Arkansas wrapped up its first Monday press conference of the season.
Coach Bobby Petrino, quarterback Ryan Mallett, linebacker Jerico Nelson and linebacker Anthony Leon were the four who came by to visit.
What did we learn? Here are five things:
1. Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino is not happy with the run game.
That’s what happens when you put that much emphasis on one area in the offseason and it churns out 51 yards on 13 attempts in the first half. Granted, the Razorbacks did improve after the break and finished with 196 rushing yards on the night. But Arkansas needs more. Particularly, Petrino said, with “chunk plays.” Dennis Johnson did provide a 49-yard run in the second half, but only got three carries on the night after making Petrino mad by carrying the ball in “one hand” on one play.
2. Ryan Mallett doesn’t pay attention to the rest of the college football world.
Or if he does, he’s not admitting it. Mallett was asked about the dangers of playing teams like Tennessee Tech and ULM today. The question also included a reference to Ole Miss’ loss to Jacksonville State last Saturday. Mallett’s response? “What happened at Ole Miss.” When told, Mallett said “Really? Wow.” Personally, I’m under the belief Mallett knows all about Ole Miss’ loss. He’s just not commenting on it publicly.
3. Nelson believes Arkansas’ defensive effort was “dominant” but not “perfect.”
The defense is getting plenty of attention for the way it played against Tennessee Tech, but Nelson is the first to admit there are things that need to be cleaned up. For starters, Arkansas allowed a couple of big plays. Also, the Razorbacks did not force a turnover after having so much success doing so last season. Overall, Nelson said Arkansas’ defense graded out well (Petrino confirmed it earlier, too), but there were assignment errors and mistakes typical of an opener.
4. Anthony Leon enjoyed drinking Gatorade on the sideline last year. But enjoys playing even more.
Leon got some laughs when he was asked to compare his 2009 season to the start of 2010. Yes, he was on the sideline as a safety most of last season after arriving on campus late and struggling to make an impact with the defense. But at linebacker Leon was a star in his debut. He was easily Arkansas’ defensive star of the game after collecting 8 tackles, 4 for losses, with 2 sacks. Interestingly, Leon said he was gunning for 12 tackles in his debut. He fell short, but no one was complaining.
5. Petrino still hasn’t changed his stance regarding the status of DT Zach Stadther.
Once again, Petrino was asked about DT Zach Stadther, who was mysteriously missing from the sideline Saturday. Once again, his answer didn’t reveal much about whether he’s suspended, injured, gone, etc. The question was whether Stadther would be available — “We’ll determine that,” Petrino said. “At some point you guys have got to understand that I am going to talk about the guys that play and practice.” He said “I don’t know yet” when asked if Patrick Jones and Bret Harris would be back from injury after both missed the season opener.
