While the Hogs were warming up last Saturday against TTU, Louisiana-Monroe was one of two FBS teams sitting at home suffering through a week one bye.  Twelve straight weeks of football now await head coach Todd Berry and his Warhawks.

Berry (29-60, 9 years overall) is in his first year at ULM after replacing former Hog assistant Charlie Weatherby, who went 31-51 in 7 seasons in Monroe.  (Interesting sidebar: Former Dallas Cowboy and All-Pro defensive tackle Leon Lett is a first year assistant coach for Berry, coaching the defensive line.)

While the Warhawks only return 10 starters in 2010, they do return quality at the skill positions.  Senior quarterback Trey Revell (6-4, 222) is a run-pass threat who racked up over 2,100 yards of total offense and 17 TDs last year.  He is bolstered by senior running back Frank Goodin (1,126 RuYds, 13 TDs in 2009), who was recently named to the Doak Walker Award watch list.

On the defensive side, ULM runs a 3-3-5 scheme employing a hybrid “Hawk” position.  Without a doubt, the bell cow is junior defensive end Troy Evans (6-2, 263).  Evans, an All-Sun Belt performer from 2009, is a quality pass rusher who tallied 6 1/2 sacks last season.  He will be a good test for Hog offensive tackles DeMarcus Love and Ray Dominguez.  Junior strong safety Darius Prelow is also a big hitter, as well as an All-SBC performer.

On special teams, watch out for #22, Luther Ambrose (5-9, 173), in the return game.  Ambrose has tremendous speed and was an All-SBC selection at kick returner, averaging 21.9 yards per return in 2009.

They won’t say it, but this is a rebuilding year for the Warhawks.  Over half (23) of the players on the ULM two-deep are freshmen or sophomores, with just 13 seniors on the entire roster.  While Monroe is a FBS upgrade over Tennessee Tech, they are picked to finish in the bottom half of the Sun Belt.  So expect the score to be whatever Coach Petrino wants it to be.

All in all, though, it should be a fantastic week to be in Little Rock with all of the RazorRock activities scheduled.  Seventeen various events — culminated by a Friday night pep rally and live music at the Riverfest Amphitheatre in the River Market — should get the juices flowing.

The early line has the Hogs favored by 34.  And oh, by the way…don’t let ‘em forget who the “real home team” is.  Go Hogs!

Even though the offense passed for 77 yards on the first two possessions, the start seemed ragged.  The first 16 plays included three runs for a grand total of two yards, one sack for no gain, three false start penalties and an interception.

Perhaps the fact that the Razorbacks were going “no huddle” at times contributed to the feeling of raggedness.  Was I the only one surprised to see this?  What happened to the “get back in the huddle” Coach Petrino?

Once the normal huddle returned, the offense seemed to gain tempo and crispness.  The no-huddle returned in the second half, but this time the execution continued to be crisp.  That is…until the second team and an overly excited Tyler Wilson hit the field to start the 4th quarter.  I did think QB Brandon Mitchell did a nice job in limited action.

My favorite play of the game was Ryan Mallett running the ball for a touchdown.  It was called back, but I liked how he wasn’t going to be denied from getting the ball into the end zone.  We didn’t often see that “willing runner” from him last year.

While it was hard to gauge the quality of the opposition, the defense definitely had a field day.  The defensive line was absolutely dominant.  Quickness and size at all three linebacker positions seems much improved.  Leon has the potential to be a beast.  The secondary was pretty much untested as Tennessee Tech had no passing game.

Hard to tell a lot about special teams, as the Hogs never punted and the return game was never really tested.  Tejada kicking the ball five yards deep in the end zone on kickoffs was great to see.  Hocker seemed smooth on extra points.  Kickoff coverage seemed solid.

If you take away the ragged start on offense, the turnovers and silly penalties, and the second-team offense failing to move the ball, it was a pretty solid performance all-around for an opening game.

The fact that the Hogs basically toyed with Tennessee Tech is a solid statement as to how far the program has come in a short period of time.  It’s easy to see that this is a much better Razorback team than we’ve seen in a while.

Whether or not they will be as good as we all hope is still far from being determined.

The Good

• The recent move by Willy Robinson to relocate Anthony Leon to outside linebacker looks like gold after this week’s performance.  “Juice” was a one-man wrecking crew, posting two sacks and four tackles for loss.  He looks like he can be a difference maker for this defense.
• Despite not getting to see punter Dylan Breeding, kickers Alex Tejada and Zach Hocker looked good.  Tejada’s four touchbacks showed that he can be a major weapon on kickoffs, while the true freshman Hocker looked comfortable making all six of his PATs. 
• “Good” from game day: Changing the music right before the Razorbacks run through the “A”.  Going from the old theme from “2001: A Space Odyssey” to “Unstoppable” by E.S. Posthumus was a major upgrade.  Now if we can just kill the tired “I’ve Got News For You” intro before basketball games.
• Dear Jack Crowe: All is forgiven.  Sincerely, Razorback Fans.  Which leads us to…

The Bad

• No announcement of that score in Razorback Stadium?  Is the UA game production that scripted and antiseptic?  Do us all a favor, guys…lose the “kiss cam” and “Great Razorback Moments” for one timeout and give fans in the stands a few scores from SEC games.  Especially when an OVC team beats an SEC team for the first time since 1948.  Fail.
• As for the on the field “bad,” their wasn’t too much to complain about.  While we know the game was decided, we were a bit surprised with the lack of production by the second-team offense.  In recent weeks, QB Tyler Wilson and the second group had good success in scrimmages against the first-team defense.  Collecting only 46 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter was a disappointment.
• “Bad” from game day: Two thumbs down to whoever put together the video showing the defensive starting lineups on the big screen before the game.  Two players who actually earned starting nods in recent weeks (DT Alfred Davis and LB Anthony Leon) were completely omitted.  And Zach Stadther, who has been working on the scout team and didn’t even dress out for the game, was shown as a starter.  C’mon man.

The Ugly

• Ball security by the Hogs was bad…even if it was the first game.  The three fumbles (one lost) by the Hogs along with two interceptions and nine penalties for 64 yards marred what was otherwise a good game by the Razorbacks.  The nine penalties were the second most by any SEC team this weekend (Kentucky, 11).
• Drops of sure touchdowns by backup wide receivers De’Anthony Curtis and Maudrecus Humphrey were disappointing.  We’ll give Humphrey a pass because he’s a freshman but Curtis is a junior and can’t afford drops like that if he wants to stay in the receiver rotation.
• “Ugly” from game day: If you follow us on Twitter (and you do, right?), then you got the breaking news that Papa John’s pizza has been replaced in DWRRS by Pizza Hut pizza.  Uh…yeah…the aluminum pie pan and plastic cover (instead of a box) made the Pizza Hut pizza nice and soggy.  Downgrade.

Of course, we can’t mention everything that was “Good, Bad and Ugly.”  What did we leave out?

Walking on Sunshine contributed to this post.

ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Mallett, Adams claim record

Junior Ryan Mallett went three quarters but completed almost all of his passes as the University of Arkansas opened the 2010 season with a 44-3 win over Tennessee Tech before 69,596 fans at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Game Stats (PDF), Post-game Notes, Post-game Quotes
• ArkansasRazorbacks.com (Video): Game Highlights, Bobby Petrino Post-game Press Conference
• ESPN.com: Mallett slings 3 TDs as No. 17 Arkansas cruises
• Robbie Neiswanger: Arkansas Shakes Sluggish Start, Rolls To 44-3 Win
• Dennis Byrd: Davis, Swanson, Grayson Earn Starts in Win, Key Performers
• Scott Faldon: Arkansas Defense Delivers in Opener
• Harry King: Razorbacks walk, as expected
• Brandon Marcello: Reviewing Arkansas’ 44-3 victory
• Brandon Marcello / Matt Jones: WholeHogCast: Arkansas vs. Tennessee Tech (Video)
• ArkansasOnline.com Focus: Arkansas vs. Tennessee Tech Photos
• Chris Bahn: Razorbacks’ Defense Good Against Tennessee Tech, Players Looking For More, Two-Minute Drill
• Jim Harris: Arkansas Accomplishes Most of What It Wanted in Opening Win
• Razorback Nation (Video): Ryan Mallett Interview, Dennis Johnson Interview, Anthony Leon Interview

Once again this year we’ve created a limited run of RazorBloggers Network t-shirts for our weekly “grand prize” winner.  And we have to say…this year’s shirt is the best we’ve ever designed.  More on that soon…for now, here are the contest rules:

1. The winning entry must pick the winning team and have the smallest combined deviation from each team’s final score.  For example, if the Hogs beat their opponent 20-14, and your prediction was Hogs 21-17, your deviation would be 1 + 3 = 4.
2. Any ties will be broken by a random drawing.
3. The weekly winner will be contacted via e-mail for a shipping address and t-shirt size.  (So make sure to fill out the e-mail address box in the comment form!)

Also…congratulations to longtime reader I Like Pigs for the closest bowl game prediction last time of 31-17.  His quote: “It’s supposed to be cold and wet and the layoff won’t help our passing game.”  Pretty spot-on prediction, ILP.  And we can confirm one thing firsthand: it was damn cold in Memphis on January 2nd.

So here we go:

Walking on Sunshine: While the Golden Eagles should provide little opposition, the Hogs manage to hold down the score by playing student managers and trainers the whole second half.  The running game gets some much needed work as Coach Petrino stays ‘vanilla’…much to the chagrin of Georgia and Alabama.  TTU scores a cheap one late.  Arkansas 49, Tennessee Tech 7.

HogBaller: The Razorback “D” has something to prove this season, and they make a statement with a shutout in game 1.  The offense gets off to a fast start and showcases the many weapons in Coach Petrino’s arsenal.  In the end, the backups see plenty of action, and this one is safely in hand by halftime.  However, the kicking game looks eerily similar to last year.  Arkansas 55, Tennessee Tech 0.

HogBlogger: Hogs are ready to practice against someone for real.  Arkansas 42, Tennessee Tech 7.

TipsterHog: “For 100 years we’ve been ‘Hog Wild.’  And Saturday we continue the tradition.  We are…Arkansas Razorbacks.“  Arkansas 45, Tennessee Tech 3.

Leave a comment with your name, e-mail address and pick.  And feel free to add your own take like “Huntin’ season starts a little earlier this year” or “Get ready.  Hogs roll.”

As Razorback football fans, we have a love/hate relationship when it comes to expectations.  Having high expectations has always seemed to be akin to the “SI cover jinx” or the “Corso Curse.”  Over the years, there have been few examples of Arkansas football teams that have matched their lofty expectations.  More often than not, those seasons ended in fan disappointment, meltdown or worse.

1978:  Before the season, Sports Illustrated ranked Arkansas #1.  But the Hogs suffered two midseason defeats and settled for only a share of the Southwest Conference title, finishing 9-2-1 after a tie with UCLA in the Fiesta Bowl.

1987:  The ‘87 Razorbacks were SWC favorites but a last play defeat to Texas in Little Rock led to a disappointing finish.  The Hogs won nine games, but ended the campaign with a Liberty Bowl loss to Georgia.

But in years when expectations have been low and the Hogs have played the role of the underdog, they’ve often produced results that far exceeded fan expectations.

1995:  Coming off of a 4-7 finish the previous year, the Razorbacks earned their first-ever Western Division title in the SEC.  The Hogs lost to #2 Florida in the SEC Championship game, 34-3.

1998:  In Houston Nutt’s first year at Arkansas, having inherited a team with back-to-back 4-7 seasons, the Razorbacks were unbeaten at 8-0 heading into Knoxville to play Tennessee.  After the now infamous Clint Stoerner fumble, the Hogs would lose the following week to Mississippi State and finish the season 9-3 after a loss to Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.

2006:  The Razorbacks got off to a 10-1 start, having gone 4-7 the year before.  As the season progressed, fans and pundits began to place the Hogs right in the middle of that year’s BCS conversations.  However, just as expectations began to rise, the Hogs ended the season with losses to LSU, Florida and Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl to finish 10-4.

1977:  Before the season, Arkansas was picked to finish no higher than fifth in the SWC.  But with Ron Calcagni at quarterback and Ben Cowins rushing for over 1,000 yards, the Razorback offense averaged 33 points a game.  While the Hogs finished second in the SWC with a 10-1 record, they did earn their first-ever spot in the Orange Bowl opposite #2 Oklahoma.

After top-ranked Texas was defeated by Notre Dame earlier in the day, the entire focus of the nation was on the Sooners’ chance to win the Orange Bowl and the national championship.

Most figured that was a foregone conclusion since Lou Holtz had suspended his top two running backs and leading receiver for disciplinary reasons.  But the suspensions didn’t matter, and the Hogs stunned the Sooners, 31-6.  That game still ranks as one of the all-time favorites among Razorback fans.

2010:  So here we are ready to start the season and the Razorbacks are picked as a contender to win the SEC West, with a quarterback on just about every list of potential Heisman candidates.  It’s hard as fans not to have high expectations for this season.

Fortunately, Bobby Petrino is no stranger when it comes to expectations.  At Louisville, he finished the 2004 season 11-1 and ranked #6.  In 2005, his team finished 9-3 and followed that up in 2006 with an Orange Bowl victory, a 12-1 record and a #5 ranking.

“When you have high expectations, it means that you played good football at the end of the year last year and you have a lot of returning players coming back,” Petrino said.  “To me, that’s what the start of the season is all about.”

So will this season be different than other high expectation years?  Or will this be the year that Razorback fans remember as the season where the Hogs put it all together to do something truly magical?

Or as Coach Petrino likes to say: “It’s showtime.”  Enter the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, the first victim of the 2010 campaign.

The Eagles are led by veteran coach Watson Brown (107-171-1, 25th season overall), who four years ago stepped down as the head coach at UAB.  Brown, who is the older brother of Texas coach Mack Brown, chose to go back to his home town (Cookeville) and coach Tennessee Tech.

In just three short years, he has managed to turn the struggling Eagles into 6-5 winners in 2009, and is now ready to challenge for an Ohio Valley Conference title.  The Eagles are predicted to finish fourth in the nine team OVC.

“There’s nobody in this league (OVC) we can’t beat,” Brown said.  “They can all beat us, but this is the first year I feel like we can go out there on the field with a chance to win it.  We have a shot to win this thing.  There’s no doubt about it.”

Brown knows a thing or two about trying to revive struggling programs.  Longtime Hog fans might remember Brown’s back-to-back stints in the late 1980’s at Rice (4-18, 2 years) and Vanderbilt (10-45, 5 years).

The Eagles offense sports three All-OVC players in offensive linemen Slade Adams (6-6, 315) and Malcolm Jones (6-5, 300), and wide receiver Tim Benford (6-1, 195).  Jones has moved from center to tackle for 2010.

Kansas transfer running back Jocques Crawford (6-1, 238) should bolster this year’s running attack, and they’ll need it.  The Eagles are breaking in a new quarterback this year, as sophomore Tre Lamb (5-9, 185) gets to start his first collegiate game against the Hogs.  Yikes!

The strength of the Eagles team looks to be on the defensive side of the ball, where 10 starters return this year.  TTU employs a 3-4 look, and is led by middle linebacker Jake McIntosh (6-2, 230).

The mismatches in this one are too numerous to mention, but keep your eye on the Eagles new center Michael Baker (6-2, 250) as he tries to handle Hog nose tackle Alfred Davis (6-1, 326).  That one should tell you all you need to know.

But, hey…it’s somebody else to hit on.  And for that…we are thankful.

Many fans I’ve talked to recently know this.  They aren’t certain whether they should embrace or even have high expectations for the upcoming season.

As my father told me the other day, “After all, this is Arkansas we are talking about.”  His view, formed over 60 years of watching Arkansas football, is pretty simple:  “Just when it looks like they are really going to accomplish something…they’ll let you down.”

But Coach Petrino is encouraging and even embracing high expectations this preseason.  I like that.  In my 40+ year memory of Arkansas football, I can’t recall a coach and team so publicly embracing high expectations.  Usually all we’ve heard is worry and a lot of poor-mouthing.

I think I know what this team is capable of accomplishing.  What I wonder is what they will actually do.  So…I thought back to last year.  What were the really “big deal” things that stood out about that team (at least in my view) that could make or break this year’s team.  I decided to frame these in the positive since, after all, we’re embracing expectations.

Don’t get ahead of yourself.  Not only can you not take nine women and have a baby in one month, you can’t win every game at once.  While the sayings are trite, they are true.  “Stay in the present.”  “One play at a time.”  My view of last season is that the offensive success the Hogs had in the first game stunted the development of the offense for weeks afterwards.  The big plays came too easy, leading us to look for big plays all the time.  We forgot to remember to…

Move the chains on a consistent basis.  We had a lot of issues last year in this area.  Some memorable examples:  Overlooking wide open receivers on short routes for easy first downs while throwing incomplete down the field; the quarterback sliding on third down in the red zone just 2 yards short of a first down, leading to a missed field goal; and still getting stuffed at times on short yardage.

The mentality this year has to be first downs or die trying.  And speaking of dying, the defense must take the approach of…

Bend, but don’t break.  A team is not apt to win the game on any particular defensive play.  Unfortunately, we proved last year that we could certainly lose the game on a particular defensive play.

I won a bet last year by taking the over when the over/under on long plays given up was 80 yards.  Scheme, players…I don’t care who was responsible.  If it’s not fixed this year, we’ll all be sad.  Speaking of sad, all of this will be for naught unless the Hogs…

Win the battle of special teams.  Two extra made field goals last year would have been worth two wins.  Our punting margin was terrible.  If there is not significant improvement in this area, it won’t really matter how good the offense and defense play.  Special teams can change the result of the season by three or four games easily.

Unfortunately, even while attempting to stay positive, I still find myself worried about all four of these.  What do you think?

The University of Arkansas men’s basketball schedule is set for the 2010-11 season with a 30-game slate beginning on Thursday, Nov. 18 at Bud Walton Arena.

Also:

• RBN: 2010-11 Arkansas Razorbacks Basketball Schedule

The BlogPoll is made up of a collection of 102 voters (bloggers) who represent schools from across the country from all conferences. Our own Walking on Sunshine will be casting the RazorBloggers ballot and posting it here each week throughout the season for discussion. And, as always, your commentary can impact our weekly rankings.

No doubt, Alabama has enough returning players to deserve the top spot for now, but if their retooled defense sputters early, we won’t hesitate to move them south.  Boise State’s Labor Day showdown against top 10 Virginia Tech should be the best game during Week 1.  The Bloggers land Arkansas #18 to start the season.

You can see the complete BlogPoll over at SBNation.com.  So, without further ado, here’s the RBN preseason ballot:

As you might expect, Razorback Fan Day festivities brought out a good crowd to Saturday’s final open practice inside Reynolds Razorback Stadium.  We were only able to attend the first hour of practice so make sure and check out the other practice reports linked below.  Only 14 more days until kickoff!

After the changes made this week at linebacker for the Hogs, we were watching closely how former safety Anthony “Juice” Leon looked at linebacker.  Well…so far…so good.  In fact, based on how he looked on Saturday, moving Leon might be THE move of fall camp.

It’s a crash course for Juice at outside linebacker, where he obviously doesn’t know the position well enough yet to “play fast” the way Bobby Petrino wants on every play.  But you see flashes…like when he broke cleanly and nearly intercepted Ryan Mallett on the first play of 11-on-11 drills on Saturday.  It will be interesting to see how much playing time Leon gets in the first two non-conference games.

It was good to see defensive end Tenarius Wright back out on the field again.  Even though Wright returned to practice earlier this week after dealing with back spasms, Saturday was the first chance we’ve had to see “The Tank” this fall and he looked good.  While freshman Chris Smith has an impressive speed rush at defensive end, the veteran Wright looks even quicker and more disruptive.  Get ready for more sacks this year, Hog fans.

There seemed to be extra emphasis by the quarterbacks on making the proper pre-snap adjustments at the line of scrimmage.  Defensive coordinator Willy Robinson was changing defenses frequently during the early 11-on-11 session.  In response, Ryan Mallett was making blocking adjustments and calling audibles as needed.  Backup quarterback Tyler Wilson was doing the same, although he seemed to be a bit slower than Mallett at reading the defensive positioning.

Bobby Petrino was preaching one thing over and over to the offensive line on Saturday: “Get up!  Get down!  Get off!”  As in (we think): 1) Break the huddle and get up quickly to the line of scrimmage; 2) Get down into your stance; and 3) Get off when the ball is snapped.  Easy to remember, huh?

Also:

• Brandon Marcello: Hogs focus on special teams, offense near end zone
• Robbie Neiswanger: Notes and Observations From Saturday’s Practice

This week’s candidate is senior safety Anthony ‘Juice’ Leon.  Leon (6-4, 227), who had a reputation as a big hitter before arriving in Fayetteville, might fare better closer to the line of scrimmage.  That’s the thought, at least.  After practicing there for two practices, he’s already found himself working at times as the first-team weakside linebacker.

While we applaud finding a spot for a big hitter, what does that tell you about the Hogs’ linebacking corps at this late stage?  Juice is there less than 48 hours and he might be the starter?

“He really enjoys being at that position,” Robinson said.  “We felt like he was very natural the first day we moved him there as far as his reads.”

Last year around this time, we were writing about the demotion of linebackers Wendel Davis and Jerry Franklin to the second team in the hopes of sending them a message.  Davis completed his eligibility last season, while Franklin was voted one of the defensive captains for 2010.

But this week Franklin, who is a Butkus Award nominee, has again been working some with the second team.  And the senior that apparently needs a message to be sent this year is Freddy Burton, who toiled with the newcomers on Wednesday afternoon while the other veterans got the second practice of the day off.

The signing this spring of Chris Smith, the highly touted freshman from North Carolina, gave a glimmer of hope that the Hogs would be bolstering their linebacker corps.  But now that Smith has found a home as a pass-rushing defensive end, it appears to be the same song, second verse this season at linebacker.

In a year where this team has made obvious improvement on the defensive front and (fingers crossed) in the secondary, the Achilles’ heel of this defensive unit seems even more pronounced now.

Could there be more possibilities out there that Robinson and Petrino haven’t explored?  What’s next…open it up for student body tryouts?

• When cloud cover moved in about 30 minutes into the scrimmage, we knew what was coming.  Throw out the previous estimates…when it was all said and done, the 180+ play marathon set a new Petrino era record.
• The offensive tempo was great to start the day.  Bobby Petrino and his staff preach “tempo” all the time in practice.  And both Ryan Mallett (24-43, 274 PaYds, TD) and Tyler Wilson (16-22, 268 PaYds, 5 TDs) looked comfortable in the pocket, especially in the first half of the scrimmage.
• The zone blocking techniques employed by new offensive line coach Chris Klenakis were opening huge cutback lanes for the running backs.  Broderick Green, Dennis Johnson and Ronnie Wingo Jr. took advantage of them and looked sharp, running for a combined 228 yards on 49 carries.
• All things considered, though, it was a very good day for the defense.  When it was the “1’s on 1’s”, the first team defense held their own.  As the practice wore on, the defense got stronger, winning much of the ‘overtime’ and goal line work toward the end of the scrimmage.
• Redshirt freshman center Travis Swanson (6-5, 305) continues to get a lot of first team reps on the offensive line.  Coach Petrino has said not to read anything into who’s working on the first unit.  So we’re not sayin’…but, we’re just sayin’.
• Sophomore defensive tackle Alfred Davis (6-1, 326) had one of his best days as a Razorback on Saturday.  Davis at times was unblockable from his nose tackle position, recording two impressive tackles for loss.  He has proven to be hard to move inside during fall camp, and it looks like if you don’t double-team him, he has the ability to slice through and make some big plays like he did on Saturday.
• The “Fantastic Four” freshman wide receiver crew continued their impressive play.  Marquel Wade, Javontee Herndon, Julian Horton, and Maudrecus Humprey racked up a combined 189 yards on 16 catches and 3 TDs.  The highlight was a great 16-yard TD catch in the back corner of the end zone by Horton from QB Brandon Mitchell.
• Junior captain Jake Bequette also stood out on the defensive side.  Midway through the scrimmage, Bequette made a great play rushing from his end position, knocking the ball out of Ryan Mallett’s hand.  Jake picked up the fumble and would have scored a touchdown had the play not been blown dead.
• With sophomore Tenarius Wright still out with back spasms, true freshman Chris Smith continues to get a lot of reps in the two-deep at defensive end.  During the scrimmage, any time the defense was preparing for a third and long or a likely passing down, Smith was inserted to rush off the edge.
• On special teams, senior Alex Tejada continued to lead the competition for placekicker against freshman Eddie Camara.  One thing we did notice…Austin Tucker has to be adept at being the holder in practice for both a right footed (Tejada) and left footed (Camara) kicker.  Does that make him ambidextrous?  Hmmm…

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Solid UA scrimmage ends week of practice, Bobby Petrino Post-practice (Video)
• Brandon Marcello: Hogs’ defense impresses in scrimmage, Day 10 scrimmage statistics (unofficial)
• Robbie Neiswanger: Defense Impresses in First Scrimmage, Bequette’s Big Day, Wilson Impresses, Curtis Catches Break, Some Quick Thoughts From Saturday’s Scrimmage
• Chris Bahn: Petrino Liked What He Saw From Scrimmage, Except When He Didn’t, Two-Minute Drill

TipsterHog also contributed to this post.  Thanks to Brandon Marcello of The Slophouse for compiling the unofficial stats.

The “Answer the Call” initiative, featuring the cleverly named Razorback Seat Value Program (RSVP), was previewed in the recent athletic department annual report and detailed in full at a media event on Wednesday.

Rather than explaining to Arkansas fans why they should be happy finishing higher than 8th in the SEC, Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long has been busy during his time on The Hill focusing on finding more money for the athletic programs.

Whether it’s been through the consolidation of the men’s and women’s athletic departments, revamping the old Arkansas Razorbacks Sports Network, changing leadership at the Razorback Foundation, or adding ribbon boards to Bud Walton Arena and Razorback Stadium — the common denominator has been bringing in more cash to fund the athletic programs.

While some Razorback fans may complain about the seat license increases, the question on the table is, “Do you really want to dance?”

To bring the question into clearer focus — “Do Razorback fans want to have a ‘big-time’ football program?”

In order to have a nationally competitive football program, you must have both broad and strong financial support.  Under Frank Broyles, the approach was based on a few huge donors with a broad number of very small donors within the Razorback Foundation.

What do I mean by “broad and small” as compared to “broad and strong?”  Well…$150 for a 50-yard line seat license at Arkansas versus $1,300 for a 50-yard line seat license at Alabama is a pretty good example.  Even Vandy charged more than the Hogs.

Besides bringing in less money to the program, the low, low price for maintaining seat location meant that Foundation members willing to pony (or should that be hog?) up more donation money could not be rewarded with better seat locations.  Why bother giving more if you don’t get anything for it?

The new RSVP program is just the beginning to finding out the real willingness on the part of Hog fans to give to the program.

To really bring the question into crystal clear focus — “Do Razorback fans want to keep Bobby Petrino?”

It’s pretty simple.  Bobby Petrino is going to coach somewhere that gives him the chance to not only win the National Championship once, but to win it multiple times.  If Arkansas can be that place, we can keep him.  If Arkansas fans are not going to provide the ongoing support to make that possible, we are going to lose him.

We’ve seen what buying coaches on the cheap (and not being able to afford sending them away) has done to the Razorback basketball program.

Sorry to be the one to bring the news, but players play for coaches, not schools.  If a school can afford to have the kind of coach that attracts quality student athletes, then they can afford everything else the player is looking for, as well.

If the school doesn’t have all the other stuff (locker room, training room, educational opportunities and facilities, practice facilities, stadium) that a player is looking for, then it probably won’t have a coach that outstanding student athletes want to play for anyway.

To coin another country sayin’, “It’s time to fish or cut bait.”  How the Arkansas fans respond to this initial phase of a fundraising initiative that will go on for years to come will be critical to the future of the program.

On offense, he mentioned two things:  first, an improved running game; and second, find some backup wide receivers.

“One of the things that we really need to understand is who is going to be our backup wide receivers,” Petrino said.  “Although we return the four guys that had the most catches last year at wide receiver, who are their backups?”

The only story hotter than the temperatures at practice over the last week has been the emergence of the freshman wide receivers — Maudrecus Humphrey (photo right), Marquel Wade, Javontee Herndon, and Julian Horton.  The group have collectively dubbed themselves “The Fantastic Four.” 

Now typically we would scoff at the self-promotion of a bunch of freshmen who haven’t played a down in a college game.  But these guys seem a bit different, and from the looks of things, have the game to back it up.

If you haven’t seen them yet, here’s a quick rundown.

Maudrecus Humphrey (6-3, 185, 4.4), son of Alabama legendary running back Bobby Humphrey, has incredible speed (high school track star).  Of the four, Humphrey has ‘the look’ and the size that Petrino covets in a receiver.

Marquel Wade (5-11, 180, 4.4) has showed tremendous speed and the ability to run after the catch.  He will remind fans of current Hog Joe Adams in that regard.  You can tell he’s going to be a playmaker.

Julian Horton (6-1, 194, 4.5), appears to be the strongest of the bunch.  He has shown the ability to catch the ball in traffic and break tackles.  He’s more than a possession receiver, though.

Javontee Herndon (6-1, 185, 4.4), who goes by Jay, has to be the steal of the 2010 recruiting class.  Arkansas was late to offer the Jacksonville, Florida native a scholarship, but after seeing him up close, and watching his highlights, there’s no doubt he’s going to be a star.

The Hogs will likely travel with seven wide receivers.  So with the four entrenched veterans (Adams, Hamilton, Childs, Wright), that leaves three spots for the battle between redshirt freshman Lance Ray (6-3, 207) and the “Fantastic Four.”

“The ones that are in front of us, they’ve done things that I’ve never seen before,” Wade said.  “That just makes me want to do the same things they’re doing.  I’m going to do what I’ve got to do to be like them.”

It’s early, but we like what we see from these guys.  We’ll let ‘em keep the nickname for now.

• It’s becoming more and more apparent that plays run out of the “Pistol” (a.k.a. “Shot”) formation will be a big part of the Hogs’ offense this season.  There was quite a bit of focus during the warm-up periods on a quick and smooth transition from shotgun snap to handoff (or fake handoff).  There was also a noticeable increase in emphasis on run blocking by new offensive line coach Chris Klenakis.
• Redshirt freshman Alvin Bailey continues to work with the first-team offensive line.  Bailey, who took over for injured senior Wade Grayson in the spring, looks good (down to 315 pounds) and will be hard to unseat at his guard position.
• Freshman wide receiver Marquel Wade looked the best of all the offensive newcomers on Sunday.  You can see the potential for one of the talented freshman wideouts (Wade, Humphrey, Herndon or Horton) to have a role similar to what Cobi Hamilton did last season as a freshman.  (Or…it’s also very possible that there’s just too many good receivers on this team and they will all redshirt.)
• Strength coach Jason Veltkamp has talked about the transformation that some of the defensive lineman have made during the offseason.  Well…look no further than Camden junior defensive tackle Lavunce Askew for proof.  Askew looked very lean and fast at 6-3, 290 as he ran with the first-team defensive unit.
• As we said on one of our Twitter updates, freshman fullback Jatashun “Big Tex” Beachum (6-1, 270) is, indeed, BIG.  But for a guy his size, his athleticism is very impressive.  You could see that on display when he caught the ball nicely out of the backfield on Sunday.  On some running plays, however, “Big Tex” did seem to get tripped up pretty easily.  No word on whether those ground tremors registered on the local USGS Richter scale.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Arkansas football practices pick up, John L. Smith Post-Practice (Video)
• Brandon Marcello: Ready or not, newcomers must face veterans
• Chris Bahn: Newcomers Looking Forward To Combined Razorbacks Practice

Walking on Sunshine also contributed to this post.

Local, regional and national media were inside the Broyles Center adjacent to Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium for the University of Arkansas football team’s annual media day Saturday morning.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com (Video): Bobby Petrino Press Conference
• Razorback Nation (Video): Media Day Expectations, Media Day Defense
• 4029TV.com (Video): Razorback Football Holds Annual Media Day
• KFSM.com (Video): Hogs Meet Media, Excited About Season, Razorbacks All About Improvement
• Chris Bahn: Petrino Praises Razorbacks’ Leadership; Declines To Reveal His Coaches’ Poll Vote
• Jim Harris: Hogs Are a Refreshingly Confident Bunch as Fall Camp Begins
• Noah Trister: Arkansas WRs hope to make a name for themselves
• Brandon Marcello: Video: One-on-one with Ryan Mallett, Transcript: Bobby Petrino speaks, we listen, transcribe
• Richard Davenport: Media day report

This is a developing story that will be updated soon.  You can also get the latest breaking Razorback news by following @RazorBloggers on Twitter.

The University of Arkansas football team was back at work Friday evening in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, building further momentum after Thursday’s exciting start to fall practices.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com (Video): Garrick McGee Post-Practice
• Razorback Nation (Video): Razorback practice continues on second day
• 4029TV.com (Video): Hog Football Veterans Practice Inside Reynolds Razorback Stadium
• Brandon Marcello: Defense, ‘Brick Squad’ slow down offense, Some thoughts as freshmen get handle on things
• Robbie Neiswanger: ‘Prepared’ Razorbacks Crisp After Two Practices, Hogs Embrace Top 25 Ranking, Secondary Shines in Practice, Notes From Friday’s Practice
• Chris Bahn: Secondary Has Big Day, McGee Oversees Punt Return Candidates

The University of Arkansas football team kicked off the 2010 season this afternoon with the start of fall practice. The Razorbacks took to the practice fields without pads in the onset of head coach Bobby Petrino’s third year at the helm.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com (Video): Bobby Petrino Post-Practice, Ryan Mallett Post-Practice
• Razorback Nation (Video): Arkansas Football Practice Begins
• 4029TV.com (Video): Razorback Football Opens Fall Practice
• Brandon Marcello: Veteran Hogs, Mallett crisp as fall camp begins
• Robbie Neiswanger: Mallett Returns to Practice and “Feels Great”, Mitchell Gets Chance to “Run The Show”, Notes From First Practice
• Chris Bahn: Mallett Returns To Practice, Feels ‘Great’

Starting Thursday and going until August 21st, the Razorbacks could (weather permitting) have up to 22 practice sessions open to the public.  No other football program in the SEC allows more fan access to fall camp.  In fact, no one else even comes close.

There are six teams in the SEC that allow no fan access — zero — to preseason practices: Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.  Some of these coaches don’t even allow news media in to watch their preparations.

New head coach Joker Phillips and the Kentucky Wildcats are only opening one practice this year, while first-year Vanderbilt coach Robbie Caldwell will open just two preseason workouts.  (Although Caldwell might be entertaining enough on the practice field to charge admission.)

If you want to go to Starkville to watch a Mississippi State practice (and why wouldn’t you?), you better go to one of three open workouts this week because the rest are closed to the public.

The only other SEC programs that come close to the access afforded to Hog fans are Ole Miss and South Carolina, who each allow their supporters to attend only the first week of fall practice.

While Razorback fans have become accustomed over the last several years to being allowed to attend some preseason practices, the growing trend around the country is to hold all workouts behind closed gates.  Florida State, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Penn State are just a few of the programs outside the SEC that have shut off all access.

And in a world where instant access to information is even more, well, instantaneous…it’s a safe bet that opening up fall practices to the public will someday be a thing of the past.

All the more reason to take advantage of this generous opportunity again this year, Hog fans.  You never know when the day may come when it will be taken away from us.