With Arkansas moving to the padded practice portion of fall camp, the Razorbacks are beginning to see some consistent play from the offensive line and have used the same five players in consecutive days for the first time during fall camp.
The experienced senior Dan Skipper seems to have anchored down the left tackle spot while sophomore Hjalte Froholdt has been lining up at left guard, junior Frank Ragnow at center, sophomore Zach Rogers at right guard and sophomore Brian Wallace at right tackle. Despite the consistency from the five linemen, Texas graduate transfer Jake Raulerson continues to push for playing time at all three interior positions after quickly adjusting to life as a Razorback.
Following Wednesday morning practice, Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema gave his latest thoughts on the status of his offensive line.
“We’ve had Skipper at left tackle for two and a half practices,” Bielema said, according to Clay Henry of Whole Hog Sports. “Zach is so dependable at guard. When he’s out there, it’s like having two centers in that both can communicate. “When (Wallace) knows who to block, he does a good job. We have to put him where he’s most comfortable.””
Another intriguing camp battle continues to rage on, as the Hogs are looking for a capable backup to Austin Allen should the need arise to use another quarterback on the field. Offensive coordinator Dan Enos sounds as if the competition is nowhere close to coming to a conclusion.
“We don’t have a backup quarterback right now,” Enos said. “They are all getting reps. All have had ups and downs. We would have liked to have had some separation. We hope to have that soon.”
With sophomore Rafe Peavey, redshirt freshmen Ty Storey and Ricky Town, along with true freshman Cole Kelley, the Razorbacks are currently loaded with talented signal callers. While talent is not an issue, finding the right one to chose from may be the most difficult proposition for the coaching staff before the season arrives.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
