Petrino Suspends 2 for 2

Freddie Burton (LB) and Marques Wade (WR) have been suspended from Arkansas's first 2 games for their alleged DWIs. They will miss the Western Illinois game and the UL Monroe game before returning to the team for the Texas game in Austin. This suspension follows a string of run-ins with law enforcement over the summer months. Freddie Fairchild was kicked off the team earlier this summer for his law breaking escapades.

New Jersey?

Not the state...

At SEC media days, coach Petrino said the Razorbacks would be wearing new jerseys this year that vary from last year's. To quote him, he said, "we will have jerseys that are tight." By "tight" he means awesome. Internet meeage boards are reporting that the jersey pictured in this post is what the hogs will wear this year. I guess we'll know for sure when the hogs kick off the season at the end of August against Western Illinois.

Texan Calls Hogs

Ross Rasner LB/S from Waco Texas committed to Arkansas less than a week after attending the Petrino Camp in Fayetteville. Rasner stands at 6'1" 200 and runs a 4.5 40. He could bulk up and play LB or project at safety for the Razorbacks. He is known for getting to the ball first and bringing hard hits. He fits the mold of past Razorbacks safeties. He is currently rated as a 3 star player. He had several D1 offers and he's rated the 75th best Athlete by Rivals. His commitment brings Petrino's total to 7 for 2009. Look for some more to jump on board before the season begins.

Petrino Camp Earns Commitment

Coach Petrino played host and coach to some 300 high schoolers this weekend in Fayetteville. There were many big name recruits including some current Razorback commits. Current 3 star CB Eric Gordon of Tulsa (East Central) attended the camp and committed to the Razorbacks. Gordon is rated the nation's No. 27 cornerback recruit in the nation and has scholarship offers from LSU, Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. Petrino hopes to add more commitments in the coming days before the 2008 season begins.

Current Razorback commitments for the class of 2009 are as follows:

Colby Berna OL 6-4/275
Ryan Calender DE 6-8/220
David Gordon DB 5-11/161
Will Secord QB 6-3/204
Austin Tate TE 6-6/230
Turell Williams RB 6-2/215

Midfield Hog Coming This Season

Many Razorback fans will get their long awaited wish to see a hog painted at midfield in a similar fashion to the drooling Razorback at center court on Bud Walton Arena's floor. According to reports, this hog will contain 3 colors (red, black, and white) and will stretch from 35 yard line to 35 yard line making it the largest midfield painting in college football.

GONE

Coach Petrino officially dismissed linebacker Freddie Fairchild from the Razorback team yesterday. Everyone knew he was in the doghouse for breaking team rules, and his expulsion from the team was expected. Coach Petrino failed to elaborate on his violation stating in a press release that "Freddie Fairchild has been dismissed from our football team."

Late Addition to the 2008 Class

Coach Petrino pulled in another Camden athlete for the 2008 class, but this one is from Camden, New Jersey. Matthew Marshall is a talented WR and is a track star in hurdles. He will enroll this summer and might contribute as a Freshman at WR or DB.

Marshall had several offers from schools like Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina,

Petrino Snags 6th Commit

Austin Tate, a TE from Harrison, Arkansas, committed to Coach Petrino and the Razorbacks during a weekend visit to Fayetteville. Tate is 6'5" and weighs 230 lbs.

While there is not much info on Tate in the public at this point, he will likely project as a 3 star player. According to recruiting experts in the state, he's considered a top ten player on a state-wide level and someone with tremendous upside and potential.

He plays both basketball and football at his highschool and is considered to be very athletic.

FINALLY

All of Raycom’s SEC football games, and most of its SEC basketball games, will be televised in high-definition this coming season.

bout' time!

Recruiting Update

Since the Red-White game, Coach Petrino has added 2 additional recruits to his 2009 Class. The most recent recruits include 6'3" QB Will Secord of Frisco, TX and 6'8" DE Ryan Calender of Caddo Mills, TX. This is great news for Coach as he firmly plants his recruiting foot in Texas (a recruiting hot-bed).

Secord threw for 2019 yards and 23 touchdowns last year and Calender racked up 80 tackles and 20 sacks. While these players are not yet rated by Rivals.com, both should project as high value recruits. The evaluation period is still underway.

These commits join Fayetteville offensive lineman Colby Berna, West Helena Central pair of cornerback Darius Winston, and running back Turell Williams as future Razorbacks.

More Hogs Heading to NFL

While not drafted over the weekend, a handful of other former Razorbacks have since signed to NFL teams as free agents.

They are:

OL Robert Felton BUFFALO BILLS (pictured)
CB Michael Grant JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
CB Matteral Richardson WASHINGTON REDSKINS


Others hopeful of becoming free agents include:

WR Robert Johnson
WR Chris Baker
S Matt Hewitt
S Kevin Woods
DL Fred Bledsoe
LB Weston Dacus

Razorbacks Spring Into Petrino Era

The Razorbacks wrapped up their Spring practice period with a blowout scrimmage at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. It all started with the RazorFest Festivities and concluded with a full contact Red/White game. Attendance was estimated to be 40,200 ranking in the top ten for Spring game attendance for 2008.

Arkansas piled up over 600 yards of total offense by the starting team (RED) under the leadership of Senior QB Casey Dick. Dick completed 33 of 49 (that's right, 49) passes for 404 yards and 2 touchdowns. Also staring in the scrimmage were WRs London Crawford, Carlton Salters, DJ Williams, and RB Michael Smith. Looking very strong on the defensive side of the ball was the Defensive line led by Antwain Robinson and Malcolm Shepherd.

Below are the official stats:

RUSHING Smith 13-157, 1 TD; Barnett 17-89, 4 TDS; Gregory 6-11; C. Dick 6-(-10); Mortensen 4-(-15); Huskisson 2-3; L. Williams 2-4; N. Dick 2-(-9); Coleman 1-26. PASSING C. Dick 33-49-1 404; 2 TDs; Mortensen 2-7-0 29; N. Dick 2-4-0 50. RECEIVING D.J. Williams 9-80, 1 TD; Crawford 8-82, 1 TD; Salters 7-108; Smith 3-63; Wade 3-39; Davie 2-20; Barnett 2-12; Coleman 1-50; Cleveland 1-20; Henry 1-9. SACKS Robinson 1 1 /2-7; A. Davis 1-7; Bequette 1-7; Sheppard 1-2; Stumon 1-6; Barnett 1-5; Berezansky 1-5. INTERCEPTIONS Fenton 1-2. TACKLES Broadway 14, Burton 10; Je. Love 7; B. Harris 6; Minde 6; Stumon 5; S. Johnson 4, R. Johnson 4; Barnett 4; Sheppard 4; Robinson 4; Gray 3; Powers 3; Washington 3; A. Davis 2; Bequette 2; Ja. Love 2; Franklin 2; M. Harris 2; Ambrose 2; Davis 2; Salinas 1; Glasper 1; Wade 1; Jones 1; Forte 1; Berezansky 1; Jones 1; Fenton 1. FIELD GOALS Tejada 1-2.