Trumain Carroll and Chad Morris are speaking at Paradise Valley in Fayetteville this morning. I’m posting updates here.
Carroll walked up to the podium and said this may be the only presser he does this season in which he has his voice.
He feels good about the guys being in practice shape, but they’re still a ways from being in game shape.
One of the biggest gainers this offseason were Dalton Wagner. He’s walking around at 302. Jonathan Nance is another. He weighed in at 166 earlier, now he’s 190. Carroll said he doesn’t want to add weight to a guy if it’s going to make him lose a step. Not the case with Nance. Kam Curl went from 187 to 201.
Biggest losers: Johnny Gibson weighed in at 345, weighed as much as 348. He’s now 319 and able to bend. Jalen Merrick weighed in at 345 also, and now he’s around 320.
His conditioning test included three 300-yard shuttles back-to-back-to-back.
Cole Kelley weighs 258 pounds. Carroll’s focus with him was his core.
La’Michael Pettway went from 224 to 219. Body fat dropped from 11.3 to 7 percent. He did this in a 7-month period.
Jared Cornelius is squatting close to 400 pounds and added 3-4 inches on his vertical.
Koilan Jackson didn’t work with the team during winter conditioning. He’s made some gains this summer. He’s a guy that brings it every day, Carroll said.
The freshmen are a group of mature young men, he said. Silas Robinson was the first name out of his mouth. He understands the game and his transition has been smooth. Isaiah Nichols and Bumper Pool made great strides.
Brian Wallace is 320 pounds today and dropped 5 percent body fat. Before and after pictures look completely different. Body fat-wise went from 25.5 to 20.3.
Ty Clary 288 pounds
Shane Clenin 302 – he’s made gains across the board.
Hjalte Froholdt 310, 21 percent body fat
Dylan Hays 294
Audrey Horn 290
Deion Malone 293
Silas Robinson 304
Dalton Wagner 302
Brian Wallace 320
Colton Jackson fluctuates between 300-302.
Carroll said they run 40-yard dashes in the winter, not the summer. He’s got some guys that can run close to 22 mph in full pads.
Chad Morris is at the podium:
It’s been challenging for the guys to accept a coaching change, but they haven’t batted an eye. Morris was impressed with the information Trumain Carroll presented him in terms of weight gains/loss.
Report day is Thursday. Morris said he’s got a better team now than he did when he first got here.
Three guys who will miss some extended time: Ryan Winkel (shoulder injury in the weight room on a warmup set), Colton Jackson (back flared up on him 2 weeks back, had surgery, probably will miss the first 6 games) and Kevin Richardson (foot, will have surgery today, will miss six weeks after having a screw put in his foot).
Offensive line: Job is to find the best five and make them fit, then put together a quality 2-deep.
Dalton Wagner will begin at left tackle as fall camp starts. “It’s time” for Jalen Merrick, Morris said. Froholdt will play guard, and the staff transitioned him to center a bit in spring. Morris felt Deion Malone could be best used on the offensive line. Brian Wallace will stay put at right tackle. He’s in a great comfort zone and has changed his body. Dylan Hays will begin at center, Kirby Adcock at left guard. Shane Clenin can be moved inside to the guard position. Noah Gatlin and Silas Robinson stood out. Silas is the leader of the freshman class, Morris said.
Ouch on Jackson and Richardson. Not good news.
Tight ends: Cantrell has had a nice summer. Morris needs Cheyenne O’Grady to have a big fall camp. Grayson Gunter is a guy Morris is excited by. He’ll motion back in the backfield, has nice hands.
Running backs: Of all the positions offensively, we have the most depth here, Morris said. The successful teams Morris has been a part of, they’ve played 3-4 backs and were all high-level guys. TJ Hammonds provides a unique skillset and Morris is eager to utilize him.
Receiver: Morris said there may be some late additions to the group to shore the position. Morris isn’t at liberty to speak about that right now. Justin Stepp does a good job of switching guys around to different receiver spots.
Quarterback: No update outside of they’ve all had a great summer, Morris said. Ty Storey has done a good job, Cole Kelley, too. Daulton Hyatt has good speed. Morris wants to see what he can get out of Hyatt. John Stephen Jones and Connor Noland have hit the ground running and are both very knowledgeable. “We’ll see how these guys come out,” Morris said of the two freshmen.
Defensive line: There is good depth here. You have to be solid in the OL and DL, but you have to have the depth. Defensive line depth has to continue to develop. Gabe Richardson and Sosa Agim were the first names mentioned. Michael Taylor had a good summer, and Morris is excited to get Dorian Gerald here. Nick Fulwider impressed. Randy Ramsey “had a remarkable summer. He gets off the bus, he looks the part.” Morris said Ramsey can be the next special player to have played under John Chavis. Courtre Alexander is “going to be a great player for us in time.”
Defensive tackle: Isaiah Nichols has done some really good things. After going through 15 practices in summer ball, going through summer workouts, he’s transformed his body. He’s got a chance to help us. Morris also mentioned Armon Watts, Austin Capps and Briston Guidry. Morris likes the depth.
Linebackers: Greenlaw had his knee scoped in May. He will be fine. Hayden Henry will play some SAM. Mentioned Dee Walker as a guy who needs to come on in fall camp.
Nickel: Henry can play here, too, and Joe Foucha as well. This position will see some rotation in camp.
Secondary: Chevin Calloway, Britto Tutt, Nate Dalton, Ladarrius Bishop and Ryan Pulley at corner. Lot of man coverage, so they’ll be on an island. Dalton had a car wreck early in the summer, but he’s healthy and ready to go. Tutt is another one who has size and length, so Morris needs him to come on in camp. Safety: Kam Curl has taken ownership and changed his body. Santos is a leader and he’s ready. Every time you’re around him you feel better about yourself due to his personality.
Special teams: It’s an area we have to get better at. We’ll see where we’re at with Blake Johnson, Morris said.
Koilan Jackson is not full-go yet. Morris said after 2-3 days they’ll see where he’s at. Wants to know how his change-of-direction is before throwing him out there.
Fall camp schedule:
Report date is Thursday. Big weigh-in that day by position then go through team meetings. Saturday is the first day of camp, in Morris’ opinion, not Friday. They’ll practice that day, then take Sunday off before going Monday-Thursday. Morris said they’ll “go at them pretty hard” those four days. Friday will be a scale back. That Saturday will be the first scrimmage. Last practice is the 18th, and there will be a big final scrimmage. School begins on the 20th, and there will be another scrimmage on the 22nd.
I like what Trumain Carroll has done. I see it as a ray of hope. I remember Frank Broyles used to stress hard conditioning in order to close the fourth quarter. I guess he figured that we went into the fourth quarter with a lead or close to it, we were going to beat the other team. I remember those guys holding up four fingers to signify they were going to be strong in the fourth quarter. I think that might be an old tradition worth starting again.
Funny how all this contrasts with the Razorback’s performance in the fourth under Coach B.
I might add that the last couple of years this team lost enough games in the fourth quarter to have had a respectable team. If the team can change things in the fourth we may automatically post a better record. Let’s hope.
Those successful back, to back, to back 300 yard gassers for the OL, without any prior practices doing it or warning they were going to use it as a conditioning test, certainly indicates that the OL put in the right S & C work to execute a tempo offense. Of course, it will be harder in pads, but they’ve got a month to get used to the difference. Spring ball obviously got everyone’s attention.
Bumping up for anybody who might not have seen this.
Awesome report Scottie! Thanks for the bump Dudley!