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 Tale of two lines D-line dominant, O-line shaky at Razorbacks scrimmage
Posted: Saturday April 10, 1999 11:22 PM
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Clint Stoerner threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Rossi Morreale as an offensive bright spot in the Razorbacks' spring scrimmage Saturday. Freshman Gary Brashears also threw for a TD on a day that was otherwise ruled by the defense. Morreale caught Stoerner's pass at the defense's 45 and sprinted the rest of the way for the touchdown. The play was on the second of two possessions Stoerner quarterbacked. The first possession ended when Stoerner's pass was deflected high in the air by linebacker Delancey Kent and intercepted by tackle Jermaine Brooks. Stoerner moved the offense 48 yards in four plays before the interception. After the first defense held the second offense to 22 yards on nine snaps, Brashears led the starting offense 70 yards on 10 plays for the final touchdown of the day. An 18-yard run by Alvin Ray and completions to Ray and Eric Branch helped the offense overcome two sacks. On second and goal at the 23, Brashears, with plenty of time, hit Michael Williams for the TD. Freshman QB Robby Hampton quarterbacked the first two series by the second offense against the starting defense. Grant Sumner, Chadd Jones, Jared McBride, John Rutledge and Phillip Boggs alternated behind center the final 55 minutes of the 80-minute scrimmage. "Our offense put some drives together," coach Houston Nutt said. "We were pleased with that. Our linemen are learning. What we're doing this spring will put us in much better shape for two-a-days. We have one group of offensive linemen that know what to do." He singled out the play of John Geitner, La'Zarius White and Josh Melton. "We just need to keep those linemen healthy. With eight linemen we should be able to have some depth if we stay healthy," Nutt said. Nutt said the rest of the offense understands what is ahead. "We've challenged our quarterbacks, receivers and running backs and told them they might not always have a gaping hole to run through. They're gonna have to make some yards on their own some time," Nutt said. Nutt said he liked the work of tailbacks Mike Jenkins, Rod Stinson and Alvin Ray. Chrys Chukwuma carried only three times, all in the first two series. Jenkins gained 77 yards on just five carries, including a 48-yard burst that set up a field goal. Stinson gained 55 yards on nine carries and Ray had 54 yards, also on nine tries. Chukwuma gained 17 yards. Stoerner finished 2-for-3 for 100 yards and Brashears was 3-for-3 for 40 yards. Jones also completed all three of his passes for 31 yards and Sumner was 3-of-5 for 47 yards. Williams was the only receiver to make more than two catches. He finished with three for 53 yards. The defense forced seven lost yardage plays with Sacha Lancaster earning three tackles behind the line of scrimmage for 20 yards in setbacks. Backup safety Joe Bailey was the leading tackler with six. Kent, end Raymond House and linebacker Derrick Johnson had five stops each. "Our defense was flying to the ball," Nutt said. "We're giving great effort on defense. We're looking for them to cause turnovers and chase the ball. Our pursuit was good." Nutt said Hampton and Brashears impressed him in their competition to back up Stoerner. "We feel confident in Hampton and Brashears," Nutt said. "The tools they have fit what we do on offense. We will evaluate the film closely and hope what we saw from them in the scrimmage is what we see on the film."
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