FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas has made some adjustments as it is set to take on No. 16 Ole Miss Saturday night in Oxford.
The offense struggled to only 174 yards last week including just 42 on the ground. Sam Pittman has made some adjustments on the offensive line. Patrick Kutas has moved from tackle to center, Brady Latham guard to tackle and Beaux Limmer center to guard where he played until last year's AutoZone Liberty Bowl. This week in practice quarterback KJ Jefferson has taken snaps from Kutas. Tuesday night, Jefferson talked about the transition.
"It's been good," Jefferson said. "We've made a couple adjustments up front and those guys have handled it well. The main thing is to make sure PK is building confidence and getting his confidence level up each and every day with him getting back at center and making sure everybody is on the right page as far as communication with him. Me telling him to take it one play at a time, start with the snap first and then just let your confidence build up and let your instincts take over at that point. He's been doing a really good job. The guys around him have been positive and giving him positive feedback to make sure his confidence level is going through the roof. So good so far."
It isn't just the offensive line having to make adjustments. The Razorbacks lost standout tight end Luke Hasz on the first series last week to a broken clavicle. Pittman said the competition this week at tight end will be wide open. Redshirt senior Nathan Bax talked about how the week has gone at tight end without Hasz.
"It was really unfortunate to lose Luke, but he's in good spirits and he will be right back," Bax said. "He had a great start to the season, and I expect him to take off once he gets back. But we're keeping the same schedule as normal. Every week is a competition, and we're going to continue that just with a little more edge this week and lock in on the details as well."
Expect North Texas transfer Var'keyes Gumms, who was a second-team Freshman All-America last year, redshirt sophomore Tyrus Washington and running back Dominique Johnson to compete for playing time. Johnson moved to tight end this week.
"He's been with both as far as the field and then running backs in the meeting room," Bax said. "He's done a good job wherever he's been. He's embraced every step of it. And he's always been a team guy, so I expect nothing less from him as far as embracing the role that he's going to assume on Saturday.
"I'm sure it would be (big transition) for anyone, but Dom is one of those guys that is always going to put the team first. Like I said, he's going to embrace it and take it step by step. He's done a good job doing it at running back and now at tight end. He's doing a good job doing both."
The offense continues to struggle under a new offensive coordinator. Jefferson talked about the frustration involved in games like the 34-22 loss to Texas A&M.
"It's pretty frustrating at times of course, knowing that we have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball," Jefferson said. "When things aren't going our way, it kind of gets frustrating at times, but it's football. It's a roller coaster, so the main thing is we want to take control of the roller coaster and stay level-headed, stay neutral and make sure we bring everybody close together.
"Staying together is the main part when we hit adverse situations, just coming together as a team and bonding as one. On the offensive side, it does get frustrating at times, but as long as we keep our heads and keep chopping away, it's going to eventually start falling in our favor."
New offensive coordinator Dan Enos has taken a lot of criticism this week and even some previously. Jefferson was asked about Enos.
"It's been going good," Jefferson said. "Coach Enos is a very intelligent guy. He comes up with different schematics week in and week out. He's just an intelligent guy, great coach. He brings a sense of urgency to the team and the offensive side of the ball, and he emphasizes details a lot. He's been around great teams and great players, and he knows our level of talent and what type of team we have on the offensive side of the ball. He just expects greatness from us each and every time we step out on the field. It's been good so far."
One thing that would help Arkansas' offense too is getting junior running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders untracked. He has only played in two of the five games. He has carried 26 times for 76 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 32 yards.
Last season, Sanders went off against the Rebels in Razorback Stadium. Sanders rushed 24 times for 232 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught five passes for 29 yards to help lead the Hogs to a 42-27 victory. Jefferson feels that after Sanders got some of the rust off on Saturday he will be play better this week.
"He said it himself, he just wanted to know the rust off and get back into a rhythm with things," Jefferson said. "It's kind of hard sitting out and then trying to come back and pick up where you left off. This week, he's approached it like a vet. Been very mature about the situations and just been working his tail off in practice and focused on the little small details that are going to help separate him and help get him into a groove early on in the game so he can play a factor in the game. He's been having a great week so far. Like you said, just knocking the rust off and getting back into the rhythm of things and getting back to playing the way he wants to play."
Arkansas and Ole Miss will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night in Oxford. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
Photos Courtesy of Craven Whitlow CW3 Sports Action
