Published February 27, 2012 - 5:52pm
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For a lot of college football fans, there is a void in their lives after national signing day has come and gone. The distance between the first Wednesday in February, and the start of pre-season practice in August, is seemingly endless. Thank God for spring football practice!
This is a time that is all about each fans favorite team, and how they can improve for the coming season. It’s four or five weeks in March and April when the great American sport returns to entice us, and give us all hope for a championship season that fall. For the players and coaches, it’s time to get to work.
Arkansas is no different than any other college football team. They have loads of talent coming back from an 11-2 season, that saw them win the Cotton Bowl and finish ranked #5 in the polls. They also lost plenty of talent from last year’s squad, so there will be some new faces Hog fans will have to get use to seeing.
I decided to give Razorback fans a little closer look at who the Hogs have coming back, and who might be stepping up to fill some vacant shoes. Hopefully I can provide a little insight as to what we can all expect from Head Coach Bobby Petrino’s team in 2012.
OFFENSE:
QB – #8 sr. Tyler Wilson 6’3” 225 lbs. 4.6 Greenwood, AR.
#17 jr. Brandon Mitchell 6’4” 230 lbs. 4.5 Amite, LA.
#13 rfr. Brandon Allen 6’3” 220 lbs. 4.5 Fayetteville, AR.
RB – #7 jr. Knile Davis 6’0” 225 lbs. 4.3 Missouri City, TX.
#33 sr. Dennis Johnson 5’9” 215 lbs. 4.4 Texarkana, AR.
#20 sr. Ronnie Wingo, Jr. 6’3” 230 lbs. 4.3 St. Louis, MO.
#40 rfr. Kody Walker 6’2” 240 lbs. 4.5 Jefferson City, MO.
FB – #36 sr. Kiero Small 5’10” 255 lbs. 4.6 Baltimore, MD.
#21 rfr. Brad Shearin 6’0” 245 lbs. 4.6 Jonesboro, AR.
WR – #11 sr. Cobi Hamilton 6’3” 210 lbs. 4.4 Texarkana, TX.
#5 rfr. Quinta Funderburke 6’4” 210 lbs. 4.4 Chesapeake, VA.
WR – #2 jr. Julian Horton 6’1” 195 lbs. 4.4 Norcross, GA.
#15 soph. Keante Minor 6’0” 195 lbs. 4.4 East St. Louis, IL.
#83 jr. Maudrecus Humphrey 6’3” 190 lbs. 4.4 Hoover, AL.
WR – #1 soph. Marquel Wade 5’11” 190 lbs. 4.3 Jacksonville, FL.
#19 jr. Javontee Herndon 6’1” 195 lbs. 4.3 Jacksonville, FL.
TE – #80 sr. Chris Gragg 6’3” 245 lbs. 4.5 Warren, AR.
#87 jr. Austin Tate 6’6” 255 lbs. 4.7 Harrison, AR.
#89 rfr. Andrew Peterson 6’6” 265 lbs. 4.6 Seagoville, TX.
LT – #74 soph. Brey Cook 6’7” 320 lbs. Springdale, AR.
#70 jr. Chris Stringer 6’7” 310 lbs. Alta Loma, CA.
#68 rfr. Austin Beck 6’7” 305 lbs. Nowata, OK.
LG – #67 jr. Alvin Bailey 6’5” 320 lbs. Broken Arrow, OK.
#59 rfr. Marcus Danenhauer 6’5” 310 lbs. Bentonville, AR.
C – #64 jr. Travis Swanson 6’5” 310 lbs. Kingwood, TX.
#76 sr. Tyler Deacon 6’4” 300 lbs. Little Rock, AR.
RG – #65 soph. Mitch Smothers 6’4” 305 lbs. Springdale, AR.
#75 soph. Luke Charpentier 6’4” 310 lbs. River Ridge, LA.
RT – #71 sr. Jason Peacock 6’5” 305 lbs. Milledgeville, GA.
#50 rfr. Grady Ollison 6’5” 295 lbs. Malvern, AR.
DEFENSE:
DE – #43 sr. Tenarius Wright 6’2” 255 lbs. 4.5 Memphis, TN.
#86 soph. Trey Flowers 6’4” 255 lbs. 4.6 Huntsville, AL.
#42 jr. Chris Smith 6’3” 255 lbs. 4.5 Mt. Ulla, NC.
DT – #98 jr. Robert Thomas 6’3” 310 lbs. 5.0 Muskogee, OK.
#92 sr. D. D. Jones 6’5” 310 lbs. 5.0 Bastrop, LA.
#99 sr. Lavunce Askew 6’3” 295 lbs. 5.0 Camden, AR.
NG – #54 jr. Byran Jones 6’2” 315 lbs. 5.0 Junction City, AR.
#51 sr. Alfred Davis 6’1” 325 lbs. 5.2 Hampton, GA.
#93 rfr. Demarcus Hodge 6’1” 305 lbs. 5.1 Monroe, LA.
DE – #58 jr. Austin Flynn 6’5” 260 lbs. 4.5 Wilmington, CA.
#90 sr. Colton Miles-Nash 6’6” 265 lbs. 4.6 Sulphur Springs, TX.
#95 rfr. Horace Arkadie 6’4” 250 lbs. 4.5 Irving, TX.
WLB – #45 sr. Alonzo Highsmith Jr. 6’1” 235 lbs. 4.5 Missouri City, TX.
#10 soph. Braylon Mitchell 6’3” 235 lbs. 4.5 Heber Springs, AR.
#97 rfr. Darrell Kelly-Thomas 6’4” 235 lbs. 4.5 Lufkin, TX.
MLB – #44 jr. Robert Atiga 6’3” 245 lbs. 4.5 West Valley, UT.
#25 sr. Terrell Williams 6’3” 235 lbs. 4.5 Tulsa, OK.
#55 rfr. Brock Haman 6’3” 240 lbs. 4.5 Scottsdale, AZ.
ROV – #35 sr. Ross Rasner 6’0” 215 lbs. 4.4 Waco, TX.
#39 soph. Jarrett Lake 6’3” 220 lbs. 4.4 Jenks, OK.
CB – #21 sr. Darius Winston 6’0” 195 lbs. 4.3 West Helena, AR.
#38 jr. Jerry Mitchell 6’1” 210 lbs. 4.4 Mandeville, LA.
CB – #8 soph. Tevin Mitchel 6’0” 190 lbs. 4.3 Mansfield, TX.
#4 rfr. Kelvin Fisher 5’11” 185 lbs. 4.3 Queen Creek, AZ.
SS – #14 jr. Eric Bennett 6’0” 205 lbs. 4.4 Tulsa, OK.
#27 soph. Alan Turner 6’0” 205 lbs. 4.4 Junction City, AR.
FS – #24 soph. Daunte Carr 6’3” 220 lbs. 4.4 Gainesville, GA.
#26 rfr. Rohan Gaines 5’11” 195 lbs. 4.4 Bainbridge, GA.
Here’s a quick glance at each offensive position:
QB – Tyler Wilson was 1st Team SEC last season, and is, in my humble opinion, the best quarterback in the SEC. Brandon Mitchell and Brandon Allen will provide excellent depth.
RB – Knile Davis is back…lookout SEC! With three freshmen RB’s coming in this fall, Arkansas is loaded at this position. Dennis Johnson lead in rushing last year.
WR – Running back is loaded, just not as loaded as receiver (even without Joe Adams, Jarius Wright, and Greg Childs). Cobi Hamilton is back to lead a plethora of wideouts that can, and will, make plays for Arkansas this fall. Look for Marquel Wade and rfr Quinta Funderburke to make a positive impact.
TE – Senior Chris Gragg returns, and he has DJ Williams talent, but is a little bigger and faster. Dangerous combination. Tate and Peterson will provide quality depth.
OT – Jason Peacock is down to 305 lbs, after playing at 330 in 2011. Brey Cook has recovered from mono, and should emerge as one of the best young linemen in the conference. Stringer, Beck and Ollison will push for playing time.
OG – Alvin Bailey is back, and he has started since his freshman year. Look for either Luke Charpentier (pronounced shar-pen-tee-ay) or Mitch Smothers to earn the other guard job. Danenhauer provides depth.
C – Travis Swanson is the starter here for the third straight season. Deacon is a former walk-on. Incoming freshmen will provide depth.
Here’s a quick glance at each defensive position:
DE – Tank Wright is back. Trey Flowers, Chris Smith, and Colton Miles-Nash will provide quality depth. Petrino is expecting Juco transfer Austin Flynn to step up and replace Jake Bequette. Flynn is just as big, and faster and stronger than Bequette. His upside is huge!
DT / NG – Byran Jones and Robert Thomas return. DD Jones and Alfred Davis provide quality depth. Senior Lavunce Askew redshirted in 2011, as did freshman Hodge. Arkansas has size and talent on the interior D-Line.
LB / ROV – Jerry Franklin and Jerico Nelson are gone. Nelson’s heir apparent at Rover, Ross Rasner, is much easier to locate since he played quite a bit last year. Franklin’s replacement at MLB will be decided in spring and fall pre-season practices. Atiga, a Juco transfer who redshirted last year, and senior Williams are the most likely candidates. Don’t count out redshirt freshman Brock Haman. Senior Alonzo Highsmith returns at Weak side ‘backer, with Braylon Mitchell pushing for playing time.
CB – Tevin Mitchel really came on as the 2011 season went along. Mitchel came in with high expectations from fans, and didn’t disappoint. Senior Darius Winston on the other hand, has been a big disappointment. Winston came to Arkansas as a 5-star recruit, and hasn’t delivered. 2012 is his last chance. Kelvin Fisher is talented. Look for incoming freshmen to provide more depth in the fall.
S – Tramain Thomas is gone, along with Elton Ford. Eric Bennett was a pleasant surprise at strong safety last season, and he returns. Former Hog Darrell Smith transferred, leaving free safety wide open for whomever wants it bad enough. Daunte Carr would be the ideal candidate. Gaines is smallish for FS, but he’s fast and likes to hit.
The 2012 season is still more than six months away, so Coach Petrino and his staff have plenty of time to work out who will go where, and who will get a majority of reps. Hog fans are looking for an improved defense under new Defensive Coordinator Paul Haynes, as well as a renewed running game with Knile Davis back.
No one is better than this Guy..
Aw shucks. ;)
Arkansas released their pre-spring depth chart yesterday. I was fairly close on all of the positions picks, except two. New defensive coordinator Paul Haynes is going with a true 4-3, instead of sticking with the 4-2-5 that former DC Willy Robinson used. Rover Ross Rasner has been moved to free safety, and is listed as a potential starter. The current starting LB’s are Highsmith, Terrell Wiliams, and Braylon Mitchell. These are subject to change during and after spring drills.