FAYETTEVILLE -- In this final week of preseason practice, junior college-transfer receiver Dominique Reed is fast closing in on becoming an integral part of the Arkansas Razorbacks' season-opening game plan.
Arkansas opens Sept. 5 in a nonconference game against Texas-El Paso (UTEP) at 2:30 pm. here at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on ESPNU.
Coach Bret Bielema recruited Reed for speed at wideout, though the Camden Fairview graduate and junior transfer via Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College seems to be catching passes long and short.
Bielema, offensive coordinator Dan Enos and even defensive coordinator Robb Smith mentioned Reed before the Razorbacks' closed practice Thursday.
""Dominique Reed has just had an outstanding last two days of practice. I just think he continues to climb of the charts," Bielema said. "
Nobody questioned whether Reed (61 catches for 1,167 yards and 18 touchdowns at Coffeyville last year) had the ability to play right away.
However, since he was still in Coffeyville completing his academic work during Arkansas' spring practices and the early summer and didn't report until to Fayetteville until the second semester of summer school, the concern was him learning the intricacies of the offense and his assignments.
"I think he has learned the offense very well," Enos said. "He's not out there asking what to do or where to line up. He's made plays. He's playing with a little more of a sense of urgency, too. He's got a lot of God-given talent and he's a guy that certainly can help us this year. He has had a good last couple of days."
Smith said having to defend against Reed's speed better prepares Arkansas cornerbacks Jared Collins, DJ Dean and Henre Toliver for the real games ahead.
"Dominique's a guy that really can take the top off a defense," Smith said. "The biggest way to give up a big play is to get a matchup problem or a guy with Dominique's speed in the deep part of a zone where there's no help. That really makes you work as a defense and it makes our players better, whether it's Jared or D.J. or Henre out there in one on ones, it's been a positive. I think it's made both sides better, him being here, and what he's done the last couple days, really, the last week."
Receivers coach Michael Smith lauds what Reed does with the football but cautioned he must do better without it.
Bielema talks about this being his deepest receiving corps and Reed being an obvious deep threat but running the football remains the meat of Bielema's meat-and-potatoes offense.
"What Dominique's always done, and probably always will do in his career, is he's going to run the fly route," Michael Smith said. "We're going to ask him to do other things. He's got to get better at blocking. We have a tremendous running game here, and he's going to have to block if he wants to be on the field."
Senior Keon Hatcher, Arkansas' top returning receiver and favorite target of quarterback Brandon Allen, is an outstanding downfield blocker.
The Razorbacks had a light Thursday practice of a typical game week. Preseason drills, which began Aug. 6, conclude today with a 45-minute mock game without contact while going over game substitutions and communications and coping with special situations.
Other than tonight's Razorback Kickoff Dinner at Springdale Holiday Inn, the Razorbacks have the weekend off until game-week preparations begin Sunday afternoon.
All practices this week and presumably henceforth with next week's first game week have been closed.
Other than linebacker and the offensive line, Bielema said the Razorbacks are stacking up the depth that he prefers, allowing him to redshirt more freshmen than in the last two seasons.
The only true freshmen Bielema said he intends to play offensively are running back Rawleigh Williams III and offensive guard Josh Allen, both on the second unit, and probably tight end Austin Cantrell as a fullback though Cantrell is playing through an ankle injury.
On defense, Bielema has freshmen Hjalte Froholdt, the backup nose tackle; Dre Greenlaw, the backup weakside Will linebacker, and emerging reserve defensive backs Ryan Pulley at corner and Willie Sykes at safety definitely playing against UTEP.
Redshirt freshman tackle Brian Wallace's progress provides the offensive line with more depth than it started the August 2014 drills, Bielema said.
Wallace's emergence behind junior tackles Denver Kirkland and Dan Skipper, Bielema said, would allow the flexibility sometimes to give a breather a starting tackle or move Skipper, a starting guard as a true freshman in 2013, to rest starting guard Frank Ragnow or for Ragnow, last year's backup center, to give starting center Mitch Smothers a breather.
Sports on 08/28/2015