Razorbacks report

Hogs QB zeroes in for 3 TDs

Tyler Wilson
Tyler Wilson

— Tyler Wilson completed 14 of 18 passes for 221 yards, by an unofficial count, and threw touchdown passes to Brandon Mitchell, Cobi Hamilton and Chris Gragg as Arkansas scrimmaged for 81 plays Tuesday.

All-SEC tailback Knile Davis, who is 100 percent healthy in his recovery from a broken ankle, did not participate in the halfscrimmage.

Brandon Allen completed 15 of 24 passes for 245 yards and 2 touchdowns leading the second offense. Both of the redshirt freshman’s scoring throws came on fade routes to the 6-6 Mekale McKay against solid coverage from Kaelon Kelleybrew and Jared Collins.

Hamilton, who got beyond cornerback Darius Winston for a 42-yard reception on the first snap, had five receptions for 86 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown grab on a fourthdown snap.

McKay went high over the cornerbacks for his touchdown catches of 10 and 35 yards, but the freshman also dropped a would-be scoring pass from Taylor Reed on the final series.

Freshman tailback Jonathan Williams capped a scoring drive with a 1-yard burst to finish a second-team series on which he had five carries for 25 yards.

Tailback Dennis Johnson didn’t have a lot of running room, but the senior caught three passes for 46 yards.

Zach Hocker kicked field goals of 43 and 27 yards and John Henson added a 19-yarder as the top two offenses scored on all nine possessions.

Brian Buehner and Reed combined for a 10-play scoring drive for the thirdteam offense, polished off by Buehner’s 17-yard touchdown strike to Demetrius Dean.

“The one thing that we’ve got to get better at, that we stress, is not giving up big plays,” defensive coordinator Paul Haynes said. “A lot of times those things happen because it’s probably a mental mistake.”

Arkansas’ offensive players were not scheduled for interviews Tuesday.

Injury update

Linebackers Tenarius Wright and Alonzo Highsmith and safety Eric Bennett did not suit out for Tuesday’s work, and Wright, who was dinged up after a non-tackle collision with Knile Davis on Monday, was not at the practice field.

Defensive coordinator Paul Haynes said he expects to have Wright and Highsmith back in a couple of days.

Freshman cornerback Will Hines, who sustained a mild injury late Monday, dressed out.

Defensive gems

Linebacker Jarrett Lake was given credit for the lone sack late Tuesday, an edge rush that netted a touch and a 6-yard loss on quarterback Brandon Allen.

Defensive end Colton Miles-Nash batted down an Allen pass at the line of scrimmage. Senior cornerback Kaelon Kelleybrew had a pair of pass breakups, while freshman corner Jared Collins had one. Safety Rohan Gaines and linebacker Terrell Williams also had pass breakups.

Freshman defensive end Deatrich Wise broke through for a 2-yard tackle for a loss on tailback Johnathan Williams, and Lake had a 1-yard tackle for a loss on Kody Walker.

Tailback Dennis Johnson was swarmed for two tackles behind the line, but his tacklers could not be identified.

Quick Gaines

Redshirt freshman Rohan Gaines has made the most of his first-team reps in camp, seemingly playing his way onto the first team at right safety.

“That safety spot is open for us, [and] right now he’s kind of pulling away with it,” defensive coordinator Paul Haynes said.

“If I can help the team in any way possible, I’m down for it,” said Gaines, who laid a couple of hard hits in run support Tuesday.

Knile’s thumb

Rookie Otha Peters gave tailback Knile Davis a hard outside move, then jetted underneath him to the “quarterback” spot during a one-on-one pass blocking drill Monday.

Moments later, as both players returned to the back of their lines, Davis shouted across the way “Otha!” and gave the touted linebacker a thumbs-up.

Worth noting

Springdale Har-Ber defensive tackle Josh Frazier, a 6-4, 305-pounder who is one of the state’s top recruits for the signing class of 2014, attended Tuesday’s practice.

Punter Dylan Breeding’s first punt of Monday’s practice was such a boomer that it chased return man Dennis Johnson well beyond where he was positioned and smack into receivers coach Kris Cinkovich.

The list of kickoff return candidates behind Dennis Johnson has included Ronnie Wingo, Demetrius Wilson, Keaelon Kelleybrew, Tevin Mitchel and Keante Minor.

The list of NFL scouts at recent practices includes representatives from the Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Bucs.

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