Arkansas has the skilled players on offense, there is no doubt. Tyler Wilson is the number one guy at quarterback. He threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in the spring game. Brandon Mitchell, a 6’4″, 230 pound sophomore, was challenging the 6’3″, 215 pound junior, but Wilson proved he’s the number one guy in the spring game. Wilson’s only experience in game situations was last year against Auburn when Ryan Mallett went down with an injury in the second quarter. Wilson came in against the Tigers and threw for 332 yards and four touchdowns and actually put Arkansas up in a wild game. Auburn came roaring back and won big, but Wilson showed he had the potential to be a standout SEC quarterback. I think he will be. He plays with a lot of poise, has a great arm and can throw the deep and underneath passes well. He took care of the football in the scrimmage, too. And he’s got an excellent supporting cast.
Knile Davis came in in midseason last year for the Hogs and ran for 1,322 yards and 13 touchdowns. The junior is back. There is good depth at running back with Ronnie Wingo Jr. and Dennis Johnson, both hard-nosed, north-south runners. Probably need a fourth back to develop as well.

Wide receiver is loaded. Greg Childs, who didn’t play in the Spring, Joe Adams, Jaruis Wright, who caught two tds in spring game and looked exceptional, Cobi Hamilton, Chris Gregg, Julian Horton and Javontee Herndon give the Razorbacks an arsenal of receivers. Garrett Uekman needs to step in at tight end for the departed D.J. Williams, who is in the NFL now with the Green Bay Packers. The Hogs need to build some depth there.

Mallett threw for 3,900 yards and 32 touchdowns last year and 7.5o0 yards for his career. He had a fine career at Arkansas, but last year against Alabama, he threw two costly interceptions that cost his team the game. Made some mistakes at times, but I think he has a chance to be a pretty decent pro for the New England Patriots if Tom Brady retires any time soon, which is not likely. But he could make a good backup for a while and maybe a starter at some point if not for the Patriots somebody else. Brady could go down, too. I think Wilson has what it takes to be a stellar qb in the SEC. He’s got all the physical tools and Bobby Petrino can really coach quarterbacks up, so he should be prepared mentally. Mitchell looks like a pretty decent backup.

The offensive line is a bit of a question mark. Arkansas graduated three players off last year’s line. They lost their two starting tackles. They’re counting on true frosh Brey Cook (6’7″, 317) to step in at the left tackle position. He enrolled early and played in the Spring game. He made some mistakes, but he’s got talent. That was evident.  Jason Peacock will man the other tackle spot most likely. He’s 6’4″, 334 and a junior.. Travis Swanson (6’5″, 305) looks like a candidate at center.

If the offensive line can come through, Wilson and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Garrick McGee could have some field days on Saturdays this fall.

A question mark for the Hogs through the years has been the defense. Are they good enough to get Arkansas to Atlanta?  Wilson threw all over them in the spring game, so it’s debatable. Robert Thomas, Dequinta Jones and Bryan Jones gives them some pretty good play at defensive tackle. The announcers didn’t say much about the linebackers; they didn’t do much in the game, so that could be a question mark. They look athletic, so maybe the defense was so vanilla, they didn’t show much at all. Petrino said in the interview with the ESPN guys that he liked his defense a lot, particularly the way they tackled, so we’ll see. Trumain Thomas is a ball hawk at safety; had two picks in the spring game. Looks like the Hogs have good athletes on that side of the ball, but not sure how good they’ll be. Wilson and the offense moved the ball well against them. Not sure if that’s a sign the offense is that good or that the defense is weak. The defense didn’t show much on purpose, so couldn’t get a great read on them. Defensive coordinator Willy Robinson will have his work cut out for him in August to make this defense more aggressive and tenacious. Alabama will run all over them if they don’t get it together by the fourth week in September when they visit Tuscaloosa and face Trent Richardson and company.

The Schedule:

The Razorbacks first three games look like wins against Missouri State, New Mexico and Troy. Then they go to Tuscaloosa for a showdown on Sept. 24. Can they stop Trent Richardson and the Alabama offense? Will ‘Bama’s qb situation be settled by then? Arkansas can put up some points, no doubt, but can they move the ball effectively on what looks like will be a stellar defense for Bama? If the Hogs can somehow get out of Tuscaloosa with a victory (which will be very difficult) they have a chance to do some great things. They play at Texas A&M the next week (in Arlington), then host Auburn, go to Ole Miss and Vandy, host South Carolina, Tennessee and Ms. State (Little Rock) and finish on the road in Baton Rouge. It’s tough like all SEC schedules are. It’s a matter of if the defense can step up and if the offensive line can perform. Beating Alabama is a tall order. If they can, they could have a big season. At A&M is tough, State looked very good in their spring game, South Carolina should be pretty good, Auburn is no shoe in, and LSU on the road will be difficult. But the key game to me is Alabama. I don’t know if  the Hogs can win there, but if they do, it could be a special season. It’s all about their defense and the offensive line. If those two units step up, the Hogs could have a BCS bowl season again. Don’t think they can beat Alabama to get to Atlanta, but we’re not sure about ‘Bama’s qb situation, so that could be an Achilles heel for the Tide. If the Hogs pull that off, they could possibly go to Atlanta. They’ll have to get through a very tough Ms. State team as well along with going to Baton Rouge and SC at home. Should be very interesting.

Tomorrow: Georgia

(Tyler Wilson takes over at quarterback for Razorbacks.)