re: Spring Practices

I've inferred that RG is the most unsettled position. I agree about Froholdt, it sounds like he has LG locked up.

Yeah, Bret said he can play all 3 inside positions. Gotta figure he'll see quite a bit of PT.

There is still plenty of time for lots of adjusting at oline. I'm expecting a slow start there this season with a good gelling of talent by the end.

As the oline goes so will our offense so expect the sputter and spurt plan till that works itself out up front.

#pessimisticspring

Cole is a 19 year old college kid that Otis had to hire part-time because that's all he can afford.

He complains constantly about not having the budget to hire a second full-time guy but his big issue is that he pays Natasha a part-time salary because "she's the best photographer he's ever worked with" and she really only posts pictures a couple of times a year. Even then, she posts probably a third of the pics that Rivals puts up. They're good quality but who actually looks at the pics these days with videos and periscope available. If he let her go then he could probably hire someone full-time.

She's got some sort of strange pull over him to have that kind of loyalty. He would rather keep her on staff than put out a better product. It's baffling.

Are you kidding?

didn't Otis marry someone living in the Philippines recently

Our 247 site deserves its own AMC drama

Write up on Hatcher LINK

quote:

---

Keon Hatcher knew immediately that his left foot was broken.

It took one awkward step late in Arkansas' upset loss to Toledo in Week 2. The Razorbacks were trying to punch the football in deep in the red zone on their second-to-last drive of the game, but on the third play inside the 20-yard line, Hatcher felt a pop and immediately bolted for the sideline.

There, he met senior running back Jonathan Williams, who was lost for the regular season with his own broken foot. Hatcher then informed a trainer that he felt his foot break, but refused to have it examined because he knew he'd be forced out of the game. Minutes later, Hatcher caught an 18-yard reception, fractured foot and all.

Hatcher said he felt discomfort, but never pain, thanks to adrenaline. That adrenaline wore off after the game and surgery officially ended his season, landing him in a walking boot for nearly eight weeks.

Months earlier, the confident, yet soft-spoken, Hatcher was talking about how he felt he was the SEC's best receiver. Thirteen catches, 198 yards and two touchdowns later, his senior season was over.

“It was a bit of a shocker to me and a bit of a disappointment," Hatcher said, "but I feel like everything happens for a reason, and God has his plan.”

That plan included tiresome rehab during a schizophrenic 2015 season for an Arkansas team initially viewed as a SEC darkhorse. That, of course, was until Williams and then Hatcher -- two key cogs in the Hogs' offensive lineup -- went down with season-ending foot injuries.

Arkansas would lose four of its first six games, averaging 17.8 points per game in those four losses.

“It was something that took a long time for our offense to feel its way through," coach Bret Bielema said of losing Hatcher and Williams to injury.

The Hogs bounced back, finishing the year with a solid 8-5 record, and so did Hatcher. After a mid-season decision to return to Arkansas for a fifth season, Hatcher is going through an unexpected final spring in Fayetteville.

Hatcher said he briefly thought about setting his sights on the NFL, like Williams, but he found far more pros than cons when it came to returning and trying to improve his future draft stock. Now, Hatcher is steadily getting his football legs back in Fayetteville, as he adjusts to a spring he never thought he'd have with a group that made a name for itself without him last season.

While there were natural physical adjustments Hatcher had to make this spring, he assures that he was mentally ready. With his speed back, there was little hesitation in his movements.

“I feel like when I hit the field, I hit the field running," he said.

Bielema is thrilled to have Hatcher back, but he understands that there have been and will be some uncomfortable moments for him. His graduating class is gone and he'll see a different role in this offense with a very talented receiving corps returning. The one-time go-to receiver, who led the Hogs with 43 passes for 558 yards and six touchdowns in 2014, has a new quarterback in Austin Allen and will have to develop the same kind of chemistry he had with Allen's older brother, Brandon. That Allen helped Hatcher catch 86 passes for 1,123 yards and 11 touchdowns.

“Now I’m not saying it’s easy for him," Bielema said of Hatcher's return. "If there’s a guy feeling his way around a little bit, it’s him.”

What Hatcher isn't feeling his way around is his signature physical play. He still loves to hit, block and get dirty, and that isn't leaving his repertoire anytime soon.

“That’s a part of my game," Hatcher said. "I love to be physical, I love hitting. Any chance I get when the offensive coaches tell me I get to go in there and crack a linebacker or a defensive end, I’m going to take my opportunity and try to go blow them up.”

Having Hatcher back is big, and so is the relentless effort that gave him so much confidence before last season's misfortune.

“One thing I love about Keon is he’s going to bring competition to every play, every day, no matter what it is," Bielema said.

---

I wonder who would win a tag team wrestling match between Big Tex/Vin Ascolese and Froholdt/Ramsey.

Wasn't Big Tex always overweight? Ascolese talked a big game, but did he ever back it up? Ramsey is pretty ripped, and Froholdt is very strong willed. I think I'd take Ramsey/Froholdt.