Razorbacks relish much-needed rest

BY TOM MURPHY

Posted on Monday, August 18, 2008

URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/adg/234627/

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas junior Matt Harris said he planned to watch movies all day Sunday.

Then he quickly changed his mind.

“I’m gonna sleep for half the day, then watch some Olympics or something,” Harris said.

One thing neither Harris nor any of his Razorback teammates delved into Sunday was standing on their feet or doing much of anything physical. Not after the first two weeks of first-year Coach Bobby Petrino’s boot camp, er, fall camp.

“It’s been pretty heavy on all of us,” junior tailback Michael Smith said after Saturday’s 135-play scrimmage. “Everybody looked a little slow and a little tired today.”

The Razorbacks have run close to 400 snaps in three scrimmages since last Sunday, and the daily hitting and rigorous full-speed work has been cranked to another level from previous fall camps.

“I’d say we have a lot of camp legs,” middle linebacker Jerry Franklin said. “I can’t wait to get my legs back and see how it feels to be full speed again.”

Center Jonathan Luigs and the first unit on offense has had the most success in camp, but it doesn’t minimize the physical price the starters have paid.

“[The rugged camp ] has definitely given us a good work ethic and really taken a toll on our bodies,” Luigs said. “We’ve got to be able to push through it because that’s what it may be like in games.”

Petrino, whose personal philosophy revolves around physical and mental toughness, recognized the heavy-duty work has been difficult on the Razorbacks.

“We need to freshen up,” Petrino said. “We have two-a-day legs. Not everyone is at their top speed.”

The rest of Arkansas’ camp practices will be closed to the general public, and the media will be limited to 20 minutes of viewing at the start of workouts. The Razorbacks will begin mixing standard practice snaps with specific game-planning for the Aug. 30 season opener against Western Illinois in the next week. They’ll also begin rejuvenating sore legs and the other aches and pains that have marked the first two weeks.

“We’ve got to get our legs back underneath us,” senior quarterback Casey Dick said. “We’ve got to get them back where we need to be.”

While coaches have expressed concern over the play of the first two units on defense — some of it injury related — perhaps some solace can be gained in recognizing that Petrino’s full-field Spread system, which has proved difficult to defend by defenses across the nation, is part of the problem.

“This is a fine, fine offense to practice against,” defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said. “Great run package, great play-action package and then they can stretch you vertical.”