Arkansas Football 2013 Spring Game Report

So what did you guys think of the spring game?

I'll have some more developed thoughts in a couple of days, but here's some quick hitters:

Great effort by the fans. I have no idea what the actual attendance was, regardless of the official estimate of 51,088, but that felt fairly accurate. In the minutes leading up to kickoff, it looked as if the program would come laughably short of the 50,000 goal, but the stadium filled in really nicely just as the game started. The lower bowl and south end zone was basically full, and that was great to see.

Anyone still scared of depth at running back? I'm not. Five Razorbacks carried the ball at least six times and four of them averaged over 3 yards per carry. Admittedly, you have to be careful about how strictly you interpret the stats since the first string played against the first string and second against second. But it was still nice to see Kody Walker look like an able back, and not just in short yardage situations like we saw in his freshman year. I'm interested to see what happens with Patrick Arinze in the fall. And, obviously, we get Alex Collins in the fall as well.

Also, very few running plays that lost yardage. Nice to see the offensive line pushing people around a little bit.

You can see full statistics here

As with recent years, there are some very good players on defense, but there isn't much depth at certain positions. But the two juco transfers in the secondary, Tiquention Coleman and Carroll Washington, look like they'll both be really involved this year, which should help.

Statistically, both the Brandons were about the same at quarterback, but comments from the coaches seem to indicate Allen would be the starter if the season ended today. I felt Allen appeared a little more poised in the pocket and was a more accurate passer. Mitchell made some good throws as well, but also made a few that were at least slightly off-target, and it felt like Allen made fewer bad throws.

Oh, and only two penalties for the entire game. One on the offense and one on the defense. That's excellent. If this team can keep from beating itself this fall, and that is the track they appear to be on, perhaps they'll find themselves in a situation to potentially pull an upset or two. We'll see.

So, now we nap until Labor Day?

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Doc Harper is the managing editor of Arkansas Expats and is a contributor to CollegeFootballNews.com and SportingLifeArkansas.com. You can email him at heydocharper@gmail.com or follow him on twitter @doc_harper.