Spring Football Report

Position moves integral to 3-4 transition

Arkansas defensive lineman McTelvin Agim during practice Saturday, April 8, 2017,
Arkansas defensive lineman McTelvin Agim during practice Saturday, April 8, 2017,

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Razorbacks' experimentation on defense continued on Tuesday with McTelvin Agim getting some snaps at the nose guard position.

Coach Bret Bielema and defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads have said they expected to have more versatility in the move to a 3-4 front and that players would try different spots in the spring.

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"We've been working on packages with me playing all the positions," Agim said. "We'll see how it goes when the season comes."

Bijhon Jackson, a 335-pound senior, and Austin Capps, a 309-pound sophomore, have been the top two nose guards during the spring, but the 285-pound Agim and 299-pound Jonathan Marshall and others have gotten looks at the spot.

"It's OK," Agim said. "Most of the time, I'm going on a stunt, so it's kind of like I'm trying to beat a bigger guy on the inside, so it's kind of nice."

Agim said he thinks the new front will hold up against the run.

"I feel like the inside is going to be harder to run against," he said. "We've got the guys to stop them on the outside."

Santos strong

Fellow safeties Josh Liddell and De'Andre Coley have moved around during spring drills, but junior Santos Ramirez has stayed fixed at strong safety.

"Right now that's the spot I've solidified," Ramirez said. "They know I love it and I don't think I'm moving from there any time soon."

Coley has gone to free safety while Liddell, the primary free safety last year, has worked at strong safety and at nickel back with Kevin Richardson.

"Josh really embraced the roles they're trying to get him to play," Richardson said. "I feel like Josh is another me out there. Josh, he's smart enough to play corner if they needed him to. They've got him playing a little nickel with me. And he's playing safety. He knows strong safety to free safety."

Big load

Running backs Rawleigh Williams III and Devwah Whaley have taken more scrimmage carries than the top backs had been getting the first four years under Coach Bret Bielema.

"I mean, it is what it is," said Williams, a junior. "I love getting the ball. That's what I came here to do. I think I've had a pretty good spring so far. I think I've made the most of my opportunities up to this point and I just have to continue to finish strong."

'Huge' change

Junior Hjalte Froholdt, going through his second spring at left guard, said the transformation for him has been drastic a year after switching from defensive tackle.

"I know all the calls now," he said. "It's a huge difference. It's nice.

"Last year everything was new for me. I was like a newborn baby."

Froholdt passed along an anecdote involving departed offensive tackle Dan Skipper from his first practice at guard last year.

"They said a specific play, a rollout, and I was like 'Where am I going? And Skip was like, 'Just run left.' I just ran left and it worked out fine. This year, it's great being able to know what I'm doing out there."

Hammonds play

Sophomore T.J. Hammonds, who is transitioning to a combination role as a slot receiver after playing running back last season, got his first work in the backfield on Tuesday.

"Wide receiver's going great," Hammonds said. "I'm excited to be at the position. I played it in high school, so it's normal to me. Just knowing the plays and having that maturity and just learning the plays, I like it."

Spoiled spot

Arkansas receivers coach Michael Smith turned a question about redshirt freshman Jordan Jones into an evaluation on the progress of his wide receivers.

"He's doing well, but Jordan needs to be a lot more consistent," Smith said. "You just asked about Jordan, but that's pretty much the whole receiving corps right now.

"I was spoiled. I think the Arkansas fans have been spoiled the last couple of years with the guys we've had. I know as a team and myself, as a position coach, I was spoiled to have the group of guys I had. Now it's going to be a process to develop those guys again to get to those standards that we have for them."

Experiments

New outside linebackers coach Chad Walker said he has been unfazed by the steady stream of players coming and going at his position group.

Two years as an assistant with the Atlanta Falcons was good preparation.

"In pro ball we shifted all the time," Walker said. "You'd coach a guy, you'd sign him for one day and the next thing you know, you have to get him ready to go. So no, it's not been hard at all."

Walker has lost redshirt freshmen Dee Walker and Alexy Jean-Baptiste to a position move and an injury, and Michael Taylor to the defensive ends. But he's gained Dwayne Eugene, who started spring as an inside linebacker, and Karl Roesler, who had been an end.

"Where it's been cool for me is I get to meet all the guys," Walker said. "It's a little different, so I get to understand what type of players they are, what motivates them."

Patton's place

Arkansas tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. said it's difficult to say how signee Jeremy Patton, the nation's No. 1 junior college tight end, will fit in when he reports this summer.

"One thing we're confident in doing our research and getting to know Jeremy is he loves football and he's a football rat," Lunney said. "One of the things their coaching staff told us about him in the process was just, in their years being out at Arizona Western, he was one of the top football IQ guys that they've had come through there. He loves the game. He's into it. I think that's gonna help his transition.

"If indeed that translates over, I think it'll help him. Obviously he's got to get in shape. That'll be a process. That's what is great about the summer rules. We can get him in shape. We can catch him up to speed."

Slowly, surely

Receivers coach Michael Smith said junior-college transfer Brandon Martin is coming along, but has plenty left to learn.

"He's doing OK," Smith said. "He still needs to really dive into the playbook. ... We're progressing slowly but surely."

Smith said Martin's 18-yard touchdown catch from Cole Kelley in the Hogs' second scrimmage was an example of the type of play he can make.

"He went up and showed strong hands and got both feet down," Smith said. "It was a great play. That's what we brought him here for."

Tutt tout

Bret Bielema said cornerback Britto Tutt's performance in Arkansas' second scrimmage was indicative of what the Razorbacks saw in him before he suffered a knee injury in camp last summer.

"He's a diligent guy," Bielema said. "He wants to get out there and he knows that he has to take advantage of his reps and his opportunity. Him and Nate Dalton are battling it out for the No. 4 and No. 5 corner spot."

Ryan Pulley, Henre' Toliver and Kevin Richardson occupy the top three spots in the Hogs' cornerback rotation.

CCL play

Outside linebackers coach Chad Walker said the top goal for his unit is maintaining their level of play.

"Can you be consistent?" Walker said. "We talk about consistent, competitor and love for your teammates -- CCL. Right there, that's coach Rhoads' big thing, CCL. I think that's the No. 1 thing that we look for. If we can get that, their play is going to ascend."

Sports on 04/26/2017

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