Here come the Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson calls today’s 6 p.m. season opener against Jacksonville State a “statement” game.

“We are not going to take them lightly,” Wilson said of the Football Championship Subdivision foe. “This is the first time you guys are going to see us live, and the rest of our state, and we’re going to put on a show.”

Coach John L. Smith has harped on walking through the open door of opportunity that awaits this Arkansas team, ranked 10th in the preseason Associated Press poll.

“These opportunities don’t come around all of the time in life, and I think our football team is trying to express that, ‘Hey, we have an opportunity to do something special this year, let’s go do it,’ ” Smith said.

Not everybody is sold on Arkansas, which is coming off an 11-2 season and a No. 5 ranking. There is national curiosity about how the Hogs will deal with the loss of Coach Bobby Petrino, who was stunningly fired in April and replaced by Smith. Plus, Arkansas has two new co-ordinators - Paul Petrino on offense and Paul Haynes on defense - and faces stout competition, including defending national champion Alabama and last season’s SEC champion LSU, which played in the national title game against the Tide.

The Razorbacks want to prove the skeptics wrong.

“We want to kick off the year right,” receiver Cobi Hamilton said. “We know this is going to be a special year for us.”

Arkansas has endured a tumultuous off season filled with player arrests, plus the firing of Petrino, who was let go 10 days after an April 1 motorcycle accident when he did not disclose there was a passenger, Jessica Dorrell, whom he had hired onto his staff while they were involved in an improper relationship.

“After all we’ve been through, this is a long time coming,” cornerback Darius Winston said. “Everyone is pumped up and excited and ready to get after it. That’s why it’s a statement game.”

Jack Crowe, coaching in his first game at Reynolds Razorback Stadium since a 10-3 loss to The Citadel to open the 1992 season when hewas Arkansas’ coach, will bring in a Gamecocks team that has been one of the highest regarded in the FCS during his 13-year tenure.

Crowe said this week the Razorbacks play with great heart and have as good a chance of winning the SEC West as anybody.

“I think they’re the best offensive football team in America,” Crowe said. “I think the quarterback is better than the guy out at Southern Cal [Matt Barkley], because I think he’s a better athlete.

“I know they lost three wide receivers, but I know Bobby Petrino was out there with a plan to replace them, so they’re going to have some.”

Arkansas junior running back Knile Davis, who rushed for 1,322 yards in 2010, will play in his first game since the 2011 Sugar Bowl after recovering from a broken ankle.

Davis said his main objective is just trying to get back in the flow of things.

“It’s going to be a long season in the SEC,” Davis said. “We want to start off right and I think we will.”

Paul Petrino and Haynes were both on staff in time to contribute to the Hogs’ 29-16 Cotton Bowl victory over Kansas State, but they were not as entrenched as they are now.

“I can’t wait,” Haynes said. “This is my first time, really, in Razorback Stadium. So, to get out there with this team for the first time, to run through that ‘A,’ I’m excited about that.

“Also, we’ve got a young defense. So [it’s important] to get that first game out of our belt, see where we are, how mature we are, how we adjust.”

The Razorbacks will have to contend with an offense led by two experienced quarterbacks - Marques Ivory and Coty Blanchard - and former Parade All-America tailback Washaun Ealey, who began his college career at Georgia.

“He’s an SEC back. He’s got skills and he’s got what it takes,” Arkansas linebacker Alonzo Highsmith said of Ealey.

Jacksonville State incorporates the option game into its offense.

“We’ve got to real disciplined and have great eye control,” Arkansas safety Eric Bennett said.

The Razorbacks also had to get option-ready for the Cotton Bowl, which should benefit them in the opener.

“They run a lot of the same stuff,” defensive end Trey Flowers said. “It’s a plus for us that we’ve seen a couple of those things before.”

Paul Petrino, who will call his first game at Arkansas without input from his brother, Bobby, wants to keep Arkansas’ offensive successes of the past three seasons on track.

“Every game is an opportunity to go out there and play your best and compete,” he said. “You only get so many of those. So it’s one of 14. So let’s go light it up and have fun and get after it.”