Wednesday’s Practice Notes
Both running back Darren McFadden and defensive end Antwain Robinson were back at practice Wednesday after sitting on the sidelines Tuesday.
McFadden was sore after the Razorbacks’ 42-29 loss to Kentucky and Robinson had a swollen left quadiceps muscle. Robinson and McFadden are expected to play, when Arkansas faces North Texas on Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
“I took the day off yesterday,” McFadden said. “I need to get some things healed up with my body. I’m feeling great. It was my knee a little bit, but basically it was just giving myself a day to let my body rest. I’m 100 percent today.”
McFadden leads the nation in rushing, averaging 173.0 yards per game.
“He was back today, running very well,” Razorbacks coach Houston Nutt said.
NICKEL AND DIMING NORTH TEXAS
Arkansas will take a similar approach to defending North Texas that it used to keep Troy at bay during the Razorbacks’ only victory of the season earlier this month. Arkansas will feature a lot of Nickel and Dime packages to counter the Mean Green’s Spread, No-Huddle offense.
“At the end of the day, it’s their skill guys versus our skill guys,” Razorbacks defensive coordinator Reggie Herring said. “It’s 7-on-7, baby. They throw the ball to run it. They don’t run the ball and then throw it. It goes back to matching their ability in space. We try to match personnel.”
When Arkansas is using six cornerbacks, senior Weston Dacus will be the only linebacker on the field. Herring said Dacus “has the most experience.”
The use of Nickel and Dime defenses is a departure from Herring’s philosophy of sticking to his 4-3 base scheme. But in the Razorbacks’ first three games, Arkansas has allowed 268.7 yards per game through the air. And its secondary has been sliced and diced.
“We’re trying to cut down on missed tackles, missed assignments,” senior cornerback Matterral Richardson said. “We’re just going to try to keep improving.”
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