Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

8/6/2010 at 10:39pm

FAYETTEVILLE — Andru Stewart found himself in perfect position to defend as a pass came his way. He pulled down an interception and ran several yards before tossing the ball to the ground in celebration.

Coach Bobby Petrino didn’t let Stewart enjoy the moment for long on Friday.

“Don’t drop the ball on the ground. Ever,” Petrino barked at the senior cornerback.

Clearly, the head coach was not pleased with the moment. Beyond that, however, there wasn’t much to complain about when it came to the secondary.

Stewart’s interception was far from the only big play by the much-maligned unit. There were individual pass breakups during 11-on-11 work by cornerbacks Ramon Broadway, Isaac Madison (twice) and safety Jerico Nelson. Cornerback Darius Winston and Elton Ford teamed up for another broken up pass.

After the offense boasted notable timing and precision on Thursday — the first day of fall camp — Friday seemed to belong to the defense. Granted, quarterbacks Ryan Mallett and Tyler Wilson did make thing easier for the secondary by missing some throws. Also, the defense isn’t playing in pads and no tackling was allowed, but it was an impressive effort by a unit that ranked 99th nationally in 2009 in pass defense.

“They are not the same players they were last year,” tight end D.J. Williams said. “I wish you could have seen them work over the summer.”

Offensive coordinator Garrick McGee had a similar opinion of Friday’s practice.

“When I say it seems like these kids have decided to really focus, concentrate and be more focused, I was not just talking about the offense,” McGee said. “… You can just tell they have really put in a lot of work this summer. I’m talking about everybody on this team.

NEW ROLE
Arkansas’ search for a punt returner appears to now be in the hands of McGee. It seems like an odd spot for the offensive coordinator to coach until you hear him explain it.

McGee is telling the return candidates that he considers them the first offensive play of a possession following a punt.

“Punt return can make the offensive coordinator’s life really easy if they get good field position,” McGee said. “I want them thinking touchdown and big play every time they touch the ball. That’s our first offensive play.”

Running backs coach Tim Horton has previously coached punt return. Currently, Dennis Johnson, Cobi Hamilton, Joe Adams and Jarius Wright are in the mix for punt return duties along with freshmen Eric Bennett and Marquel Wade.

KICKING COMPETITION
Freshman kicker Eduardo Camara and senior Alex Tejada seem to me matching each other kick for kick. And, on Friday, miss for miss.

Camara was off the mark on a 46-yard field goal when his attempt bounced off the left upright. Tejada followed seconds later with a nearly identical miss.

They ended practice with makes from 48 yards, though. Both finished 5 of 6 on field goals.

POST-PRACTICE FOOT UPDATE (DAY II)
Thursday marked Ryan Mallett’s first practice participation since before the Liberty Bowl in January. He admitted to some soreness immediately after the workout and it was apparently still lingering the morning after.

“He was the first guy in the building today and when I asked how he was doing he said he was sore,” McGee said. Mallett arrived early in order to get treatment so he’d be ready for Friday’s practice.

PERSONNEL NOTES
*Defensive tackle Zach Stadther was back at practice a day after being held out because he had a temperature above 100 degrees.

*Linebacker Terrell Williams was a late arrival to the newcomer’s practice.

*Offensive lineman Anthony Oden and fullback Van Stumon worked out with newcomers again on Friday. Both were asked to stay after practice for extra conditioning work, presumably punishment for their offseason DWI arrests.

QUOTABLE
“I didn’t get a vote. I would have voted for him.”
—Offensive coordinator Garrick McGee on wide receiver Greg Childs being left off the coaches and media all-SEC teams.

UP NEXT
Arkansas hosts Media Day at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Following that newcomers will report for practice at 3 p.m., followed by the veteran’s session at 6:30 p.m.

Tagged: Arkansas Razorbacks, Bobby Petrino, Darius Winston, Elton Ford, Ryan Mallett, Ryan Mallett's Foot, Garrick McGee, Isaac Madison