Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

8/24/2010 at 8:33pm

Image by Will Flowers

Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams is seeing the positive impact of dropping weight in the offseason.

FAYETTEVILLE — D.J. Williams admits he’s recently caught himself lingering in front of the bathroom mirror a little longer than he probably should. Anybody that’s ever shed a few unwanted pounds should be able to relate to the senior tight end.

Williams is stronger despite dropping about 12-15 pounds and he can tell a difference in a number of ways.

“It’s been pretty big,” Williams said. “I see it most in the morning, in the mirror. … I’ve lost about 12-15 pounds and kept my strength in the weight room.

“It’s a huge difference. You’d have to play or be in some kind of athletic form to understand how much it helps when you lose some weight. You feel like you can last longer. You can get to a spot quicker. You can do everything. It helps with flexibility too, losing all that weight. Its’ going to help me out on the field.”

Coaches like what they’re seeing from Williams. He managed to drop weight, while getting stronger and improving his speed. Offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said Williams has also made strides mentally.

“You can see that he’s quick again. He can really run routes. He understands route spacing and how the coverages fit,” McGee said.

Williams bulked up in 2009 as he took on more responsibility as a blocker. He caught only 32 passes for 411 yards and three touchdowns after recording 58 catches for 699 yards as a sophomore.

Part of the drop in production was due to Williams being asked to block more. He said he added weight, which slowed him down and seemed to get him out of rhythm in the passing game.

“Now I’ve got an understanding of both of them I think this is the year I put them both together in one season,” Williams said.

TALENTED TEAM
Arkansas is noticeably more talented than in previous seasons under Petrino. It’s showing up on film in ways that might not be expected.

Plays that don’t seem bad to the naked eye are showing up on film. McGee said the offense is talented enough to make up for bad plays with athleticism.

“I think we’re at the point where we have enough talent, we have enough fast, really good players they can cover up some of the mistakes,” McGee said. “When you really study and evaluate the video there are some things that we have got to get cleaned up.”

CROSS YOUR FINGERS
So far, sophomore backup quarterback Tyler Wilson has shown little difficulty taking snaps, something that bothered him in previous seasons. McGee said Wilson has matured as a quarterback.

“Let’s knock on wood, he’s doing a good job,” McGee said before quickly adding, “But I don’t really have to say let’s knock on wood anymore. The reality is the kid has put in the work. He’s spent individual time with our centers over the summer. He understands more of our offense, so he is prepared. He understands what to look for so he doesn’t have to concentrate on the snap as much.”

NOTABLE
*Wide receiver Greg Childs was not spotted at practice Tuesday.
*Arkansas has begun its game-week preparation. The Razorbacks are following their usual practice schedule this week.

QUOTABLE
"Any pass you get, treasure it. Because you have got receivers like Childs,  Joe, J. Cobi, D.J. ... you are looking at maybe one ball or two balls and you have got to do something with it. So to catch the coaches’ eye you have got to block and do other things to try and get on the field and try to get a ball or two.”
—Tight end Ben Cleveland on making the most of his opportunities in practice.

Tagged: Bobby Petrino, Ben Cleveland, D.J. Williams, Garrick McGee, Arkansas Razorbacks