Darren McFadden has been impressive to reporters in the Bay area at Raiders minicamp. The coaches, however, have been looking for flaws. After all, that is their job — to find mistakes and correct them.

Running backs coach Tom Rathman noticed something peculiar with the way McFadden carried the ball this weekend, according to the Sacramento Bee:

“I told him he’s got to lock his elbow down,” Rathman said. “A lot of times his elbow wasn’t locked to the side, and obviously if you don’t have that point, which is the most critical point in my opinion, as far as the four points of pressure, you’re going to have some issues.”

McFadden fumbled 23 times in his three years at Arkansas, losing 9. The 23 fumbles were the most by one player during that time period in the NCAA.

Other than correcting the position of his elbow on carries and failing to run down field 40 yards after a play in practice, McFadden has been impressing his peers. The Little Rock product has even been taking snaps at quarterback at minicamp.

Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee had this to say about McFadden’s field presence at Oakland this weekend:

Yes, watching linebackers attempt to cover Darren McFadden was funny at times. I’m looking forward to a potential McFadden vs. Thomas Howard matchup in practice.

Jones has more on his blog here if you’re interested in reading more about minicamp.

Filed under: Arkansas Football, Uncategorized by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: May 12, 2008 at 7:50 am
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Rotnei Clarke, the superstar shooting guard from Oklahoma, will be moving to Fayetteville May 17 to start summer classes at the UA. That’s really not news, though. Here’s where it gets interesting.

Like many in his position, the Verdigris High School senior and owner of the state’s career scoring record, seems to be victim (or recipient?) of the pressures of what the recruiting game has become.

Think the 1994 film “Blue Chips,” just without Nick Nolte screaming his head off and Shaquille O’Neal’s Oscar-worthy performance. This tale, unlike the two aforementioned celebrities, is tamer and not as serious.

No doubt having college coaches and various media types fawn over every step you take can quickly take its toll. But Clarke’s father has also felt the pressure, according to a report by the Tulsa World’s Bill Haisten.

On May 16, Clarke’s father, Conley Clarke, completes his one-year run as Oral Roberts’ director of basketball operations.

Conley says he also plans to move to the Fayetteville area, although he’s not yet sure what type of job he will seek.

ORU hired Conley Clarke in an obvious attempt to sign Rotnei Clarke. ORU and Oklahoma State were finalists in the Rotnei Clarke derby, but Arkansas prevailed over OSU in a photo finish.

“Recruiting was a tough process for Rotnei. Even at the very end, I thought he would go to Oklahoma State and play with Keiton (Pawnee guard Keiton Page),” Conley Clarke said. “Recruiting was tough for everyone. It was the hardest deal I’ve ever gone through in my life.”

Rotnei Clarke will most likely see a lot of playing time next season. That’s a no-brainer. I mean, have you seen this guy scoring 65 points in one game on YouTube, yet?

Filed under: SEC Basketball, Arkansas Basketball, Uncategorized by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: May 9, 2008 at 12:18 pm
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Bobby Petrino wrapped up his first spring as a Razorbacks head coach with an entertaining Red-White game, and gave the media an opportunity to ask him some questions in a press conference Wednesday.

Here are some notable items from the post-spring depth chart and a few re-hashed tidbits before we get to some sound clips:

- Nothing has changed with the status of linebacker Freddie Fairchild, who was arrested in March. He is still suspended indefinitely.

- The receivers improved, the quarterbacks improved and the linebacker corps (without Fairchild) is very thin.

- Jake Bequette is a first-teamer at defensive end, surprising some, but not Petrino.

- Cornerback Jerrell Norton went under the knife recently to repair a hamstring injury. The surgery is supposed to speed up Norton’s recovery, and he should be available for two-a-day practices, which, by the way, start Aug. 3, Petrino said.

Check out the stories on the Wednesday press conference from Nate Allen and Tom Murphy. I also have a story on the Hogs’ special teams.

Be on the look out for all that. For now, here are some Petrino audio clips from Wednesday to tide you over.

Petrino happy with progress in spring, but thinks tempo should improve in fall practices (1:05):

Bobby Petrino on the spring tempo

Petrino says he never gets his hopes up with incoming freshmen contributing right away (1:02):

Bobby Petrino on the incoming freshmen

Petrino likes touring the speaking circuit and admits there’s still some work to do in getting comfortable at the UA (2:18):

Bobby Petrino on touring state, UA athletics

Petrino breaks down the quarterbacks (1:25):

Petrino on QB progression in spring

Petrino breaks down the wide receivers (2:40):
Petrino on wide receivers in spring

Filed under: SEC Football, Arkansas Football by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: May 8, 2008 at 12:42 am
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Former Razorback pitcher Jess Todd moved up to AA ball Sunday and is now on the roster of the Texas League’s Springfield Cardinals.

Todd was named the Minor League Pitcher of the Month in April by the St. Louis Cardinals organization after going 3-0 with a 1.65 ERA. The former Razorback left Fayetteville in 2007 for the MLB draft, but might be returning to Northwest Arkansas if the timing is right.

Springfield and the Northwest Arkansas Naturals are set to meet at Arvest Ballpark for a four-game series this week.

UPDATE: Todd will start against the Naturals on Wednesday, according to a Naturals press release complete with an exclamation point in the headline. He’ll face left-hander Rowdy Hardy at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Springdale.

Former Hog Casey Rowlett also plays for the Cardinals and will see action against the Naturals this week.

With games still in progress this afternoon, the Cardinals and Naturals are deadlocked for first in the North Division of the Texas League.

Filed under: Arkansas Baseball, Uncategorized by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: May 4, 2008 at 2:45 pm
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The UA Sports Information Department announced today that transfer quarterback Ryan Mallett will not be eligible for the 2008 football season.

Mallett took part in spring practices early on, but suffered a thumb injury that kept him out of the Red-White game last week.

Here’s the UA press release:

The NCAA has denied an appeal filed by the University of Arkansas on behalf of football student-athlete Ryan Mallett seeking a waiver to grant eligibility for competition in the 2008 season after transferring from the University of Michigan.

“I am disappointed that the NCAA has declined to grant a waiver in my case,” Mallett said. “My family and I were hopeful that I would be eligible to play for the University Arkansas in the upcoming season. For now, I will focus on finishing up the semester academically, rehabilitating my (thumb) injury and getting prepared for pre-season camp. I look forward to taking the field for the Razorbacks when I have that opportunity.”

Per the NCAA’s residence requirement (4.5.1), Mallett will be required to spend one full academic year of residence at Arkansas before being eligible to play for the Razorbacks. The Texarkana, Texas, native will practice, but will not be eligible for competition in the 2008 season. Mallett played as a true freshman in 2007 at Michigan before transferring to Arkansas in January of 2008. Mallett will have three years of eligibility remaining following the 2008 season.

“As an institution and a football program we felt it was very important to offer our support and assistance to Ryan and his family in their appeal process,” Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino said. “Ryan and his family understood from the beginning that precedent did not suggest that the NCAA was likely to grant the appeal. Now that the final decision has been made, we will move forward and use the upcoming year as an opportunity for Ryan to grow as a student, a quarterback and as a person. We are happy to have him as part of the Razorback program.”

Filed under: SEC Football, Arkansas Football by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: May 2, 2008 at 1:37 pm
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Remember Houston Nutt, the former Razorbacks football coach? No? Yeah, no one is talking about him any more. Doesn’t he coach at Ole Miss?

Sarcasm and a bevy of hyperlinks aside, Nutt reportedly helped former Arkansas receiver Marcus Monk get drafted by Chicago in the seventh round of the NFL Draft last week.

Kudos to coach Nutt. It’s always nice to see former coaches looking out for their players, even if they’re now at a rival school.

Bears general manager Jerry Angelo explains what happened:

“Monk’s going to be an interesting prospect,” Angelo said. “We didn’t really need a receiver. [But] we really like this player. [Arkansas coach] Houston Nutt kept text-messaging [Bears area scout] Chris Ballard: ‘You’ve got to take this guy. He’s going to be a heck of a player for you. He’s a great kid and a winner.’ So they were great fans of his.”

Yeah, yeah. Insert text messaging and FOI jokes here.

It may have also helped Monk’s cause that Bears head coach Lovie Smith was in Fayetteville for his stellar Pro Day in March. Smith was the only NFL head coach in attendance.

Filed under: SEC Football, Arkansas Football, Uncategorized by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: May 2, 2008 at 1:32 pm
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Darren McFadden and Felix Jones will not be wearing their collegiate numbers 5 and 25, respectively, in the NFL. The reason is simple for McFadden: running backs are not allowed to wear a number in the single digits in the league.

For Felix, No. 25 was already taken.

So what number can you expect to be donning later this summer when their Raiders and Cowboys replica jerseys go on sale?

McFadden will don No. 20 for the Silver and Black, according to Oakland’s Web site.

Jones will take No. 28 with the Cowboys, according to an in-house article on DallasCowboys.com.

After taking a full day to think about what number he wanted to wear, Jones will be donning No. 28, one of the few numbers available in the 20’s. He wore No. 25 in college.

“They knew I wanted to stay in the 20’s and the only option I had was No. 28 or 29,” Jones said “But I can deal with 28. I can put any number on my back and I’ll be OK.”

FYI, McFadden is gracing another national magazine cover. This time it’s the Sporting News, which followed him around during draft week as he tried on suits, went to parties and cruised Times Square.

Filed under: Arkansas Football, Uncategorized by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: May 2, 2008 at 9:23 am
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Nothing is official yet, but the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that former Hog Darren McFadden is requesting a six-year deal worth near $50 million from the Oakland Raiders.

The fourth pick in this year’s draft, McFadden may get no less than $20 million in guarantees.

This comes one year after giving No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell a rookie-record six-year, $61 million deal, with $31 million in guarantees.

Russell, however, did not reach the deal and held out from the Raiders and missed training camp. He did not start for the Raiders until the season finale last year.

Here’s more:

McFadden is well aware of the side effects of Russell’s holdout. McFadden said signing by camp is “very important.

“I want to be out there, so I’ll let my agent take care of that and I feel like he’s going to get it done for me.”

(Ian) Greengross said he has not had a client miss training camp time.

McFadden will surely get his money, too. NFL teams have been cranking out and raising guarantees and contracts for first round draftees every year. This year should be no different.

USA Today has a report on the rise, which you should check out if other people’s money-making is your type of thing:

The six-year, $61 million contract that Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell received as the No. 1 pick overall last year contained $29 million in guarantees — a 76.7% increase from the $16.4 million in guaranteed money Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer received as the top pick in 2003.

The average guarantee for the 32 first-round picks last year ($10.86 million) was up 67.4% from 2003 ($6.482 million).

Filed under: SEC Football, Arkansas Football, Uncategorized by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: April 30, 2008 at 10:08 am
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A couple of Hogs dropped quite a bit in the NFL Draft on Sunday, but Arkansas has six former Razorbacks going to the NFL next season.

Darren McFadden (No. 4 to Raiders) and Felix Jones (No. 22 to Cowboys) made the biggest splashes, of course. On Sunday, in the final rounds, four more Hogs got picked up.

They were:

OT Nate Garner in the seventh round to the New York Jets.
DT Marcus Harrison in the third round to the Chicago Bears.
FB Peyton Hillis in the seventh round to the Denver Broncos.
WR Marcus Monk in the seventh round to the Chicago Bears.

Garner may have been somewhat of a surprise. Harrison was projected to maybe go in the second round, but he dropped a tad to the third round to the Monster of the Midway. Hillis, who some thought might go earlier as well, was picked up with the 227th pick.

Wide reciever Marcus Monk, who ESPN NFL analyst Chris Mortensen said might go in the third or fourth round, has yet to be picked up. The draft ends here in a few minutes.

UPDATE (5:47 p.m.): Monk was picked up by the Bears at pick No. 248. Thankfully, he’s not Mr. Irrelevant — the 252nd pick.

Receivers haven’t been much of a priority in this year’s draft. Zero were selected in the first round. A lot of folks are saying there isn’t a game-breaking receiver out there like in years past. FYI, six receivers were picked up in the first round last year.

Filed under: Arkansas Football by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: April 27, 2008 at 4:11 pm
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There’s really no way to count the crowd today, as there are no tickets to this event, but the crowd is fairly thick on the lower bowl. The UA Sports Information Department just alerted us here in the press box that 40,200 are in attendance today. That’s an Arkansas spring game record, if there is such a thing in the record books.

Supposedly today breaks the previous attendance record of 31,000 for a spring game in Little Rock in 1972.

The fans here are getting a show here, too. Quarterback Casey Dick has completed 25 of 33 passes for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half. A little pass happy, eh?

Michael Smith has 128 yards on 12 carries along with 1 touchdown.

Dick and Smith’s first-team Red squad is up 24-14 on the White. It should be noted that the White team has only thrown the ball 9 times and only three have been completions.

Filed under: Arkansas Football by Brandon Marcello. Posted on: April 26, 2008 at 6:29 pm
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