "I was happy with both of the quarterbacks tonight," Petrino said. "Ryan did a very good job showing a good demeanor and leadership. He got hit a couple times and it was a good thing. He stayed in the pocket and made good decisions. I was happy with the protection, timing, the way the ball came out of his hand and of course the accuracy." Trailing 28-3, Missouri State put together its first touchdown drive of the night, aided by a fourth-down pass interference penalty in the Razorback end zone. After the flag, Jonathan Davis punched the two-yard run in for a 28-10 deficit.
Mallett returned to the game, and took his consecutive pass completions to nine before his first miss. Moving the Hogs inside the Bears’ four yard line, Tejada came on with 14 second left in the half to pick up his first field goal of the season with a 20-yarder to send the teams to halftime at 31-10. "This game was everything I expected it to be," Mallett said. "It has been my lifelong dream to come out and play as a Razorback." Wright closed the first half with more receiving yards, 123, than the entire Missouri State offense as the Bears put up only 120 total yards. The Razorbacks had 290 yards in the first half, mostly through the air thanks to a 16-of-20 overall effort for 251.
Each time it appeared MSU could find life, notably three penalties that extended Bear possessions, Arkansas would deliver another crushing blow. After an interception of Kirby at the Arkansas one yard line by Tramain Thomas, the Razorbacks proceded to march 99 yards in just 94 seconds to score. A 40-yard rambling weave through the Bear secondary by Joe Adams facilitated by key downfield blocks by his fellow receivers ended the lighting drive, and put Arkansas up 38-10 early in the third.
Missouri State couldn’t even win a video challenge from the Razorbacks, as a late fourth quarter punt was ruled to not touch an Arkansas player, giving the ball back the Hogs. Arkansas’ offense was almost perfect, going until the final 1:43 of the game before a turnover as Wilson was picked off by Antonio Brown of MSU. The Bears could muster no further offense, closing the game with only 205 total yards. Arkansas racked up 591 as a team, adding 144 on the ground. Ronnie Wingo, Jr., led the team with 50 net yards, but Smith used his four carries to rack up 43 yards and a touchdown, a 10.8 yards per carry average.
Wright closed with 139 yards on six receptions to lead the Razorbacks. Three other Razorbacks – Joe Adams, Cobi Hamilton and Greg Childs – had four catches. On the evening, Mallett finished his first start for the Razorbacks by hitting 17 of 22 for 309 yards and one touchdown. Wilson was 13 of 19 for 138 yards. By comparison, MSU’s Kirby managed only 13 of 22 with two interceptions and just 205 yards.
One other highlight from the game that happened away from the field and in the midst of all of the tailgaters that I would be remiss for not mentioning happened as we were making our way to our seats. I witnessed a “well-endowed” young lady, who was obviously under the influence, raise her shirt and shake her breasts at the crowd as we were making our way into the stadium. The only thing she had on was two plastic Razorback pasties. Trust me, i couldn’t get to my iPhone in time or you would be seeing that shot here this morning… Amazing. haa. My wife fortunately didn’t see this incident or it might well be my last tailgating experience. 
Petrino Opens 2009 With Offensive Record – todaysthv.com | KTHV | Little Rock, AR
The Warriors Barely Escape UCA (25-20)
Last night at midnight, I tuned into the UCA / Hawaii ball game that was being televised on channel 42. I have to admit, I was pretty impressed with UCA and the way they were able to shut down Hawaii’s offense and force a turnover on their first possession. I was also impressed at how UCA was able to bring the ball down the field and put it in the end zone.
This is going to be an exciting season for UCA and I hope to make it over to a lot of their games this season. Just seeing them do that well against a much larger school really impressed me. Of course I fell asleep shortly before halftime and didn’t wake up until 4am so finding out that Hawaii pulled it out surprised me.
To my knowledge Nathan Dick, transfer from the Razorbacks, didn’t get to play any last night. I have heard rumors that he was injured so that might have been the case. I am not a big fan of anything from the Houston Nutt era infiltrating UCA…
Rodney Bradley made a leaping grab of Greg Alexander’s 8-yard pass in the back of the end zone with 1:22 left tonight to give Hawai’i a pulsating season-opening 25-20 victory over Central Arkansas at Aloha Stadium.
The Warriors appeared to be doomed after slotback Kealoha Pilares was stripped of the football at the doorstep of the goal line with about 7 minutes remaining. But the Warriors forced the Bears to punt on their ensuing possession and took over at their 26 with 2:26 to play.
Alexander then threw to slotback Greg Salas in the left flat. Salas eluded a would-be tackler, then looped to the right and cut back across the field. He was finally tackled at the 8 after a 66-yard gain. Three plays later, Alexander rolled to his right and threw high to Bradley, who made the leaping catch.
Central Arkansas’ last possession ended when blitzing linebacker Corey Paredes hit quarterback Robbie Park just before he released a pass, and nickelback Richard Torres recovered at the Bears’ 2 with 1:02 left. Hawai’i then ran out the clock.
Brent Grimes scored on a 1-yard run with 10 minutes left to help the Bears regain the lead at 20-19. It was Grimes’ third touchdown of the game. The Warriors had taken a 19-14 lead on Alexander’s 3-yard scoring pass to Pilares and Scott Enos’ 36-yard field goal.
The Bears dominated nearly every phase in the first half in establishing a 14-9 lead.
Central Arkansas is a probationary member of Division I-AA, which offers fewer scholarships and usually has a considerably smaller budget than Division I programs.Still, the Bears, who lost several key offensive players from last year’s 10-2 team, made the right plays at the right time in controlling the first half. Central Arkansas mixed a power running game with a spread passing attack that often featured up to five receivers.
Even when the Bears appeared to set up a running play — going with two tight ends — they still managed to complete a pass to the lone receiver. The Warriors entered with concerns on defense. Their defensive leader, middle linebacker Brashton Satele, underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last week.
Their lone returning full-time starter, defensive right end Fetaiagogo "John" Fonoti, was not on the game’s active roster because of a bruised left kneecap. Yet it was the Warriors’ much-heralded offense that struggled. Their first five possessions ended with two lost fumbles (both by Alexander), an interception and two punts.
The Warriors’ opening drive was abbreviated to two plays. Alexander was sacked by defensive end Larry Hart. Defensive end Markell Carter recovered at the UH 22.
Four plays later, against a five-man stacked front, Grimes found an opening on the right side for a 1-yard touchdown run. The Warriors closed to 7-2 when Daniel Herrington snapped the football over the head of punter Jonathan Beard. Beard chased down the ball at the 2, and kicked it out of the end zone for a safety.
But the Warriors, who would receive the ensuing free kick, squandered a scoring opportunity when safety Pieri Feazell intercepted an Alexander pass in the end zone.
In their first possession of the second quarter, the Bears drove to the UH 4. From there, Park threw a screen to Grimes in the right flat. Grimes caught the ball at the 4, and weaved his way into the end zone for a 14-2 lead.
The Warriors cut the deficit to 14-9 on Alexander’s 4-yard scoring pass to Salas at the end of a crossing route. Salas, who had moved from left wideout to slotback in spring training, had sustained the drive with a 44-yard, catch-and-sprint play.
Park, a fifth-year senior but first-year starter, completed 12 of 17 first-half passes for 113 yards. In the first half, Alexander was 9 of 16 for 132 yards, although 63 of those yards came on the Warriors’ touchdown drive.
LeGarrette Blount Punches Boise State Player
I am so glad College Football is back, and to top things off last night LeGarrette Blount from Oregon decided to punch a Boise State Player after the game. What gets me is why the rest of Boise State didn’t jump on him and flog him?? Oh, and one more thought, that whole ceremonial handshake thing before the game, we don’t need all that…
ESPN’s Fantasy Draft Kit for the iPhone
Last night close to 20 of my buddies all came over and we had a live draft using one of those boards you can order online. Granted the process was a little more drawn out and less efficient than simply doing the draft online but we had a really good time doing it and I guess that’s all that matters.
Of course w/ everyone needing to research out their roster it seemed like we had 2 laptops setup for every one person in attendance. It looked like a genuine nerdfest. To make things even nerdier, we had constructed a podium from cardboard that our commissioner JT had decorated up just for this occassion. By the time the Dominoes pizza delivery guy got here the tension in the room could be cut w/ a knife…
We went on our way of setting up our teams and researching out available talent. I was extremely pleased to get my normal QB Peyton Manning early in round one, I usually build my team around him if possible. Instead of using my laptop to track the players, I downloaded the iPhone app from ESPN’s fantasy draft kit and used that instead. I was amazed at how easy it was to navigate between players and find just the right ones to make up my lineup. Here are some screenshots of the players I selected for my roster. I know it’s late in the game for drafts but if you still haven’t had yours yet, be sure to checkout this app for the iPhone.
So far this has to be my favorite iPhone application of the week…
Ryan Mallett Hysteria
After watching Ryan Mallett back when he was with Michigan I was impressed with him, upon learning that he was an Arkansas native I got mad at Houston Nutt all over again for not recruiting this kid. Well, fast forward a few years and he’s wearing a Razorback jersey now and Houston is at that community college over in Oxford, I am a much happier camper these days.
I think we all knew that Mallett was going to be good, but all of the reports I am getting from the hill are indicating he might be better than expected. This is a breath of fresh air for those of us who love Razorback football. The fact that he is going to be “brand new” and supported by some good coaching is really getting me anxious for the season to start!
Here’s a report that I got from a friend that is very active on the Razorback message boards:
Ryan Mallett is turning heads early in fall camp. He’s had a wonderful last week as the Hogs prepare for their season opener. The quarterback has rare talent and is putting it together under Bobby Petrino and his staff.
After trying to throw cold water on the raging Ryan Mallett hysteria, here’s a little jet fuel on the wild fire. Ryan Mallett looks like the real deal. At least, over the last week six or seven practices he’s looked as good as anything I’ve seen on a practice field.
Compared to past Arkansas quarterbacks, I don’t remember seeing anything as good as Mallett has been in the last week. The last time I saw a quarterback throw so many wonderful passes and complete almost all of them was before Clint Stoerner’s senior season.
Stoerner was flat out spectacular that August. But not as good as Mallett. No one has ever thrown the deep pass like Mallett has this past two weeks. Then, he began to grasp the softer throws about Friday or Saturday. He’s been lights out on almost every kind of throw you can imagine ever since.
Petrino and his offensive staff — Garrick McGee, Paul Petrino and Mike Summers — deserve tremendous credit for their work with Mallett. There is even better news: Mallett’s receivers are catching nearly all of them. It’s been something to behold.
There should be one asterisk. Mallett is not being hit in this fall camp. He wasn’t tackled last spring, either. Will he fare as well and look so sharp when the games and the hitting begins.
Bobby Petrino has as much contact in fall practices as any college coach you’ll find. But he does not believe in hitting quarterbacks. It’s the one difference in what he went through as a college quarterback for his father at Carroll College in Montana. His father thought quarterbacks should be hit in practice. It’s hard to compare Mallett to anything I’ve ever seen at quarterback.
I’ve never seen a 6-foot-7 quarterback. I’ve never seen anyone throw the deep pass as consistently well as Mallett.
There are faint memories of what Troy Aikman looked like in the preseason of his sophomore year at Oklahoma before he broke his leg. Aikman had the best arm I’d ever seen to that point. Aikman eventually left for UCLA when the Sooners turned the helm over to Jamelle Hollieway and locked into the wishbone.
Mallett’s arm is better. Plus, Aikman was running an Oklahoma scheme that was far from sophisticated. He could throw the prettiest long spirals you could ever want to see. But he wasn’t running a multiple pro scheme like Mallett.
I’d decided this two days ago when Mallett had put together four straight spectacular practices in a row. Then came the acknowledgment from Petrino that, yes, his sophomore quarterback had improved quite a lot. He’d managed to keep his emotions in check and execute the short passing game that was not there in the spring.
I’ve seen other pro arms excel in practice aside from Aikman. There was Gus Frerotte and T. J. Rubley at Tulsa. I was a student at Arkansas when Joe Ferguson lit up the practice field with his rifle shots. Stoerner’s arm was pretty good until he separated his shoulder early in his senior season.
Can the Hogs protect Mallett? Some of that will fall on Mallett. He’ll have to solve blitzes in a way that causes defenses to back off. That’s been the strength of Petrino offenses. To twist John L. Smith’s line on special teams, Petrino’s ability to win one-play battles for huge chunks of land is what makes him an offensive genius. That’s what a former college head coach with an offensive reputation called Petrino earlier this week after watching two days of practice.
“Bobby Petrino’s forte is developing quarterbacks,” the old coach said.
“From what I’ve seen the last two days, he’s exceptional. Mallett is really good, but what you see is a coach wrapping his arms around a talent and molding him into his system. They get more done on the practice field to develop a quarterback than anything I’ve ever seen.
“The repetitions they get in the passing game are out of this world. I don’t see how you couldn’t improve as a quarterback with the way they practice. This is going to be fun to watch.”
SEC Ban on Social Media
Okay, so the SEC doesn’t get social media. Actually I think it is one of those cases where CBS feels threatened by social media and the SEC feels threatened that CBS will want out of their $3 billion contract. I only see this blowing up for them in the long run.
This morning Bryan Jones asked on Twitter how this was going to be enforced. I honestly don’t see how they are going to be able to do this, unless of course they have a system of hall monitors or something that walks around handing out demerits at the ball games. I know that this isn’t a big deal to a lot of people but once you think about it, if it wasn’t for social media, we never would have gotten this jewel of a photo from the Hog sidelines.
I will tell you this, I am going to Twitter and Facebook both this season at the games and I will report back to you on how they are enforcing this rule (probably from a holding cell). If you are clueless as to what I am talking about, you can see this snippet from Mashable magazine:
Today, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) is expected to release a final version of its new media policy. For the sake of sports fans everywhere, let’s hope it has some significant changes from the current version, because at the moment, it can best be described as a ban on all social media usage at SEC games.
Earlier this month, the conference informed its schools of the new policy, which reads: “Ticketed fans can’t “produce or disseminate (or aid in producing or disseminating) any material or information about the Event, including, but not limited to, any account, description, picture, video, audio, reproduction or other information concerning the Event.”
Translated, that means no Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, TwitPic, or any other service that could in any way compete with authorized media coverage of the event. In the case of the SEC, authorized media coverage rights belong to CBS, who has a $3 billion deal with the conference over the next 15 years according to The St Petersburg Times.
Coach Petrino’s Comments
Mark Edwards from Today’sTHV posted some of Coach Petrino’s comments on his blog yesterday, I thought they were worth reposting. It sounds like things are starting to come together for the Hogs. I am really looking forward to seeing Ryan Mallett take the field as a Razorback this year.
By the way, if you are interested in learning more about Ryan Mallett, you can go to www.ryanmallett.org. This is apparently a fan website that is not affiliated with Ryan or the University of Arkansas but has some really good information on it and appears to be well maintained.
Here are Mark’s comments:
Opening comment:
"I liked the practice we had. It was a good, physical practice. It was really the first time we went 11-on-11 and had live tackle. We did a tackle drill the first day in pads, but this is the first day it was really live. It started with the run play action part of it and I thought the first defense got the better of the first offense in that part of it. We went to a blitz session that was even. The last part of it we moved the ball and I thought the offense got after the defense and we gave up some big plays, which you can’t have on defense. We had guys making plays offensively. I thought our offensive line did a pretty good job of blocking up front. We finished with overtime and we won the overtime, which was a good thing.On Cobi Hamilton:
"Hamilton is very, very talented. He has to stay in there and practice hard and understand how you work. He can make plays. He’s big and fast and has very good hands. He can adjust to the ball and controls his body as well as anybody. He has to learn how to practice on every play."On the first and second offensive lines:
"Freeman has been practicing real well. We ended up flipping him over and he’s going in Love’s place. I really like the development he’s shown since last spring. He had a great summer and he is a good athlete. When he came in here you hoped he would grow up and become an offensive lineman. I think he’s really done that and made a lot of strides. He still has a ways to go. I still like Matt Hall. He’s made great strides and is certainly big. When you look at the second line that stepped in there today, that’s a big group of offensive linemen. I’m happy with the fact we have a lot of big offensive linemen to work with. They are all working hard and competing. We are grading these guys and whoever practices the best moves up and goes ahead of the other guy."On tight ends:
"It is a concern. D.J. (Williams) didn’t go. He practice yesterday after he tweaked his ankle and we kept him out today. Chris (Gragg) obviously everyone saw the injury and that’s a major concern with him. I feel bad for him. He’s worked extremely hard. I’m sure it will be a situation where he’ll have to have surgery and be out for the year. Hopefully D.J. will be back at practice soon. He’ll be back when he’s ready. The one thing about him is he knows the offense and we won’t put him out there and have something where he may have something that nags and doesn’t get healed. We need to make sure he’s healed before we put him out."On Broderick Green’s performance in Wednesday’s practice:
"It was good to see. It was good to see him hit and not hesitate. He’s got to keep working on that. He’s got to hit it hard and use his size and strength. He can’t hesitate and look for holes. He needs to make the holes if it is not there. I thought he did that real well today. He ran through some tackles and when you have big hips like that guys bounce off you and that’s when you can get some big runs. I was happy to see the way he ran the ball."On Reggie Fish:
"(Last year) it was a decision for his family. He had a family situation where he needed to be able to get home and see his mom on the weekends. He asked me if he could redshirt. That was the best thing for him. He will help us. He can play all positions. He knows what the offense is and has good speed. He can really provide a lot of depth and make plays."
Razorback Football Practice Reports
I have two Razorback Football Practice Reports that were emailed to me over the weekend, thought that those of you who follow the Hogs might be interested in seeing these. It sounds like the team is starting to come together. I already have tickets for the season opener in Little Rock and I could not be more excited.
I am really looking forward to this season, I think we will be a lot better this year, maybe not contenders for the SEC championship but capable of pulling of some exciting finishes. My only concern this season is that we beat Ole Miss and possibly LSU.
Here’s the report from the first practice session:
Okay and Guys & Gals here is my 1st report. Again the opinions are my own, and some from Coach Jerry Dollins, and whoever else will talk to me. Nate Allen, the local sportswriter, said these were the 105 allowed to practice before school starts. Others can come on wants school starts. This list is different from the one I ran off of the Razorback web site. It had some additional names that I guess aren’t allowed to practice – one name jumped out at me was Andrew Norman- who in the spring showed himself to me to have great hands.
Practice started at 3 and early on it was pretty hot and muggy, but the clouds moved and and really cooled it down. For the first hour it was just the newcomers and some of the redshirt freshman and sophomores.
Some general thoughts about these guys, but as a side note I saw Bobby Allen at Crossover Liquor a week or two ago. He was buying wine and me beer. His son, Brandon, is the QB for Fayetteville and is consider to be a very good qb and had just won a big 7 on 7 tournament. Anyway I asked about the recruits and he said this class was special like the Matt Jones, Shawn Andrews, Jason Peters class. He was excited about them.
On to modern times….. The new d backs in this class are much bigger than the the guys we have now. Where our corners are 5′8″ now Darious Winston and David Gordon are 6′ (Gordon is a little bigger than Winston – Jerry thinks Winston looks like 35 year old). The new safetys #1 Anthony Leon 6′4″ 230 and #38 Jerry Mitchell (the sheet says he is 6′7″ he is not- he is no taller than Leon), but they are bigger than the guys we have. Both Winston & m safetyGordon move really fast and make it look easy. Anthony Leon looks like Steve Atwater. He was already playing 2nd team. He did not get practice here this summer and you could tell he was fagged. At one time he feined a tight hamstring so a trainer could work on him for a could work one him-but his chest was heaving for air. However he got up and continued.
#17 Brandoned Mitchell, the QB from Louisana, is a specimen. I am sure he will be redshirted, but he looks like an athlete. His passes were sharp and in the few plays he got to run in the skelton drills he had good touch on the ball.
#20 Ronnie Wingo body wise looks like McFadden; tall and lean 6′3″ 218. When he runs he lowers he shoulders. During the passing drills he caught the passes thrown to him. He has good hands.
I wasn’t close to the lineman, but on both sides of the ball the lineman are really big and the linebackers looked as big as what we have now. The only wide receivers that caught my attention were #11 Coby Hamilton & #83 Neal Barlow looked good and didn’t see them drop any passes.
Two other players that stood out because their small size were #10 Nick Petrino QB and #6 Bobby Petrino safety. Bobby was a really good safety for Fayetteville High last year. He was head hunter. He had a scholarship to the air force academy, but Didley Dawson said after a week he had enough of the military life.
At 4 the juniors and seniors came out and we all cheered. They were excited. Kniles Davis was not there because his dad passed away, but Dudley said he would be there Saturday. Brandon Barnett was on the sidelines running and he was favoring his leg. I bet he won’t be ready for at least a month. Last year he was also on the side line. Nate Allen said it is going to be tough for him because of all the numbers at running back.
Nate and I discussed Broderick Green #29 and frankly like me Nate was not that impressed with him in the spring. To me his 1st step in not quick and he doesn’t lower his shoulders and run over people like he should. Hopefully now that he knows he is eligible he will show more. I bet before his career is over he will be a fullback. However he looks like a super stud. But the best looking athelete to me continues to be Van Stuman #44 6′1″ 266. Jerry and I agree that maybe since he is listed as the starting fullback he has new motivation.
They practiced the special teams early they had the punt team out there. Briton Forester #49 the transfer punter kicked some really high spirals. However #14 Dillon Breeding crushed a few. The 4 guys returning punts were Michael Smith #21, #27 Jerral Norton, #3 Joe Adams, #16 Darius Winston. Kickers did not kick, but just watching the kickers we have Alex Tejada needs to be it because the others had no legs.
Mallet # 15 physically looks better than ever. While the qbs were throwing the ball back and forth one got away (probably from youngblood) and a la Matt Jones he just stuck out one hand and pluck it out of the air.
During the skelton drills when there was a pass rush he threw some good balls, overthrew some receivers, overpowered some throws and threw a couple on INTs. He did throw a couple of long balls that were right on the money. He is obviously the starter and seemed to genuinely trying to be a leader.
Tyler Wilson #8 looked good. He seems to spot open receivers really well. At one time on a play he quickly spotted a wide open Ben Cleveland #86 and it would have been a big gainer. Later in one of the drills the pocket broke down and he spun out and threw a quick pass downfield intercepted. On the day he probably had a higher % of completions and only 1 int to Mallets 2 or 3.
Jim Youngblood had a couple of good throws and some that were really overthrown. He is way back from Tyler & Ryan. Greg Childs #85, London Crawford #3, Reggie Fish #1, #3 Joe Adams all made some tremendous catches.
Michael Smith looks as quick as he ever did, Dennis Johnson and D’Anthony looked good as did Wingo. D’Anthony still looks like he is carrying a loaf of bread. Hard to tell about any of these guys until they get pads on. Mitchell Bailey #30 the star of the red-white spring game didn’t get any carriers as far as i can tell, but I don’t believe any of the fullbacks did.
This is the second report from what I think was the Sunday practice session. My father and law and I almost headed up for this one…
I was able to get to practice when they ran the first play from scrimmage. There was nothing wrong with the passing game today with the QB’s on target and very few dropped passes. In my 11 years of watching practice in Fayetteville I have never seen a Razorback team with so much size and speed. This coaching may be the best we have had since Broyles had some of his best staffs. They are the most organized, energized, and focused that I have ever seen.
There is very little difference in the two QB’s. Mallett is more of a risk taker than Wilson. Both are winners. On the down side Mallett will occasionally throw a horrible pass and Wilson still has trouble catching the snap (this is hard to understand, maybe he is looking down field instead of looking the ball into his hands). With all the other positives you still have to feel very good about both of them. For the future a freshman named Brandon Mitchell from La. is a name to remember.
All the receivers looked good today. Of course the first of a few dropped passes was by London Crawford. Most passes are thrown to Jarius Wright. The freshman that had the most catches was Cobi Hamilton from Texarkana. They seem to really like him.Speaking of freshmen. Last year we played 16 freshman because we had to. This year do not be concerned if some freshmen play because they are so talented ( Darius Winston and David Gordon ). Three of the biggest human beings in world are on the offensive line. Matt Hall, Anthony Oden, and Grant Freeman should be able to block anyone and protect the QB’s.
Jake Bequette nearly died of heat exhaustion. He did something that pissed off some coach and had to run the steps. When he got to the top row on the east side he went down for the count. No less than three trainers treated him for at least an hour on the top row and then two of them had to assist him to the dressing room. I was surprised that they did not call an ambulance he looked so bad.
Coach B. Petrino rarely pays attention to the defense but I thought today he was going to kill Ramon Broadway when he lined up in the wrong defensive formation.
Tejada looks great. The worst thing he did was miss one of four field goals from 49 yards. It looks like they will throw a lot to the backs, especially Broderick “Crawford” Green. He is very dangerous when he catches a pass on the run. Not many DB’s will want to take him on when he is at full speed.My best advice is to take Arkansas and the points against Georgia in Fayetteville!!!
Turner to Re-Launch Multi-Platform Race Coverage
I wanted to post something about Turner’s RaceBuddy because I have had no less than a dozen people email me and ask me my thoughts about how this product was going to be repackaged for the Nascar Community starting this next week when TNT takes over. There has also been a lot of speculation as to how RaceBuddy was going to incorporate some popular elements like Twitter into their blanket race coverage. I can say with some certainty that Twitter is going to play a large role in their coverage, and here’s a clue that some other blogs out there are already reporting, be sure to follow @RaceBuddy on twitter…
As a lot of you that follow the industry closely may already be aware, Turner already owns all of the interactive rights to NASCAR, and they have for a while now. Granted, their products haven’t always lived up to the expectations of the NASCAR fanbase, I am willing to go out on a limb this time and say that I think they will hit the nail a little closer on the head this time around, especially since they (NASCAR) have managed to build such a social following. Here’s a press release posted on Turner Sports corporate website that offers a little bit of insight about RaceBuddy:
When NASCAR fans across the country gather this summer to watch NASCAR on TNT, they’ll have one more way to watch the drama on the track unfold – with RaceBuddy, NASCAR.COM’s live online companion coverage for TNT’s six-race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series telecasts, which begin June 8th with the Pocono 500 presented by EA Sports NASCAR ‘09. RaceBuddy is an animated character (click link below for image) who lives on NASCAR.COM, the official site of NASCAR, and also will make appearances on TNT to remind fans of the unprecedented live coverage available on the site during all six of the TNT races, including live feeds from the Pit Road Cam, In-Car Cameras, Battle Cam, Race Robo and Mosaic View. RaceBuddy will ride shotgun with viewers during the race by showing fans how to interact through online chats, answering poll questions and submitting questions to “Ask the Booth” which will be answered during the pre-race coverage and the race telecast by TNT announcers Bill Weber, Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach. From on air to online, RaceBuddy serves as a multiplatform companion designed to bring fans closer to the race action.
“The integration between TNT and NASCAR.COM allows NASCAR fans to become completely engaged in the race before, during and after the television coverage by providing an opportunity to interact with the telecast and with other NASCAR fans online,” said Lenny Daniels, senior vice president of Turner Sports production and new media. “Turner Sports is a leader in utilizing technology to offer fans innovative ways to consume the sports they love via cutting-edge multiplatform experiences.”
TNT will also have an online presence on NASCAR.COM with a page devoted to TNT’s Summer Series of NASCAR racing that offers on-demand features from TNT announcers, bios, TNT’s schedule and replays of pre-race series such as Pride of NASCAR, NASCAR Future Stars, Wally’s World and Lindsay on Location. For more details, click: http://www.nascar.com/promos/tnt/
TNT’s NASCAR announcers include pre-race host Marc Fein, play-by-play announcer Bill Weber and analysts Wally Dallenbach and Kyle Petty. Veteran NASCAR crew chief Larry McReynolds will also join the TNT announcing crew, serving in a specialty role of analyst and reporter.
Finally, the network’s announcing crew will be rounded out by veteran pit reporters Marty Snider, Matt Yocum, Ralph Sheheen and Lindsay Czarniak. Beginning on June 8th in Pocono, TNT revs up for six consecutive races of exclusive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series coverage including races in Michigan (June 15), Sonoma (June 22), Loudon (June 29), and primetime Saturday night races in Daytona (July 5) and Chicago (July 12). TNT’s widely touted Wide Open Coverage will return for the network’s marquee primetime race, the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway.
Turner Sports acquired all of NASCAR’s interactive rights in October 2000 and became the exclusive producer of NASCAR.COM in January 2001. NASCAR.COM is one of the fastest growing sports league sites on the Web, consistently ranking among the top three sport sites on the Internet. In 2003, NASCAR.COM was awarded an Emmy® by the National Television Academy for its TrackPass with PitCommand application and was nominated for an Emmy® in 2007 for TrackPass RaceView.
Turner Sports, Inc., a Time Warner company, presents some of the best and most popular sporting events worldwide and is a leader in televised sports programming. With events airing on TBS and TNT, Turner Sports’ line-up includes NASCAR and NASCAR.COM, the NBA, Major League Baseball, professional golf, PGATour.com and PGA.com.
Turner Network Television (TNT), television’s destination for drama and one of cable’s top-rated networks, offers original movies and series, including the acclaimed and highly popular detective drama The Closer, starring Golden Globeâ winner and Emmy® and Screen Actors Guild Awardsâ nominee Kyra Sedgwick, and Saving Grace, a provocative new drama starring Oscar® winner and Screen Actors Guild Award nominee Holly Hunter. TNT is also home to powerful one-hour dramas, such as Bones, Law & Order, Without a Trace, Cold Case, ER and Charmed; broadcast premiere movies; compelling prime-time specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is available in high-definition.
Turner Newsroom: NASCAR.COM and TNT Launch ‘RaceBuddy’ to Provide Multiplatform Race Experience
