FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen said redshirt freshman Jordan Jones has bounced back in practice since Coach Bret Bielema chastised him Saturday for not listening to coaching.
"Yes, he's a guy with so much talent," Allen said. "He's as good as he wants to be basically. He's fast, he's big, he's long, and he catches the ball well."
Allen said Jones' next step needs to come from a maturity standpoint.
"Some plays he might not feel like going 100 percent," Allen said. "He's a guy who if he goes 100 percent on every play and runs good routes, he's unstoppable."
Allen said that Jones heard the critiques and responded.
"I think he's had two good practices back to back," Allen said. "He's going to be fine. He's going to be a really good player for us this year and years to come.
"He knows how talented he is and how much trust I have with him. He just needs to take that one last step, and he's going to be a really good player."
Count of one
Quarterback Austin Allen said his interception count in camp is standing at one.
"It's pretty low right now, and I'm trying to keep it that way, knock on wood," Allen said.
Linebacker De'Jon "Scoota" Harris said he nabbed an Allen pass that was intended for Devwah Whaley on a deflection in Monday's work.
"If you count bouncing off someone's hands straight up into the air, then sure," Allen said. "But quarterbacks don't count that one."
The best Allen could remember, his legitimate interception came on the first play of a team period when a receiver ran the wrong route.
"I think it was 'Scoota' actually," Allen said.
Hot one
The temperature spiked above 90 degrees Tuesday, making it the hottest day of camp thus far. With the humidity factored in, it was a steaming, sticky day in Hogs camp.
"Today had to be the hottest," tailback Devwah Whaley said. "You could definitely feel a difference today."
Said tight end Cheyenne O'Grady, "Man, today was a grind. It's been the hottest day of all camp ... but overall it's been a good camp for sure."
Smart WR
Offensive coordinator Dan Enos said he is not nervous about the missed time for senior receiver Jared Cornelius, the team's only proven wide receiver. Cornelius, who caught 32 passes for 515 yards and 4 touchdowns last season, has been off the 105-man roster since the opening weekend of camp to ease tightness in his back.
"He's extremely intelligent," Enos said. "When I first got here, he picked up the offense about as quick as anybody. He's like a coach.
"During the spring, he was out there with the scripts and he coached the guys. He did a lot of installation during the summer, him and Austin together. I don't worry. He's a gamer. He's tough. He's competitive. When the lights come on and he's out there, he's going to give us everything that he has, and I know he's going to know exactly what to do."
Name change
Tight end Cheyenne O'Grady used to go by C.J., but he decided to change to his full first name last year.
"Basically, I came in and I wasn't the greatest student/player to be coached," said O'Grady, a redshirt sophomore from Fayetteville. "I kind of got into some trouble early on. I'm kind of stuck to [Cheyenne] now.
"The main reason, I wanted to get away from the people that knew the C.J. and start something new. I wanted people to know I'm a changed guy, I'm a good guy. That's one of the main reasons I wanted to change my name."
Short stay
Arkansas is the third college stop for junior receiver Jonathan Nance. He enrolled at Southern Mississippi for the spring semester in 2015, but transferred to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and played two seasons there before enrolling at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in the spring.
Nance said he left Southern Miss because he wanted to play receiver but the coaches played him at cornerback.
"I knew I could play receiver," Nance said. "That's what I thought I was going there for, so I just went ahead and went to junior college and started my path from there. They told me that I was going to have a chance to play wide receiver. But when I got there they had me in the corners room. So I knew what was going on from when I got there.
"They didn't let me take any reps at receiver. When the summer came, I didn't go back. They called me and told me they were going to give me a chance to play receiver. But I already had my mind made up. I was going to Mississippi Gulf Coast."
He's No. 5?
Bret Bielema likes to gig other people and make jokes at his own expense as well.
He was in that mode earlier this summer when a reporter asked him how the family dogs, teacup Yorkies Lucy and Ricky, were dealing with the addition to the family after his wife Jen gave birth to their daughter Briella.
"Everybody seems to be just fine," Bielema said. "I think I moved down to No. 5 in the house."
Asked whether the dogs were jealous about losing attention, he responded, "No, Rick has no problem. He has no idea what's going on. He sniffs her a little bit.
"Lucy tries to cover her up. My wife got concerned that she was trying to bury her at first, but I guess that's the motherly instincts of a dog, trying to cover up the baby. Lucy protects over her big time."
Not eclipsed
Bret Bielema has not concerned himself with the solar eclipse, which is scheduled to put Northwest Arkansas in 90 percent darkness Monday.
"I have no idea what you're even talking about," Bielema said. "I know what an eclipse is. I don't know, do we got one coming? I've been worried about other stuff."
Sports on 08/16/2017