By Nate Allen
Special to the News-Times
FAYETTEVILLE - The C of Arkansas’ 1A, 1B, 1C running backs triumvirate gets the big play A in elusiveness and breakaway speed.
At 5-11, 216 and 6-1, 229, both Devwah Whaley, last year’s freshman flash, and David Williams, the former University of South Carolina running back graduate transfer with senior football eligibility, have the superior size, power and experience, but freshman Chase Hayden, 5-10, 191, has the home run speed and the “biggest ability to make something out of nothing,” Arkansas coach Bret Bielema, offensive coordinator Dan Enos and running backs coach Reggie Mitchell concur.
They’ve seen it in practice and they’ve seen it during the two major preseason scrimmages as the alum of Saint George’s Independent School in Memphis has run by and around not only Arkansas’ second defense, but its first defense, too.
“He's able to make yards when it may not be blocked for six but blocked for one,” Enos said when Bielema and the offensive and defensive coordinators met Wednesday with media. “But he gets six because he makes the first guy miss. He has just got a different element and dimension the way he runs the football.”
Enos added a qualifier.
“He has a lot of things he needs to improve on continually obviously being a freshman,” Enos said.
Inevitably with freshman running backs, pass protection is among the things requiring improvement. You don’t get your quarterback clobbered because your young running back can’t pass protect, coaches assert.
However, while of course craving improvement, Arkansas’ coaches express confidence they could mix Hayden into any situation among their three-backs rotation for the Razorbacks’ Aug. 31 season-opener against the Florida A&M Rattlers at 7 p.m, Aug. 31 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
“That’s the plan right now,” Mitchell said Thursday before the Razorbacks’ practice. “Once we get in the game, we’ll see how he reacts to a game-type situation, but so far in practice, he’s been able to handle what we’ve thrown at him.”
There will be some apprehension.
“Pass pro is the hardest thing I think to gauge in practice versus what it is going to be during the game,” Bielema said.
But the tension doesn’t seem as high about playing Hayden right away as there has been regarding many previous Razorbacks rookies in the season opener.
“Good,” Bielema replied regarding Hayden’s away-from-the-ball progress. “He’s very, very smart and a very, very gifted learner. You can tell he’s been around the game and loves the game.”
Whaley opened last season behind both Rawleigh Williams and Kody Walker because he lacked pass protection experience.
Hayden begins third of three on pass protection but apparently with less ground to catch up.
“I think he may be a little bit further ahead (of Whaley’s freshman preseason at this point)," Mitchell said.
“I think Devwah was a primary ball-carrier in high school whereas Chase, their offense was a little bit more diverse than the offense that Devwah came from.
“So far, we’ve been very pleased with Chase. Devwah to this point has been very good, too, with the (pass protection) experience he has coming in from last year.”
Being the son of a former SEC and NFL running back, Aaron Hayden, who starred first at the University of Tennessee before playing four years professionally for San Diego, Green Bay and Philadelphia likely has helped Chase’s football mental edge.
Hayden impresses as truly a true freshman.
He was not among last December’s contingent of mid-term high school graduates who enrolled at the UA as freshmen last January and went through the winter conditioning program and spring ball. So his rise is meteoric even to Mitchell, who recruited him.
“You don’t know the carryover because he played at a small private school in Memphis,” Mitchell said. “I’ve been really pleased with how he’s developed and sort of shocked at how good he is.”
Because of the closed practices, confusion reigned with Bielema’s announcement Wednesday that true freshman Ty Clary of Fayetteville is competing for a second-team offensive line spot.
It was believed that Clary is being tried at tackle, but he’s actually among those vying for backup right guard behind junior incumbent starter Johnny Gibson of Dumas.
“What's been really impressive has been (Clary’s) ability obviously to pick up the offense,” offensive line coach Kurt Anderson said Thursday.
“He moves extremely well. He just plays with a tenacity and a toughness and a grit about himself. It's not too big for him.
“He battles his butt off against some of the best D-linemen that we have and has found success.”
The Razorbacks were set Thursday for their heaviest contact practice of the week, but without full-scale scrimmaging, which Bielema said has been completed for the preseason.
The annual Kickoff Luncheon featuring Bielema and the Razorbacks is today at the Holiday Inn Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Springdale, then a closed evening practice.
Rather than their customary preseason Sunday off, the Razorbacks are off Saturday as the entire athletic department will attend Saturday’s 2 p.m. memorial service at Walton Arena for Frank Broyles, Arkansas’ iconic football coach (1958-76) and athletic director (1973-2007) who passed away on Monday.