Hogs seek consistency, production from receivers
Posted on Sunday, August 3, 2008
Editor’s Note: This is the eighth in a series of stories previewing the Arkansas Razorbacks, position by position.
Arkansas offensive coordinator and receivers coach Paul Petrino pushed the Razorbacks’ receivers like they had never been pushed before in the spring and slowly but surely, the results began to show. But if the Hogs are to be the team he and his older brother — Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino — want them to be, the receivers must turn up their game even more in preseason drills.
“ We’ve seen where they have times, they can’t maintain their focus, ” the younger Petrino said in the spring. “ They aren’t used to having that many balls thrown at them. They aren’t used to getting that many reps and running full speed on every play they run a route. Once we get used to doing that, we won’t have the drops we’ve had. First, we have to win it mentally. ”
By the Red-White Game, the Hogs’ receiving corps began to round into shape and talent that had been buried in Arkansas’ run-oriented offense began to be unearthed.
Junior London Crawford (6-2, 200 ) and sophomores Carlton Salters (6-0, 191 ) and Marques Wade (6-3, 192 ) bubbled to the top and comprised the starting personnel package for the starting Red squad. Crawford of Mobile, Ala., and Wade of Ellenwood, Ga., worked out wide, while Salters of Tallahasse, Fla., manned the slot.
“ I thought London Crawford came out of spring with some confidence in himself and confidence by the quarterbacks, ” Bobby Petrino said in the spring. “ He’s certainly a very strong, physical guy that I think we can really utilize when cornerbacks like to come up and press.
“ That’s one of his strengths — beating the corner at the line of scrimmage simply because of his combination of strength and speed.
“ He’s catching the deep ball and needs to continue to work on that. Some of it has to do with his eyes and locating the ball and getting his hands in proper position, certainly things that we can correct.
“ He just needs a lot of reps. I think the thing that impressed me most was his ability to run after the catch and that was from the first scrimmage until the end. He’s hard to tackle. He runs physical. He’s very powerful, so there are a lot of good attributes to work with. ”
Wade will not be in the starting lineup for the Hogs ’ first two games. Petrino suspended him for the contests against Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe after the young man was arrested on DUI charges in the summer. But he will practice with the team during the suspension and should be a factor once he is reinstated.
“ I think Marques Wade showed some signs that he can be a factor for us, ” Bobby Petrino said. “ He did catch some deep balls and he got better each week in his route running.
“ He needs to get stronger in his waist and his lower body so he doesn’t get knocked off balance so that when someone hits him or pushes him, he’s able to stay in stride and finish his routes. ”
Salters also forged ahead at the slot position going across the middle to make some big catches in the spring.
“ Salters came out of spring with confidence that he can work inside against the linebackers and catch the ball over the middle, ” Bobby Petrino said. “ He has very good hands. He can catch the ball in traffic because of his hands. He can catch it away from his body.
“ We’re going to continue working with him on running after the catch and also on his speed and being more of a threat down the field. We have to utilize him more down the field than we did in the spring. ”
Sure-handed targets such as junior Lucas Miller (6-3, 201 ) of Greenwood and senior John Aaron Rees (6-0, 207 ) showed their steadiness and worth and senior Reggie Fish (5-7, 160 ) of Mesquite, Texas, and Rod Coleman (6-1, 192 ) of Camden had their moments. Crosby Tuck, who started off to a solid freshman season before being injured, should be healthy for preseason drills, too.
However, receiver is a position where freshmen will have a distinct possibility of working themselves onto the depth chart when practice starts Monday. When asked about receivers at SEC Media Days, the first thing out of Bobby Petrino’s mouth was that the coaching staff would take long looks at the freshmen.
And the Hogs have a good crop coming in, led by former Central Arkansas Christian standout Joe Adams (6-0, 175 ). Adams had committed to Southern Cal prior to Petrino’s hire, but committed to Arkansas to stay closer to home and play in the new Head Hog’s explosive offense.
But any one of the group including Warren standouts Greg Childs (6-5, 200 ), Jarius Wright (5-11, 180 ) and Chris Gragg (6-3, 199 ), among others, could be the most precocious and productive in the fall.
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