|
|
| |
| Sun, Nov. 23, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| |
Petrus part of revamped line Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 By Harry King FAYETTEVILLE - While Arkansas was practicing indoors for the Cotton Bowl, the coach-in-waiting was watching from an office near the upstairs weight room. More than any other group, Bobby Petrino eye-balled the offensive line. "I've always believed your offense goes according to your offensive line," he said in a recent interview. "They allow you to do things at quarterback, do things in the running game that you want to do. That's what I'm most excited about, is that we have good players coming back, we have good sized, good athletes. "It's easier to bring your skill guys along, easier than it is O-line and D-line," he said. Petrino and his staff have moved some people around - "Just different philosophies and trying to find out who's better playing next to each other." Mitch Petrus was moved again, sort of. A tight end and fullback at Carlisle High School, Petrus was a reserve tight end and offensive guard as a sophomore in 2005. In '06, he was a blocker who lined up at fullback. Last year, he was the left guard. Listed as the No. 1 left guard on the post-spring depth chart, Petrus could line up this fall on the side opposite the tight end whether that's left or right. For Petrus and the others up front, the assignments are much more involved than they were in the Houston Nutt offense. New offensive line coach Mike Summers "has a call for every little step and every position we do," Petrus said. "We work on our hands a lot and footwork is emphasized a lot more. From a pass blocking standpoint, we had a little catching up to do." The intricacies of pass blocking vary from play to play, depending on such things as the number of steps in Casey Dick's drop. For instance, when the play calls for a three-step drop, Petrus can be more aggressive. "Casey is not moving," he said. "So you've got to hold your guy and try to get a stalemate. You're not as concerned with a stunt or spin; you're more concerned with the bull rush. You've got to stay engaged with them." When Dick takes a five-step drop, Petrus can give a bit of ground, basically absorbing the rush. There are far more pass plays in this offense, Petrus said, which means more time with the playbook. "The whole design of the offense is not to run a play into a bad-looking front," he said. If a run is called and the defense gangs up on the line of scrimmage, Dick will change the play, Petrus said. Whether Arkansas was limited or Nutt was stubborn, that wasn't always the case last year. All-American center Jonathan Luigs said in Hawgs Illustrated that Petrus has greatly improved the technique with his hands. Too often, Petrus said he missed his landmarks. "That was the biggest thing coach Summers said to me, that I was punching guys too high up under the face mask," Petrus said. "If I didn't land my punch, they would end up underneath me." As the weakside guard, Petrus can line up on either side of Luigs. The footwork is different and so is the stance and a botched assignment could be as embarrassing as that moment in the El Dorado vs. Jonesboro game a few decades ago. El Dorado's left defensive tackle had spent the first half going hand to hand with Jonesboro's two-way player, Clovis Swinney, who would eventually play for the New York Jets and the New Orleans Saints. Swinney knocked out El Dorado's offensive right tackle and, one play later, dispatched the backup. Next up was the defensive tackle whose exposure to offense was as the backup left tackle. The first play was 41-Toss, where the left tackle pulls and circles his left end. Lined up on the right side, he was still thinking left and it looks bad on film - the play going left and him going right, fleeing Swinney's side. ------- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
