This article originally appeared in the October 23, 2012 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.
Coming off their bye
week, UA interim head coach John L. Smith believes the Razorbacks are prepared
for this Saturday’s game.
After a regular week
of practice last week, the team met Sunday for another day of practice. Instead
of only conditioning to work out soreness, like they would following a game,
they had a full pads practice, Smith said.
“It was a little
different to come out and have a practice on Sunday night, but we came out with
a lot of excitement,” senior defensive tackle Alfred Davis said. “It was a good
way to start this week.”
Arkansas is as
“healthy as we can be,” Smith said, regarding injuries.
Senior tight end
Chris Gragg is back, although his knee gets a little sore from time to time. He
has missed the previous three games because of an injury sustained during the
Rutgers game.
Smith also added that senior running back Ronnie Wingo, Jr.’s
shoulder is “fine” and that senior defensive tackle DeQuinta Jones is
“gradually getting a little better.”
Confidence seems to
be high for the Razorbacks, as they are coming off consecutive Southeastern
Conference victories over Auburn and Kentucky.
“We’re gaining
confidence daily,” Smith said. “We got our swagger back a little bit and our
energy has always been good.”
Several players are eager to get back on the field after sitting at home and watching other games
on TV last Saturday.
“It was kind of
frustrating just sitting around, not playing and watching all of the other
games going on,” senior center Travis Swanson said. “We were happy to get back
out there (Sunday).”
The Razorbacks play
the Ole Miss Rebels at 11:21 a.m. Saturday in Little Rock. The game will be
aired on the SEC Network. Smith feels that the early start works in Arkansas’
favor.
“We’ll be up Thursday
early, we’ll be up Friday early, so getting up Saturday early and going to play
the game is not going to be a bother to us or something we’re not used to,”
Smith said.
Offensively, Arkansas
will have to control a Rebel defense that ranks fourth in the SEC in both
tackles for loss, with 7.86 per game, and sacks, with 2.71 per game.
“They’re not the
biggest defense, but they’re very athletic,” Swanson said. “They move around a
lot and rely on their scheme to mess up your blocking schemes.”
On the defensive side
of the ball, the Razorbacks will face yet another versatile quarterback.
Sophomore Bo Wallace is averaging 231.6 total yards per game, and last week
against Auburn he collected two rushing touchdowns, one passing touchdown and
one receiving touchdown.
“Their quarterback
does a great job of managing the game,” Smith said. “He’s not a Johnny Manziel
(Texas A&M’s quarterback), but he’s very capable. He’s a good passer and a
good runner.”
This will be
Arkansas’ first game at War Memorial Stadium since ULM pulled off the upset
with a 34-31 defeat of the Razorbacks in overtime.
“I’m excited to go back to Little Rock,”
Davis said. “I feel like we need to go back and redeem ourselves, go back and
defend the Rock like we always have in the past.”
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