Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

9/20/2011 at 10:00pm

Image by Mark Wagner

Arkansas wide receiver Jarius Wright is expected to be back in the lineup for Saturday's game at Alabama. He missed last week after appearing in 40 consecutive games.

News and notes from Tuesday’s Arkansas football media availability …

I. What No Huddle?
Arkansas is known for being able to put points on the board in a hurry.

And the Razorbacks have ramped that quick-strike offense up at times this year by going with a no-huddle attack on a few series.

Troy surrendered touchdowns on three consecutive drives and fell behind 21-0 as the Razorbacks used the no-huddle. Seemed like a success.

So how did offensive coordinator Garrick McGee assess the no-huddle portions of the game? Was he pleased?

“I didn't know that we were in no-huddle,” McGee said, feigning surprise. “We were just trying to go at a fast tempo. I didn't want everybody in the world to know we were in no-huddle,”

Reminded the game was on TV, and that an announced crowd of 69,861 was in attendance, McGee came clean. After briefly playing coy.

“If you were at the game [it was obvious], not if you were in Alabama it wasn't obvious,” McGee said before adding, “We feel we have got a lot of fast kids on our team and we really trust and believe in our conditioning. We work hard in the offseason running. We just want to use it as an advantage and try to use our conditioning  as an advantage and play as fast as you can play, try to get as many reps as you can get in throughout the game.

“It tended to work for us the other night.”

Arkansas also used the no-huddle to jump-start its offense in a Week 2 game against New Mexico. It only used the fast-paced attack for a few series, but was able to get the offense moving on the way to a 52-3 victory. 

II. Back In Action
Jarius Wright appeared in 40 consecutive games from the time he arrived as a freshman in 2008. He started in 34 of those games.

Imagine how he felt missing last week’s game against Troy with a strained knee.

“It’s not something I’m used to doing and it’s not something I want to get used to doing,” Wright said. “… I’m back full speed now. And I’ll be back for Saturday, ready to go.”

Wright, who has 11 receptions for 171 yards and three touchdowns this season,  said he was injured just before halftime against New Mexico. He said he sat out last week because “there wasn’t any reason for me to risk it.”

Arkansas also expects to have Greg Childs back at receiver this week. He missed last week because of the death of his grandmother. 

McGee said both receivers would be “fresh.”

"[Childs] had a tough week. He had someone pass away that's really important to him. But he looked fresh and ready to go,” McGee said. “Jarius looked good.  He had a good day. We were happy with where he was.” 

III. Easy Target
Alabama defensive players see potential in Arkansas tackle Mitch Smothers. They also see a freshman, something they hope to exploit.

“He’s doing a really good job right now, but I feel like we’re going to have to use that to our advantage whenever it comes down to pass rush situations,” linebacker Dont’A Hightower said. “I feel like me and Courtney [Upshaw] are probably guys that will go after that guy a little bit more.”

Smothers was aware of the comment. He didn’t let on that it concerned him.

“There’s 10 other guys out on the field, it’s not just me,” Smothers said. “So if they come after me, there’s 10 other guys out there.”

Coaches have praised Smothers’ technique throughout camp. Now they get to find out how he handles a hostile environment.

Speaking Out
“I think we’ll be prepared. We’ve got a couple guys on the line that’s more experienced, all our skill guys are experienced. It will be a lot of fun Saturday to see the difference between home and away. We’ll put up a lot of points.”
—Arkansas wide receiver Cobi Hamilton on how prepared the team is to play at Alabama.

Tagged: Mitch Smothers, Arkansas Razorbacks, Tyler Wilson, Dont'A Hightower, Bobby Petrino, Garrick McGee