Hogs back it up on line

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas sustained perhaps its greatest personnel losses off of one unit from its defensive front with the departures of NFL prospects Trey Flowers and Darius Philon.

Yet the front four is shaping up as maybe the deepest unit the Razorbacks will take into 2015 as Coach Bret Bielema and his staff have committed to beefing up in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

Tackle Taiwan Johnson and end JaMichael Winston are returning starters from an Arkansas front that helped re-establish the Razorbacks as a solid run-stopping unit in 2014. Arkansas ranked No. 12 nationally in run defense, allowing 114.6 yards per game. The Hogs were second in the SEC behind only Alabama, which allowed 102.4 rushing yards per game.

The cast of players vying for playing time on the unit this spring is thick with veterans -- senior DeMarcus Hodge, junior Deatrich Wise Jr. and redshirt sophomore Tevin Beanun -- and potential rising stars such as sophomore Bijhon Jackson, transfer Jeremiah Ledbetter and freshman Hjalte Froholdt, an early enrollee. Mitchell Loewen (shoulder) and Brandon Lewis (knee), defensive ends with solid playing time in the past, had off-season surgeries and should provide even greater competition when fall camp rolls around.

"Going into fall camp there's going to be great competition at every spot," defensive line coach Rory Segrest said. "We've got guys nipping at each other's heels."

Wise, 6-5, 271 pounds, is rounding into a model for what Arkansas is looking for in a defensive end.

"As we go out on the road and recruit defensive ends, you can't get any better than that," Bielema said of Wise. "He's athletic. He's very strong and a powerful kid."

Wise, limited last fall after suffering a knee injury during camp, would presumably command a starting role, but when Bielema felt his non-football activities were slowing him down midway through spring, Beanum jumped over him on the depth chart and began producing with the starters. Wise's response was a series of sacks and batted-down passes during team periods the past couple of weeks.

"I tell you what, Deatrich Wise had by far his best week of practice," Bielema said Saturday.

Another top-level battle is being waged at nose guard, where Hodge surpassed Jackson two weeks ago. Jackson, who put on extra pounds during spring break, is working hard to regain a starting spot, but Hodge is playing well enough to hold down a spot with the first unit.

" He's worked really hard to transform his body and eat the right way and do things and it's showed up on the football field," defensive coordinator Robb Smith said of Hodge. "Like we've talked about at other positions, competition brings out the best in everybody. We're very pleased with what Bijhon has done as well.

"If we can get two really good football players to solidify the interior of our defense that'll be a great thing for us."

Hodge, 6-1, 340 pounds, from Monroe, La., is the only fifth-year senior on the defensive front seven.

"I guess I just wasn't focused like I needed to be the last couple of years," said Hodge, who had five tackles, including 1 1/2 tackles for loss, and forced a fumble last season. "Now it's just like it got more real to me. I finally just figured everything out, took steps in the right direction I think.

"I'm glad I've got their support, and it's really just helping propel me to even greater heights."

Segrest said Hodge has made a big jump from last year on technical points of playing the nose.

"He's doing a much better job shooting his hands coming out of his hips, and just doing what we ask him to do," he said. "I've seen a lot of progress with him."

Segrest said Beanum might have made the biggest improvements since the end of 2014.

"Obviously Tevin's come a long way," he said. "I've been really pleased with where he is from an execution standpoint."

Ledbetter has been impressive in one-on-one pass rush drills, and the coaches are working him both inside and outside.

Froholdt, a native of Denmark who prepped at IMG Academy in Brandenton, Fla., came into spring at 6-5, 311 pounds as one of the Hogs' top-rated signees. He moved from nose guard to behind Johnson at tackle last week.

"We thought Taiwan and he could handle that position very, very well, two different type players but two very good players," Bielema said. "The driving force behind that was Hodge has really been coming along well."

Froholdt said he's lost his share of one-on-one matchups with Arkansas' veteran offensive linemen and that the experience of enrolling early will be an asset.

"You've got to work hard every day to even keep your spot because that room is filled with talent," Froholdt said. "Right now I'm trying to work a lot on pass rush. Defending the run seems easier to me, but it's hard for me to transition into pass rushing. So that's what I'm focusing on."

Segrest said there players, like Armon Watts, Jake Hall and Karl Roesler, taking third-team reps who look like contributors. Daytrieon Dean, another early freshman enrollee, recently returned from winter shoulder surgery.

"Obviously in the SEC you've got to have that depth," Segrest said. "I mean, you can't go through a season or even a game just playing the same guys. It's a fast game and you've got to keep those bullets fresh, just keep those guys up there flying around."

Sports on 04/23/2015