COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas’ Tenarius “Tank” Wright didn’t complain last spring when he was moved to middle linebacker after playing defensive end for three seasons. He didn’t complain last week when he was moved back to defensive end after three games.
“He’s a senior captain,” Arkansas linebackers coach Taver Johnson said. “He’s a guy that understands he needs to be versatile and productive whether he’s playing linebacker or end.”
Razorbacks Coach John L. Smith said the latest move was made to put Wright in a position to make plays and to help him avoid aggravating a neck injury that has been lingering since early in preseason workouts.
“Tank has had some problems with his neck, in particular some stingers and numbness,” Smith said. “A lot of that has come, we believe, through backing him off of the ball where your collisions are maybe much more violent than let’s say his collisions would be on ... the line of scrimmage.
“So our thinking is with that to try and keep him healthy, let’s put him back at the defensive end spot where he’s made his name and played most of his career and see if that doesn’t help.”
Wright is fourth on the team with 25 tackles, but he said he’s “had some trouble out in space” when playing linebacker. The Razorbacks have had trouble getting to the quarterback with seven sacks in four games, and the coaches hope Wright can help generate pressure from the edge.
Practicing at end for a second week should allow Wright to have a more significant role in today’s game at Texas A&M after he played sparingly off the bench against Rutgers a week ago.
“I didn’t get really many snaps in last week,” Wright said. “But I know this week we’re planning on getting after it.”
Senior Alonzo Highsmith switched from weak side linebacker to the middle to replace Wright and senior Terrell Williams took over at weak side linebacker. Highsmith led the Razorbacks with 15 tackles against Rutgers, while Williams had 12 in his third career start and first since 2010.
“I take it as a privilege that the coaches have trust in me to start,” Williams said. “I’m just trying to help the team out as much as I can. I love putting on the Razorback jersey every Saturday. That’s just pride and something that is very honorable to me.”
Johnson said Williams had a solid game against Rutgers but needs to improve.
“I think he ran downhill and brought some energy to our defense,” Johnson said. “He made some plays. He was very productive.”
Williams got a lot of work with the first-team defense in fall camp when Highsmith and Wright were injured.
“You can tell all those reps helped him,” Johnson said. “All the reps you can get - no matter if it’s the spring or fall camp or during the season - are going to be worthwhile.”
Williams has waited four years to be a regular starter.
“It goes with everything we try and teach these guys about having perseverance,” Johnson said. “You just have to keep fighting, keep plugging away, because you never know what’s going to happen. It’s a long season, so you’ve got to make sure you keep your eyes forward on the task at hand.”
Defensive coordinator Paul Haynes said Wright will get snaps at linebacker and end.
“Based on the packages that we have, based on the offenses that we see, we’re going to move him around,” Haynes said.
Wright said that strategy “sounds great” and he’ll be glad to line up wherever the coaches want him. His focus is on helping the Razorbacks break a three-game losing streak by winning today.
“It’s a long season,” Wright said. “We have games to play. I’m not really a guy that likes to dwell on the past and think about it or let it hold me down. I’m all about let’s go out and let’s get better and let’s make plays.”
Sports, Pages 19 on 09/29/2012