Arkansas' two-deep loud, clear message

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema watches practice Tuesday, March 31, 2015, in Fayetteville.
Arkansas coach Bret Bielema watches practice Tuesday, March 31, 2015, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Kody Walker's productive spring and Alex Collins' weight gain and ankle injury have left the Arkansas tailbacks tied on the second team behind senior Jonathan Williams heading into the summer.

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said the elevation of Walker, a senior who rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns in the Red-White game last Saturday, was equal parts reward for Walker, who also plays fullback, and motivation for Collins, who gained nine pounds over spring break and was slowed by an ankle injury early during the Razorbacks' second spring scrimmage April 11.

"I would agree 100 percent," Bielema said at his post-spring news conference Wednesday when asked if he felt the double billing on the second team would motivate Collins.

Collins, listed at 224 pounds on the spring roster, has rushed for 2,126 yards in his two seasons with the Razorbacks while Walker, who has battled injuries for much of his time at Arkansas, has 250 career rushing yards.

Bielema said Walker's dependability has helped him move up.

"I just think because he's so reliable," Bielema said. "He's got really nice patience with some of our run game. Maybe not the outside sweeps and stuff like that, but the inside power plays, the counters to the weak side, the inside zones and stuff like that he's got very good patience."

Collins injured his left ankle on his third carry of the April 11 scrimmage but returned a short time later and had three more carries, including a 14-yard run.

"He rolled it pretty good," Bielema said. "I give him credit. He got back in on that Saturday. He had pretty significant swelling in that higher ankle region, so those are hard to get out of there."

Bielema said Collins came to him after warm-ups for the Red-White game and said he could play, but Bielema gave Collins and Williams, who went through no live tackling in the spring, the scrimmage off.

Strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert has put together a six-week plan for Collins to drop the weight he gained the last week of March.

Bielema said the nine pounds Collins put on over spring break represented the highest percentage gain for any Razorback that week.

"That's when we really kind of jumped him about taking care of yourself,'" Bielema said. "All these other players are gaining ground or moving beyond you as you get older in the program. You should become more physically prepared for the next level.

"Alex has been given a lot of gifts. He's physically very gifted and talented, but as you get further down the difficulty, the SEC and then the next jump would be the NFL, you've got to continue to gain ground."

Bielema called the depth chart released Wednesday as probably the "cleanest" two-deep since he came to Arkansas.

"It's pretty clear-cut where guys are at," Bielema said.

Bielema updated other roster issues in his 30-minute session with reporters, including the knee injury to senior offensive guard Marcus Danenhauer. Bielema said the 6-4, 322-pounder from Bentonville suffered a deep bruise and no ligament damage when he was injured Saturday.

Linebacker Randy Ramsey, who was held out the last week or so of spring, dropped under the 12-hour minimum required by the NCAA this semester, Bielema said.

"We'll see how he finishes out the semester here," Bielema said, noting Ramsey must reach a certain grade-point average to be ruled eligible by the university and by the NCAA.

"If he is eligible to return to us, then I'll make a decision on what he'll be involved in, or if he'll be involved at all," Bielema said. "The same thing would apply to Kendrick Edwards and Anthony Brown."

Bielema suspended the receiver Edwards and the defensive end Brown for spring practices, and both have expressed a desire to stay in the program, Bielema has said.

Redshirt freshman receiver Jojo Robinson has skirted along the fringes of Bielema's doghouse since his arrival and was not included in the post-spring two deep, though he had a productive spring on the field.

"If we could lock Jojo in to when he's good Jojo, he would be in the two-deep," Bielema said. "But we've got to see how he finishes the semester out here. ... He's a guy that has got to prove to me a little bit that he's all in and he's going to be here and do the right things the right way every day."

Bielema and his staff conducted meetings with all the players Tuesday and Wednesday to set their courses for the summer. He said some of the staff's depth chart decisions were clear motivational tools for some players.

Bielema also made a few evaluations based on tape study of the Red-White game.

"Overall I was very, very pleased watching the film and again with what we saw Saturday, a lot of clean execution offensively," he said. "I thought our No. 2 defense actually defended the run fairly well. They gave up some big plays, but they were usually within the perimeter and usually involved our secondary."

Sports on 04/30/2015

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