ARKANSAS FOOTBALL

Starting sharp: Quarterbacks, wide receivers highlight Hogs’ 1st practice

Arkansas sophomore Malik Hornsby greets Razorbacks Coach Sam Pittman on Friday in Fayetteville during the Hogs’ opening preseason practice. Pittman has said he plans to utilize Hornsby as a receiver in addition to his role as the Razorbacks’ backup quarterback. More photos available at arkansasonline.com/86uapractice/.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
Arkansas sophomore Malik Hornsby greets Razorbacks Coach Sam Pittman on Friday in Fayetteville during the Hogs’ opening preseason practice. Pittman has said he plans to utilize Hornsby as a receiver in addition to his role as the Razorbacks’ backup quarterback. More photos available at arkansasonline.com/86uapractice/. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)

FAYETTEVILLE -- The first highlight of the Arkansas Razorbacks' training camp came from a quarterback who is working at receiver throwing to a wideout who hasn't yet made a name for himself.

Second-team quarterback Malik Hornsby unleashed a perfect deep ball into Jaedon Wilson down the right sideline to punctuate the "fastball" start the University of Arkansas frequently uses to open practice.

Hornsby's long touchdown pass traveled about 35-40 yards in the air as Wilson slipped beyond cornerback LaDarrius Bishop for the score on the fourth play of the segment.

Third-year Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said he had a conversation with Wilson prior to camp about creating a name for himself.

"I told him, 'Nobody knows who you are, bro,' " Pittman said. "If you want them to know who you are, you have to do what he did in practice today."

Wilson, a redshirt freshman from DeSoto, Texas, had a strong summer and has built confidence, quarterback KJ Jefferson said.

"He's been able to keep a level head and come in the first day and establish himself. His confidence level has just risen through the roof," Jefferson said.

"We've challenged him big-time because athletically, length and all of those things, he's got all of that," Pittman said. "He has to be more consistent."

Wilson was one of several Arkansas wideouts who excelled, Pittman said, including transfers Jaden Haselwood and Matt Landers.

"Matt Landers, he's fast and big," Pittman said. "He had some really nice catches out there. Haselwood, I'm not sure Haselwood didn't catch more balls today than he did last spring. I told him that walking off the field today. He had a really nice day."

Hornsby had a full practice as the No. 2 quarterback and also took 15-20 reps as a wide receiver, as advertised.

"He's going to play somewhere, so those numbers at wide receiver will probably increase," Pittman said. "They didn't need to today because it was the first day, but they'll probably increase."

Pittman said the first workout of camp went about the way he expected, though there was a lull, partly due to extreme heat both inside and outside the Walker Pavilion. More players experienced cramping issues than he had anticipated.

"To start off, I thought we threw and caught the ball really well for the first day," Pittman said. "Not a lot of errors. Not a lot of balls on the ground. Snaps from center to quarterback seemed to be good.

"The missed assignments were limited with the veterans. Obviously, you're going to get some of that with the younger guys. All in all, I thought they fought through the weather well and had a great attitude all day. I was happy with the first practice."

Safety Jalen Catalon called it a great first day.

"I think we did a lot of good things," Catalon said. "We've got some things we've got to clean up for sure, but that's part of it being day one."

Center Ricky Stromberg said the Razorbacks fought through the heat.

"It was hot as expected, but we practiced our butts off, though," he said.

Linebacker Bumper Pool said the tempo from spring drills carried right into the practice opener.

"One thing coming back this fall camp we feel like we just kind of continued the process," he said. "We didn't restart anything. We started where we left off. I'm just really excited with all the young guys coming in."

Pittman said a mid-practice lull and some offensive mistakes in the two-minute drill -- such as a quarterback losing track of the downs and a receiver failing to get out of bounds, forcing him to call a timeout, were the top negatives.

Jefferson's work in the two-minute drill came to a screeching halt when cornerback Hudson Clark undercut a route intended for Haselwood and picked him off.

The Razorbacks worked at a quick tempo, with only a few minor glitches, such as when the running backs relocated their position on the scorching outdoor field and were not met with anyone carrying water bottles.

"Oh, heck no," running backs coach Jimmy Smith said, panning about for a water carrier.

The situation was remedied seconds later when an assistant came jogging over with a basket of water bottles.


  photo  Redshirt freshman wide receiver Jaedon Wilson’s long reception from Malik Hornsby was one of the highlights of Friday’s opening practice. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
 
 


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