Arkansas’ coaches and players just finished talking with the media following Tuesday’s practice. It was the Razorbacks’ first full practice since Thursday, and according to offensive coordinator Paul Petrino, the intensity was good.

  ”I think we need to improve the execution, but you could feel the energy out there and the intensity was real good,” Petrino said. “Obviously, you can always get better on the execution, so there’s a lot of things we need to get down the next two days and our walk-throughs prior to the game.” 

  Here are some quick highlights from practice:

  Arkansas backup quarterback Tyler Wilson said he and starter Ryan Mallett are preparing as if they both might see action in Saturday night’s game against No. 23 Georgia. Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino naturally didn’t want to say how he intended to rotate the quarterbacks, but it sounds like Mallett and Wilson will be used like they were in the season opener against Missouri State.

  Mallett started the game, but Wilson came in toward the end of the first quarter and played the first few series of the second quarter. The redshirt freshman brings a change of pace to the position.

  ”Apparently, we’re going to work like we did last week and it will depend on the game situation, I think,” Wilson said. “I think we’ll both be prepared and we’re just going in with the mindset that we can be in the game at any point.”

   Wide receiver Lucas Miller appears to be improving from the broken collarbone that has sidelined him since preseason camp. 

  ”He’s improving. He got to go through some drills today,” Paul Petrino, though he declined to give a timetable on when the senior might be cleared to play. 

  Early in practice, the rain came and players had to deal with it while working inside Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Apparently, the wet conditions didn’t affect the offense Tuesday.

  ”It was quite a bit of rain, but we threw and caught the ball a lot better tonight. So it was good,” Petrino said. “We’re going to end up playing a game in the rain sometime, so it was nice to see guys running around.”

  Well, that’s it for now. And as always, I guess I’m obligated to give a shameless plug and say you can follow me on Twitter (@NWAAlex).

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino didn’t intend to call so many pass plays throughout the 48-10 win against Missouri State.

But for whatever reason, he said the Bears kept packing players in the box to stop the run. So Arkansas quarterbacks Ryan Mallett and Tyler Wilson kept throwing the ball. Jarius Wright and the receivers kept catching it. And the result is now a school record.

Not only did Arkansas set a school record for passing yards in a game (447) in the season opener, it can call itself No. 1 in the nation in passing – at least for now. The Razorbacks and Houston sit tied atop the NCAA statistical leader board in passing yards after the first week of the season, which ended with Miami’s 38-34 win against Florida State last night. (What a way to end the week, by the way).

It’s a strange place for Arkansas to be, considering the Razorbacks were a run-oriented offense for years. But it’s clear Petrino has plenty of firepower in the passing game at his fingertips. Consider this: It’s the fifth time Arkansas has thrown for more than 300 yards in the 13 games he has coached. Arkansas had only 16, 300-yard passing games prior to Petrino’s arrival last season.

Let that soak in.

Anyway, in addition to Arkansas sitting atop the NCAA in passing yards, here’s a few more statistical rankings to consider:

TEAM STATISTICS

Total Offense: 591 yards (No. 7 in nation)

Rushing Offense: 144 yards (No. 62)

Scoring Offense: 48 points (No. 16)

Rushing Defense: 82 yards (No. 37)

Passing Defense: 123 yards (No. 23)

Total Defense: 205 yards (No. 21)

Scoring Defense: 10 points (No. 33)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Passing Efficiency: Ryan Mallett – 210.25 rating (No. 5)

Passing Efficiency: Tyler Wilson -153.64 (No. 32)

Total Offense: Ryan Mallett – 311 yards/game (No. 19)

Receiving Yards: Jarius Wright – 139 yards/game (No. 12-T)

Kickoff Returns: Dennis Johnson – 57.5 yards/return (No. 2)

  I have been meaning to post some more quotes from Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino’s news conference from Tuesday evening on the blog, but it’s been a crazy week. And none of it has to do with the fact that the Razorbacks are about to open the season.

  So I apologize it has taken me a little longer to get these on the blog, but here’s what Petrino had to say on a few topics.

  On the health of wide receiver Joe Adams, who had been sidelined with a hamstring injury:

  “He looked better (Tuesday) than he did (Monday) night. I thought he changed directions and showed that he’s got his quickness back, caught the ball well. He’s got his hands. … He’s kind of fresh, a little more fresh than everybody else out there because he basically had a week off. But I’m still a little bit concerned on the deep ball and striding out to go get the ball when it’s in the air. He’s got to be able to show that by Thursday, that he’s ready to go.” 

  On whether he’s determined which players will redshirt and which players might travel with the team but not play:

  “There will be a few guys like that. We’re not to that point yet to decide exactly who they are. We want to get through (Wednesday’s) practice and Thursday’s practice, and then there’ll be some guys that you say, ‘OK, they’ll travel. They’ll dress and let’s see if we don’t use them in this game.’ So we’re still in the process of making those decisions.”

  On whether backup quarterback Tyler Wilson will get in the game Saturday:

  ”At running back, no? He’ll get in. He’ll get in. I don’t know when yet, but he’ll certainly get in.”

  I’ll have more on Arkansas later today. You can follow me on Twitter @NWAAlex.

Just polished off a feature that will appear in tomorrow’s paper and wanted to get out some news and notes from Thursday’s practice. It was the last chance we’ll have to speak to the Razorbacks until Monday morning, which means we spent plenty of time trying to collect every bit of information for the weekend.

Bobby Petrino spoke to the media this afternoon and had plenty to say. So let’s run through the highlights:

• Ryan Mallett is officially Arkansas’ starter. I know. Surprise, surprise. Petrino said the sophomore will start and added that he would like to play Tyler Wilson in the opener. But there’s no guarantees. It’s a bit of a change from the spring, when Petrino said Mallett would start and Wilson would play the second quarter.

“Tyler is a good quarterback and I certainly want to get him into the game,” Petrino said today. “I haven’t made the decision yet whether that will be the second series of the second quarter or not. It’s something we’ve spent a lot of time talking about. We’ve got all the confidence in the world in Tyler.”

• Joe Adams missed his second straight practice Thursday and now we know why. Petrino said he has tweaked his hamstring and has been doing some rehab this week. But Petrino said Adams’ injury isn’t serious and added that he’ll be back at practice next week. For now, he simply said Adams is “on a little vacation.” Nice.

• The Razorbacks will hold a mock game tomorrow and Petrino said it will be “big for depth.” It’s the last chance for younger players to prove they deserve to be in the rotation or save themselves from a redshirt. Petrino said it also will serve as an opportunity for players to move up the depth chart.

What does that mean? Well, I think it’s probably a big day for running backs like De’Anthony Curtis and Knile Davis as they try to earn some carries. It’s got to be big for freshmen cornerbacks like David Gordon and Darius Winston. And it will be interesting to see how the demoted defensive players respond in the scrimmage opportunity.

• Wide receiver London Crawford is back at practice this week after missing most of last week with a leg injury. And Crawford had plenty to say about his time on the sideline.

“It’s not fun. I’d rather be in the battle with those guys any day. Those guys, they kept me focused. Kept pushing me. Telling me it’s going to be all right. Just sit aside, get healed and come back strong. That’s what I’ve been doing.”

• Petrino said the Razorbacks have split their time on the practice field this week. Half of the practices have been used to challenge each other and compete for starting spots. Half of it has been spent on preparing for Missouri State.

• Lastly, as if you didn’t know it, the Razorbacks are ready for an opponent. At least, that’s what Mallett said when asked about it tonight: “Any day you can come out and play, it’s a lot of fun. But we’re ready to see a different color jerseys out there. There’s no doubt about it. We’re ready to get after some people.”

  OK, so now that I’ve gotten some lunch – and more importantly, some caffeine after a long night of writing – I’m back at the office and ready to talk some Arkansas scrimmage. In case you missed it, there was a lot to digest after the Razorbacks went 177 plays, according to Arkansas’ count.

  Quarterback Ryan Mallett didn’t have his best day. He overthrew several open receivers and missed on a few throws that would have turned into either big gains or touchdowns. Still, the sophomore finished 31-of-50 for 379 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

  Mallett’s lone interception proved costly when defensive tackle Lavunce Askew caught it and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown. It was as if the ball just slipped out of Mallett’s hand.

  Tyler Wilson got into a rhythm at times and led the second-team offense downfield against the first-team defense. He finished 22-of-33 for 248 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Afterward, Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino criticized his first-team defense, saying that he thought the unit would dominate more than it did.

  Wide receiver Greg Childs continued to look strong, catching nine passes for 110 yards with one touchdown. The sophomore admitted afterward that he has picked up his game over the past week, and he appears to be on the verge of having a breakout year if things go as they have been lately.

  Fellow wide receiver Cartlon Salters also had a strong performance, making catches for 119 yards. He also caught a pass on a fourth down, leading Petrino to joke afterward that Salters is their fourth-down receiver. As you might remember, Salters had a big fourth-down catch against LSU last year that allowed Casey Dick to connect with London Crawford for the Miracle on Markham 2.

  We will soon have full scrimmage statistics posted on the blog. Bye for now. Oh, check me out on Twitter (@NWAAlex).

Arkansas reported to campus on Aug. 5, started practice Aug. 6, and, by my calculations, have spent at least 30 hours in the past 10 days on the field.

So it’s no surprise the Razorbacks are pretty happy to get some time off.

Arkansas left the field at about noon today and won’t be back until Monday morning at 9 a.m. Safety Matt Harris said it’s a much-needed break for a team that has been going pretty hard for a week-and-half.

“A lot of people think physically we’re beat down and we are,” Harris said. “But mentally, I’d like to just get away and not put the cleats on for a day and not put the pads on. Just get in and study film and just kind of act like a normal human being for a day and not have to worry about all my checks and coverages.”

The Razorbacks don’t have the day completely off Sunday. The team will be around for meetings and will watch film of Saturday’s scrimmage. But it’s the fact they won’t be on the field, in the heat, colliding with each other that had running back Dennis Johnson pretty excited.

“It’s going to feel good,” Johnson said. “We’re get a lot of time off. We just come back (Sunday), meet and watch film.”

Johnson was asked what he was going to do with his down time. Simple: “I’m fixing to go to sleep.”

Quarterback Tyler Wilson has other plans. The sophomore will celebrate his 20th birthday tomorrow and said his parents are in town to help him celebrate. Wilson said he was planning to go to dinner with them tonight, then will try to get some rest before beginning another week of practice.

“We’ve worked hard the past two weeks,” Wilson said. “He has given us a day off. I think we’re all going to take full advantage of it. Go home, get some rest and preapre for next week.”

I’m going to borrow the infamous line from Allen Iverson, who, perhaps, summed this day up best a few years ago.

“We’re talking about practice.”

That’s right. It’s August 6. Arkansas players reported to campus yesterday and will be on the practice field for the first time today. So, officially, we’re going to start talking about practice. Nineteen days worth to be exact before the Razorbacks get to game week.

That's right. Practice.

Between now and August 21, practices are open to the media and public so we’ll get to see Ryan Mallett and Tyler Wilson at quarterback. We’ll look at the long line of tailbacks fighting for carries. We’ll see the offensive line take shape. We’ll see bigger and stronger players on defense. And we’ll see plenty of newcomers on both sides of the ball hoping to make an impact this season.

Should be fun, right?

Got a couple of quick notes to share as we creep closer to practice, which begins at 3 p.m. for newcomers and 4 p.m. for veterans:

• First, take a look at this story I wrote for today’s paper on the size difference on Arkansas’ defense. The Razorbacks made sure to recruit bigger players this preseason and, with so many returning players putting on weight and gaining strength in the offseason, this is expected to look much more like an SEC defense this fall. Will they play like one? That’s to be determined.

• In case you missed it yesterday, Alex wrote a story on the offense for Wednesday’s paper. In particular, he examined the Razorbacks’ offensive motto: Feed the studs. There should be plenty of studs to feed this season with almost every skill player returning. There are new additions at reciever and running back as well, like Ronnie Wingo, Cobi Hamilton and Broderick Green.

• A housekeeping item: I made a mistake in a blog I posted yesterday. It’s in a graphic in the paper today, too. Defensive back Jerry Mitchell is not 6-foot-7 as was written. I scanned Arkansas’ media guide for the listed height and weight of defensive newcomers for my story today. It appears I found a typo in the media guide. Mitchell was listed as 6-foot-1, 198 when he signed in February. Thanks to Daniel who pointed this out on the blog post. Sorry for the mistake, but it has been corrected.

• FYI. We obviously will be at practices all preseason and have some things in store. Our daily practice report that appears in the paper and online at RazorbackCentral.com will be a shorter version of what we’ve done in the past. We want it to be a quicker read that we think you’ll enjoy it as we dig into position battles, notes, quotes and news. So look for that as it debuts tomorrow.

Anyone wanting more don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Make sure to check the Hog Blog every day for even more details and insight on Arkansas’ practices. We also want to hear your thoughts if you were there, so don’t hesitate to tell us what you saw. If we get enough feedback it could turn into a regular feature on the blog: What Arkansas fans think.

Oh, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, too, (@NWAOnlineHogs) and (@NWARobbie). Cell phones are not permitted inside the practice gates, but our plan is to provide updates when we can.

Why is it that you always need a vacation from your vacation? I’m worn out after a four-day trip to Boston, but back at work. One thing I’ve noticed, though, is that we haven’t had any new posts on our blog since the baseball team’s season ended on Friday.

Well, that’s about to change.

Here are a few items of interest that might capture your attention this afternoon (and help the work day get over a little quicker).

• What is going on with former Arkansas and Springdale High QB Mitch Mustain? Mustain seems to be having some eligibility trouble at Southern Cal according to this story in the L.A. Times. The story indicates that there’s a chance Mustain, who is USC’s third-string quarterback, may not be eligible to play football this fall. That would be an another unfortunate turn for Mustain, who hasn’t played much since leaving the Razorbacks after his freshman season.

• Along those same lines, check out this interesting piece by The Birmingham News’ Jon Solomon about quarterbacks who ran the spread offense in high school having trouble adjusting to pro style systems. Solomon leads the story with Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson, who we know was having to get used to being under center since arriving at Arkansas.

• Guess who is grabbing some NBA Draft headlines? Former Arkansas guard Patrick Beverley, who is profiled in this piece in his hometown paper, the Chicago Tribune. I tweeted a link to this story earlier today (you can check it out by following me at @NWARobbie). The draft is coming Thursday and Beverley seems to be a trendy pick to go in the second round. Beverley told me today he’s squeezing in a final workout with Cleveland tomorrow. I’ll have more on Beverley’s road to the NBA Draft on Thursday.

• This doesn’t have Arkansas ties other than the fact Beverley could be selected in the draft. But check it out anyway. I picked up a copy of the New York Times when I was waiting for my plane (which was delayed, then delayed again) in Boston yesterday morning. The Times put together an interesting piece on NBA Mock Drafts and how the guys that do them HATE them. That’s right. The story gives you some pretty good insight into the mock draft process.

Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino met with members of the media Thursday afternoon and addressed the Razorbacks’ quarterback situation among other topics.

He didn’t release a depth chart and didn’t commit to anything during his news conference. But he did state how he’d approach playing time if Arkansas had a game today.

Petrino said that Ryan Mallett would start and that Tyler Wilson would start the first series of the second quarter. Interesting, huh? Of course, there’s plenty of time — and plenty of summer workouts and August practices — between now and Arkansas’ opener against Missouri State on Sept. 5 in Little Rock.

  Arkansas has released the rosters for Saturday’s Red-White Game, which will cap spring practice. The Red team is composed mostly of first-team players, including tight end D.J. Williams, wide receivers Joe Adams and London Crawford and defensive linemen Malcolm Sheppard and Adrian Davis.

  Sophomore Ryan Mallett, who has the inside track on being named Arkansas’ starting quarterback, will also suit up for the Red team. Redshirt freshman Tyler Wilson will get snaps with both teams. 

  Along with Wilson, there are three other players whose names are listed in bold on the rosters, indicating they’ll get action with both the Red and White teams. Those players are free safety Tramain Thomas, linebacker Bret Harris and defensive end Damario Ambrose.

  There are a few players who were surprisingly on the roster. Running back Michael Smith, who has been sidelined for much of the spring while recovering from hamstring surgery, is listed on the Red team’s roster. So is wide receiver Lucas Miller, who’s recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

  Sophomore tailback Dennis Johnson, who has been hampered lately by a severely swollen foot, has been named to the Red team.  As expected, tight end Chris Gragg isn’t listed on either team as he tries to get over a high ankle sprain.

  To see the complete rosters for both teams, here is the link: