FAYETTEVILLE -- After two weeks of preseason camp, the Arkansas Razorbacks' depth chart will come into sharper focus this week.
Coach Chad Morris said the roster will be split with scout teams on offense and defense going against the starters and backups expected to play in the season opener against Eastern Illinois on Sept. 1.
"But we'll still do a lot of good-on-good for Tuesday and Wednesday," Morris said. "We're not ready yet to go into straight game prep mode. We need to get some more live work and some more situational stuff."
Players on the scout teams normally wouldn't play in the opener, but with a new NCAA rule allowing true freshmen to play in up to four games and still redshirt, it's possible some scout-teamers could get on the field against Eastern Illinois.
Ranked opponents
Four teams on the University of Arkansas' schedule -- all in the SEC West -- were ranked in The Associated Press preseason poll released on Monday.
The Razorbacks' ranked opponents include No. 1 Alabama, No. 9 Auburn, No. 18 Mississippi State and No. 25 LSU. Georgia at No. 3 gives the SEC five ranked teams, but Arkansas doesn't play the Bulldogs this season.
Michigan, ranked No. 14, had been scheduled to open this season against Arkansas in Ann Arbor, Mich., as part of a two-game series announced in November of 2012.
But Michigan paid Arkansas $2 million in 2016 to buy its way out of the contract after deciding to cancel the games against the Razorbacks and instead resume its rivalry with Notre Dame.
Arkansas scheduled a home-and-home series with Colorado State to replace Michigan. The Razorbacks play at Colorado State on Sept. 8.
Happy camper
Wide receiver Jared Cornelius, a fifth-year senior, said the Razorbacks are in a good place after two weeks of practice.
"This has been the best camp that I've been a part of in my eight years I've been here," Cornelius said jokingly about his longevity. "In all seriousness, this has been a great camp.
"Guys are focused. Guys are locked in. We're not worried about guys going out and partying after we get out of meetings."
Keep pushing
Chad Morris said the team got in some great work in Saturday's scrimmage, but the players can't afford a letdown late in practice.
"We've got to learn to keep pushing through and doing the little things right," he said. "So that was one of my main focal points right there at the end -- just doing the little things right.
"It's the small things. It's getting on and off the field. It's being attentive when coaches are talking. It's how we get on the sidelines and sit down and make adjustments.
"Those are some things we've got to continue as a coaching staff to address and stay on top of these guys."
Good shape
Chad Morris said the offseason conditioning program helped the Razorbacks have a productive camp.
"Overall, I think this football team is in really good shape," he said. "I think that we have been very physical during camp. I think we've been very smart with them during camp.
"Just talking to the players as we walked off the field and high-fiving with each other and just saying, 'Coach, we had a great camp.' And we feel that way. We do.
"There's four seasons that you deal with. You deal with fall camp season, you deal with preseason, your conference season and bowl season. You attack each one. I thought we attacked fall camp extremely well and have gotten plenty of good work out of it."
Sports on 08/21/2018