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The first week of spring football is in the books and we’re ready to jump to as big of conclusions as one can after three football practices. Here is a quick list of five guys who have stood out in the first week. With all the turnover happening at wide receiver, having La’Michael Pettway stand out is a welcome sight. A couple early enrollees, Shane Clenin and Maleek Williams, are also getting off to good starts.
A lot of eyes are on the offensive line, who are returning four starters. Replacing Dan Skipper is a large task, but there is plenty of experience to go around. That wasn’t the case last year. One guy both Bret Bielema and Frank Ragnow singled out as having a great start is Deion Malone. He’s been moved up to the second team after redshirting last year and should get some opportunities to earn playing time.
Even though an SEC team didn’t play in the national championship game, this year was one of the SEC’s better NCAA Tournament performances in recent years. With three teams making the Elite 8, one reaching the Final Four, and four teams - including Arkansas - winning their first games, the SEC is set to receive a larger than usual payout as a result. For those that don’t know, for every NCAA Tournament game in which a league team appears, the league gets more money.
After just three conference series, Dave Van Horn’s squad has matched last year’s conference win total. The team sits at first place in the SEC West and has moved up into the top-15 in most polls. This weekend is a huge series at Baum Stadium against LSU that should have some huge crowds.
Yesterday was opening day in the MLB, and a handful of Hogs are on opening day rosters. See where the eight former Razorbacks are playing here. Dallas Keuchel got the opening day win for the Astros after throwing seven shutout innings, and Andrew Benintendi got off to a hot start with a 3-run home run to start the season.