Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino just spoke to us for the final time before Saturday’s game in Arlington.

No big news, but a couple of things worth mentioning:

• Petrino was asked about the defensive back shakeup and said there hasn’t really been one. Elton Ford and Tramain Thomas have split reps at safety this week after splitting time last Saturday. He said both will play Saturday, but did not name a starter.

• Tackle DeMarcus Love practiced again Thursday after missing Tuesday’s workout. Petrino said he skipped Tuesday because his knee swelled up on him after hurting it at ‘Bama. Love didn’t miss time in that game and should be ready Saturday, Petrino said.

• The Razorbacks will go to Texas a little earlier than usual to make sure they get a walk-through in at Cowboys Stadium. Petrino said it’s a little different routine. He usually likes to get the work done in Fayetteville. But we all know Jerry World is going to be a unique environment so the Razorbacks want the shock value to go away with a walk-through. Petrino said the “super jumbotron” might even be turned on Friday.

• Petrino was asked about the team’s work this week and said it’s been good. He was particularly impressed with the attitude of his players, saying they’ve done a good job of encouraging each other. “That shows pride and that shows that they really want to get this thing right,” he said.

That’s about it for now. Make sure you check out RazorbackCentral.com for more on the game tomorrow. And we’ll always have some good stuff here on the Hog Blog. Once again, I’ll be cleaning out my notebook with all kinds of final news and notes tomorrow.

We all know Arkansas’ defense was shredded by Georgia, leaving plenty of questions about this group as it enters the Alabama game.

The run defense played well except for one costly, 80-yard touchdown run. The pass defense was woeful, giving up play-and-play-after-play to the Bulldogs. Defensive backs were beaten in coverage numerous times. Defensive linemen didn’t put much pressure on the quarterback. There were assignment errors. Missed tackles. Mental busts. It’s something we’ve been writing about and will continue to do so.

But there is one thing that did go right Saturday night. For awhile anyway.

Arkansas forced three Georgia turnovers in the first half. One came on special teams, when Wendel Davis pounced on a muffed punt and it led to Arkansas’ first touchdown. Then there was a fumble recovery by Arkansas defensive end Adrian Davis. And the third turnover came when Tramain Thomas intercepted a Joe Cox pass (It was the play that led to Jerry Franklin’s ejection).

Arkansas has forced five turnovers in two games. Not bad if you think back to last year, when the Hogs didn’t force a turnover until the fourth quarter of its 49-14 loss to Alabama. That was the third game of the season. It’s one positive Bobby Petrino did point out this week.

“We did get three turnovers in the game,” Petrino said Monday. “We are on the plus side of the turnover battle, which is good.”

Arkansas is plus-3 in turnover margin so far this season, which is tied for third in the SEC with Ole Miss and LSU. Auburn leads the league at plus-7, while South Carolina is at plus-4. Georgia is last at minus-7.

Even more important, Arkansas has done a good job of cashing in on the turnovers. The Razorbacks have scored 28 points off the five turnovers forced so far. The only time they didn’t score was after Thomas’ interception last Saturday.

Thomas leads Arkansas with two interceptions in two games. Wendel Davis has a fumble recovery and an interception.

Interestingly, Davis was holding a football during post-practice interviews yesterday. I asked the senior how he has been around the ball.

“I’m just hustling and getting to the ball,” Davis said. “That’s what defense is all about. It felt good for the first couple of games, getting hold of the ball. Hopefully I can make a third one (Saturday) and just keep it going.”

Want to know what’s going on at safety this preseason? Then senior Matt Harris is you man.

We got a chance to spend several minutes with Harris after Thursday’s practice and a good chunk of the conversation dealt with the rotation between he, Tramain Thomas, Elton Ford and Anthony Leon.

Like I said with the last Q&A, I didn’t ask all the questions here. But it’s some informative stuff:

Q: How is the back line shaping up this preseason?

A: “We’re getting some consistency. We’re watching film every day and working those kinks out. We’ve made huge strides since the last game last year and last spring and even since last Thursday when we first put on the pads. If we build on from where we started, we’re going to have a pretty bright future.”

Q: What does the two-deep look like right now?

A: “We’ve got a pretty solid two-deep. We’ve got Tramain Thomas there working with us. That kid is a ball hawk. I love working with him. He doesn’t say much. I guess when he doesn’t say much he’s been studying his plays because he’s out there and he’s right on his stuff. And Elton Ford right there with him. He know what to do. I’m just trying to help (Anthony) Leon learn the playbook so we can have a solid two deep everywhere else.”

Q: Is that slowing Leon right now?

A: “Oh yeah. That playbook, when they first threw it at us last year, it took all spring, all summer for us. We go from Western Illinois, struggling with them, to beating LSU. So it took us quite awhile to learn that playbook. We’ve kind of had to hurry the pace up with him.”

Q: You mentioned Tramain, he isn’t afraid to hit anyone is he?

A: “I love it. I love that kid. I don’t even know if he weighs 170 or 190, he doesn’t need a scale to know how hard he hits.”

Q: The safeties have been shuffled around some, have you?

A: “No. They told me I was going to move to open (free) safety at the beginning of the summer. I played open last season just as much as I did tight (strong), so it didn’t really affect me much. But Ford has never played tight so I had to kind of help him with tight safety during the summer. And then Tramain they just recently moved him from open to tight when Leon came. He had to learn the playbook. But he’s done a good job just like Leon has of learning that tight safety. They’re counterparts, they work off each other. They haven’t had too much trouble, but there has been a few kinks.”

  I just got back from Arkansas’ second practice of the day, and there was more news to come out on the defense following a poor showing in Wednesday’s short scrimmage. I’ll try to get into all that, but first, here is what we learned this afternoon:

  • Tight end D.J. Williams finally made an appearance at practice after missing the past three sessions because of an ankle injury. Williams worked with injured wide receiver Marques Wade on conditioning exercises, but he continues to be held out of practice because of the ankle injury. It’s uncertain when he’ll be able to return.

  •  Along with Williams and Wade, fullback Mitchell Bailey and defensive tackle Lavunce Askew were also held out because of injuries. Meanwhile, wide receiver Lucas Miller was absent from Thursday’s afternoon practice, and he has missed the past few practice because of a leg injury.

  • Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson wasn’t pleased with how his unit performed in Wednesday’s abbreviated scrimmage, and as a result, he shook up the depth chart. Sophomore Tramain Thomas has earned his way into the first-team strong safety position, replacing sophomore Elton Ford for now.

  Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Jelani Smith is the latest linebacker to get a chance with the first-defense team. Sophomore Jerry Franklin has again been demoted to the second team, but as I wrote in my story today, Arkansas’ coaches are mixing up the linebacker rotation. It probably won’t end anytime soon.

  Well, that’s it for now. I’ll have more in tomorrow’s edition of The Morning News. Now, back to work.

Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson was the only coach to speak with the media after practice this afternoon.

One interesting thing to note: Robinson said he watched the video of last year’s spring game and was surprised.

“We’re so much better than we were at this time last year,” Robinson said. “You watch it and you get mixed emotions. It was a wonder how bad we were, but then you realize how far ahead we are. … I think our kids are getting very comfortable in what they need to get done.”

Robinson said several players have stood out this spring on defense. He said LB Wendel Davis, S Tramain Thomas, CB Isaac Madison and DT Malcolm Sheppard have all been impressive. He also had plenty of praise for DE Adrian Davis.

“He’s gotten stronger,” Robinson said. “He’s heavier. He understands what he’s doing and he’s doing it pretty darn good.”

Even though Arkansas does look better on defense, there have been some flaws. One of the biggest has been in the secondary, where big plays have been problematic. A lot of it has come against the second-team defense, but Robinson is hoping that can be eliminated tomorrow.

“We’ve given up too many big plays,” Robinson said. “I think we’re tackling better than we did last year. We’re not being smart with our pursuit angles, but I think we’re taclking better this year. But we’re giving up way too many deep balls.”

So now the only thing left  is tomorrow’s Red-White Game, which will begin at 6 p.m.

Don’t forget, RazorFest will take place before hand. Festivities start at Noon and run to 5:30.

If you can’t make it, the game will be broadcast on Razorback Sports Properties radio affiliates. It’s also going to be on XM 200 and Sirius 214. And if that’s not good enough, Cox Sports Television is going to carry the game as well.

That’s a lot of information. If you want even more, click this link.

That’s all the football news for now. But we will have plenty of live comments, thoughts, news and notes from the spring game tomorrow night here on the Hog Blog. And if that’s not enough information, you can also follow me on Twitter tomorrow night at twitter.com/rneiswanger.

  In case you’ve searched nwaonline.net and had a difficult time finding today’s stories on Arkansas, you’re not alone.

  Robbie Neiswanger’s story on Arkansas safety Tramain Thomas and my article on the Razorbacks’ highly anticipated baseball series with top-ranked Arizona State got buried on the Web site, which can make them hard to find.

  No worries.

  Here is a link to the article on Thomas, who’s pushing senior Matt Harris for the starting free safety spot. And here is the link to my article on Arkansas, which is ranked No. 1 in one national poll, facing Arizona State, which is the top-ranked team in two other polls.

  

Want to hear something pretty remarkable?

Arkansas’ defense just went on the field for its first possession of the night. And the starting group consisted of six freshmen (true and redshirt). Freshman cornerback Tramain Thomas earned his first start in place of Isaac Madison, who is on the sideline. In addition, redshirt freshman defensive end Jake Bequette earned his first start in place of senior Antwain Robinson. The rest of the young crew included: Jack linebacker Jerico Nelson, middle linebacker Jerry Franklin, weakside linebacker Jelani Smith and safety Elton Ford.

A couple other notes:

• Cornerback Jerell Norton has replaced Jarius Wright as Arkansas’ punt returner. He just got the first crack at it a couple minutes ago. Norton also has earned at least one snap on defense for the Hogs.

• Receiver Joe Adams earned his first start on offense. He started ahead of Wright (poor Wright seems to be losing ground everywhere). Adams quickly caught three passes on the first possession.

• Place kicker Alex Tejada is off to an awful start. He just missed his second field goal (this one was a 25-yarder). Each time, Bobby Petrino has had something to say to his kicker.