FAYETTEVILLE -- If they play bowl games in this covid-19 affected college football season, and if these 2-2 Razorbacks qualify for one, they can do in pre-bowl practices what they couldn't in this post today bygone bye week.
They can scrimmage those you normally would call redshirts and seldom-used reserves. Normally, that is, in a normal football season.
Not in this abnormal world with an abnormal football season just one more abnormality.
Nobody intentionally redshirts now because everyone redshirts. With all football conferences either shortening their seasons or canceling entirely because of covid concerns, everyone's 2020 football class eligibility carries to 2021.
Because a covid-19 outbreak added to normal attrition can thin a roster barely with enough to play or even postponing games, a fourth-teamer can become a starter overnight. So with his Razorbacks already injury depleted and housed in a state with recently rising covid statistics and six SEC games looming the ensuing six weeks starting Halloween at Texas A&M, Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman took no undue risks during bye-week practices.
"We had to get healthy this week," Pittman said. "Three days of non-contact basically. We've been in helmets no pads."
From preseason on Pittman parcels practice time with third and fourth-teamers like they were second-teamers. That's how defensive coordinator Barry Odom and cornerbacks coach Sam Carter discovered redshirt freshman walk-on cornerback Hudson Clark practicing better than many ahead of him. Clark thrusted to the front as the injury bug bit others.
Clark's three interceptions against Ole Miss last Saturday earned him recognition as the Jim Thorpe Award Player of the Week and SEC Freshman of the Week. It was a storybook week for the starring walk-on awarded a scholarship starting next January.
Another surprising story unfolded. True freshman walk-on Jackson Woodard was summoned to play some linebacker against Ole Miss.
Stories like these on any team feature a flip side. How do coaches keep from discouragement the scholarship freshman beaten out by a walk-on?
For while perhaps not ready yet, there are reasons that scholarship guy was recruited and certainly should be nurtured toward blossoming down the road.
"There's some disappointment with some of the freshmen in that, 'I'm not where I want to be on the depth chart," Pittman said. "We've dealt a little bit with that, just simply because 'my buddy, my roommate over here, he's getting to play and I'm not."
It's a tough sell saying it's for their own good. But it is.
"Some guys just develop faster than others." Pittman said. "The worst thing you can do is you really don't want to put a young man out there that's not ready. You can ruin him. You can ruin his confidence, physically. Young guys just develop at different speeds and we're happy all of them are here."
Precocious freshmen always are appreciated. But note the Razorbacks' galaxy of revered past stars twinkles with many who didn't shine until their junior or even senior year.