FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas players and coaches talked during spring drills about their resiliency and ability to stay focused after the shocking April 10 dismissal of Coach Bobby Petrino.
Now the Razorbacks get to prove if there is truth behind their words.
Arkansas begins preparations for the 2012 season today with practices for newcomers (3 p.m.) and veterans (6:30 p.m.) at the Intramural fields on Razorback Road.
The Razorbacks open “fall” camp in the blaze of summer, with 100-degree temperatures in the forecast for at least the first two days of camp and 100-degree heat indices beyond that.
“We just try to block that out,” fullback Kiero Small said of the scorching heat. “Once you get that out of your mind, it’s time to go do what you came out here to do. If you let it take you over, then it’s going to be a longer day than what it already is.”
First-year Coach John L. Smith takes over a team that finished last season 11-2 and ranked No. 5, its highest final ranking since the 1977 team wound up No. 3, and the school’s first 11-victory season since 1977.
Because of its returning talent, Arkansas has been projected by many publications as a top-15 team to open 2012, as its only losses last season were to SEC West rivals Alabama and LSU, who played for the BCS national championship.
“We feel good about the bullets we’ve got in our holsters, so let’s go fire our guns,” running backs coach Tim Horton said last week.
Arkansas’ newcomers said they understand they are entering a program that has its sights set on the BCS title game in Miami.
“First, we want to become a family. Then we want to go out there and go to Miami this year,” freshman linebacker Otha Peters said.
Smith’s introduction as head coach was met with a standing ovation by the players, who got to know him during his three seasons as an assistant coach before his four-month departure to become head coach at Weber State.
“Obviously we’ve got a head coach now that we’re very, very comfortable with,” quarterback Tyler Wilson said. “Nothing’s changed.”
Offensive coordinator Paul Petrino returned in December for Cotton Bowl preparations after a two-year stay at Illinois, and now has the keys to Arkansas’ high-performance attack, an offense that includes a bevy of skill-position talent and three returning offensive line starters.
“This offense is going to be the same offense,” Petrino said. “Now, whether a few more plays will be called more and is emphasized a little bit more by what I individually like, or what the coaches in the room like, that can happen.”
Wilson is coming off a series of spring scrimmages during which he showed a stronger grasp of the system and did not throw an interception.
“We’ve continued to implement the same stuff we’ve implemented for five years,” Wilson said at SEC media days. “Terminology-wise, I’m extremely comfortable with it.
“Defensively, we’ve had a change at coordinator, but that was before the [Bobby Petrino] incident.” Paul Haynes has been coordinating the defense since joining the staff in mid-December in time for Cotton Bowl preparations. Haynes’ defense opens camp with good depth at defensive tackle and decent numbers at end, but that’s not the case at linebacker and in the secondary.
“The depth at linebacker is still a work in progress, with Alonzo [Highsmith] not being there in the spring,” Haynes said. “... [And] also our safety depth, developing a couple of those guys to make sure they come along, especially with Ross Rasner being our ‘star.’ ”
UA Fall Camp
WHEN Daily through Aug. 18
WHERE Intramural fields
PRACTICE TIMES 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. next three days
NOTES Open to public unless weather forces team indoors to Walker Pavilion. Cell phone usage prohibited.
Sports, Pages 17 on 08/02/2012