Allen to Morgan works for Hogs

Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen runs drills Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen runs drills Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

FAYETTEVILLE -- Quarterback Brandon Allen capped the first week of Arkansas' fall camp with a good first scrimmage, hooking up with Drew Morgan for two touchdown passes as the Razorbacks worked for 92 plays Saturday morning at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Allen completed 12 of 22 passes for 191 yards, working exclusively with the first unit, and connected with the sophomore Morgan for touchdowns on two possessions that started at the opponent's 25.

"One player that jumped out to me today was Brandon Allen, who was the guy today that we have seen all camp, very confident, very in control," Coach Bret Bielema said. "I think he has shown some leadership toward the players on the field when they do something well or they don't."

Allen connected on two play-action deep balls, which Arkansas lacked last season. One was a 43-yarder to Morgan and the other a 41-yarder to Keon Hatcher.

Redshirt freshman Austin Allen also turned a play-action pass into a huge gain, finding Damon Mitchell beyond cornerback Will Hines for a 48-yard strike.

Scoring was impeded because the offense was working down-and-distance situations most of practice and had minimal move-the-ball segments.

The top offense's lone open drive ended on a dropped third-down pass by tight end Hunter Henry at the opponent's 19. The second offensive unit's drive ended at the opponent's 33 when linebacker Daunte Carr sacked Austin Allen for an 8-yard loss on third down.

Morgan, who was touted earlier in the week by offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and receivers coach Michael Smith as the most consistent receiver in camp, continued his hot streak. The former Greenwood player caught six passes for 117 yards, slipping by cornerback Jared Collins for a 25-yard touchdown on the offense's first snap in opponent territory.

Four snaps later, Morgan wriggled free in the left corner of the end zone and caught a 16-yard scoring pass.

"He reminds me a lot of [Jared] Abbrederis," Bielema said, referencing his former All-American receiver at Wisconsin and the 2013 Burlsworth Award winner as a former walk-on. "They have optimal speed, but they have to catch everything. They have to be perfect on their routes."

Austin Allen, working mostly with the second team, completed 16 of 20 passes for 190 yards.

On his short-field possessions, Austin Allen and the top reserves were stuffed by the second-team defense. Davyon McKinney forced a fumble from fullback Patrick Arinze after an 11-yard gain, and linebacker Randy Ramsey recovered it at the 14. Allen also was sacked for a 5-yard loss by Ramsey, and tight end Jeremy Sprinkle was thrown for a 10-yard loss on a hit by Otha Peters and a subsequent tackle by Ramsey.

Third-team quarterback Rafe Peavey hit 7 of 10 passes for 44 yards.

The defensive units ripped three balls free in a span of nine snaps early in the scrimmage, causing Bielema to call the offense together to hammer home the importance of ball security.

Only one of the three loose balls resulted in a turnover, as cornerback Carroll Washington knocked it away from fullback Kody Walker and end Trey Flowers recovered. Linebacker TQ Coleman knocked the ball loose from tailback Denzel Evans, although he appeared down before the fumble. Cornerback D.J. Dean stripped the ball from Sprinkle near the sideline and the ball flew out of bounds.

"Defensively, we were creating turnovers," Bielema said. "You hear our defensive players talk about it on every snap. They practice it every day.

"Obviously I want to have better ball security on offense. We came together and talked about it. We only had one mishap after that, so that shows that a point of emphasis does carry through."

The running back crew, already limited by a minor groin injury to Alex Collins, dwindled further when starter Jonathan Williams tweaked his hamstring after a leg pull by safety Alan Turner on the 38th snap. Four plays later, Arinze injured his shoulder after rumbling 11 yards on a pass in the flats following a big collision with the safety McKinney, who also had to come out of the scrimmage.

The Razorbacks, who held a closed special teams practice at the stadium Saturday night, will conduct their annual media day today and will not have a practice.

Sports on 08/10/2014