By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
This is the sixth in a nine-part, position-by-position series previewing the 2010 Razorbacks. Up next: Defensive backs.
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas running backs coach Tim Horton thought he was starting to figure everything out.
Two of his running backs were inching ahead of the rest of the four-man group two weeks ago. He noticed some separation, which is what the Razorbacks were looking for during preseason camp. Then things changed.
“The very next week the other two kind of came back and said, ‘You all aren’t in front of me,’” Horton said.
Welcome to another day in Arkansas’ quest to sort out its backfield pecking order. The Razorbacks have said all along Dennis Johnson, Ronnie Wingo Jr., Knile Davis and Broderick Green will be on the field this season. But they also were counting on someone — or two — to emerge, convincing the staff they deserved a few more carries.
It hasn’t happened, leaving Horton to describe the current stalemate as a “little discouraging.”
And offensive coordinator Garrick McGee indicated it is a big week for the backs as the opener inches closer.
“They’re still kind of jogging along, even,” McGee said Tuesday night. “I’m ready for one of them to take charge.”
Arkansas is pushing for more from the group in its goal to improve a run game that ranked 10th in the Southeastern Conference (131.8 yards a game). The Razorbacks have made it an obvious point of emphasis in the offseason and are counting on each to help the Hogs move the football and grind out wins in the fourth quarter.
All four have had moments. Johnson — who did not practice Wednesday — has shown an ability to drive his legs through tackles. Green had some success running north and south. Davis has displayed his versatility in playing both tailback and fullback. And Wingo has shown some burst.
But the Razorbacks are expecting more from each.
“It’s not that they’re not doing well,” Horton said. “They’re doing fine. They’re doing good. But we would love to have somebody step up and be the man.
“Obviously it’s going to be a committee and all four are going to play, but you would like to see one kind of separate himself a little and right now they haven’t.”
Statistically, Green has produced most during Arkansas’ two scrimmages with 144 rushing yards on 39 rushing attempts. Johnson has run for 96 yards and Wingo has 101 in the scrimmages. Davis, who missed all but one play in the first scrimmage, ran for 58 yards last Thursday.
Wingo believes the problem, at least for him, is that he hasn’t produced enough big plays. The Razorbacks are looking for big runs, broken tackles, strong blocking and short-yardage conversions in their evaluation.
“No one is doing anything spectacular to separate ourselves,” Wingo said.
Said Davis: “Whoever has their day, they’ll be the man.”
So what exactly is the problem?
Horton said there needs to be more consistency on a daily basis. A back will have a good day, then a rough one.
McGee had another idea, too, looking back on the 2009 season and what outgoing senior Arkansas Michael Smith meant to the young group.
“They had a leader last year that was definitely in charge,” McGee said. “Now they’re trying to figure out which one is going to take charge.”
The backs will get another chance to impress in a scrimmage when Arkansas holds its final mock game Friday night in Razorback Stadium. It will be closed to the public, but could be an important night for the backs.
Will anyone emerge? Horton is certainly counting on it.
“I don’t know that there will be one,” Horton said. “But I’d like to think that it can hopefully get narrowed from four to two. So again, we’ll just see how practice goes the rest of the week and how they continue to improve.”
A Closer Look At … RUNNING BACKS
Best of the Bunch: Dennis Johnson — It’s hard to pick just one, but Johnson has the most experience of the bunch and had been dubbed the group’s leader in the spring. He is a hard runner, too, whose ability to shed tacklers and gain extra yards have been applaud at times by Petrino.
Watch Out For: Knile Davis — The sophomore has the chance to be Arkansas’ most effective back this season because of his size, strength and speed. Davis has the ability to do a little bit of everything and has volunteered as much, getting reps as a fullback in certain packages.
Biggest Strength: Arkansas clearly has no shortage of options at the position with Johnson, Davis, Ronnie Wingo and Broderick Green. The Hogs hope the four-headed monster will help them in the fourth quarter, when Arkansas hopes to win games with an improved and physical run game.
Biggest Question: Will the run game truly be better behind all four backs? Arkansas has had some uneventful performances on the ground in scrimmages so far and the staff is waiting for a leader to emerge. It’s nice to have options, but will those options produce on Saturdays?
Projected Starter: RB — Dennis Johnson, Jr., (57 carries, 342 yards in 2009); FB — Van Stumon, Sr.
Other Contributors: RB — Ronnie Wingo, So.; Broderick Green, Jr.; Knile Davis, So.; FB — Austin Tate, Fr.
That Figures: 442 — Green’s team-leading rushing yardage in 2009. It was the lowest team-leading total since 1997, when Rod Stinson led the Hogs with 413 rushing yards.
Quotable: “To win in the SEC you’ve got to be able to run the ball. You’ve got to be able to run it well early in the game and you’ve got to be able to run it late in the game to win. We’re taking a lot of pride in it. If we can get our run game going, the play action game will really come to life. It’s really an emphasis for us. We want to win and we know we have to run the ball to win.” — Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee
