FAYETTEVILLE Hours after Darren McFadden was picked in the NFL draft, the Arkansas Razorbacks offered a glimpse of their future under new coach Bobby Petrino.
Michael Smith ran for 157 yards and a touchdown in Arkansas' spring game Saturday night, helping the Red team to a 45-14 win over the White team.
"All day long it was a great day for Arkansas," Petrino said.
Smith averaged 6.6 yards per rush last season as a redshirt sophomore, but he has only 81 career carries. That's because he's been playing behind McFadden and Felix Jones, both of whom have gone to the NFL.
Now the 5-foot-7 Smith will have a chance to play regularly, but he'll have some big shoes to fill McFadden was the Heisman Trophy runner-up the last two years. On the first drive Saturday, Smith scooted 21 yards for a touchdown, breaking a tackle at around the 10. Moments later, the announced crowd of 40,200 cheered as the scoreboard showed highlights of McFadden and Jones being drafted in New York earlier in the day.
McFadden was picked fourth by the Oakland Raiders, and Jones went 22nd to the Dallas Cowboys.
"I'm glad both of them got in the first round," Smith said.
The scrimmage was a reasonable simulation of an actual game, with a few special rules. Quarterbacks were not to be hit, and there were no kickoffs. Punts were neither rushed nor covered.
The second half was played with a running clock.
The Red team included top returning players like quarterback Casey Dick, center Jonathan Luigs and defensive lineman Antwain Robinson. The White team consisted mostly of lesser-known players.
Not everyone was confined to one team. Brandon Barnett scored on a 16-yard run in the second quarter for the White team, then ran for three touchdowns for the Red team in the fourth. He finished with 17 total carries for 89 yards.
Despite being outgained 601-134, the White team kept it reasonably close for a while, trailing only 24-14 after three quarters.
Petrino hopes to bring more balance to the Razorbacks, who relied on their running game under previous coach Houston Nutt. Dick passed early and often in the scrimmage, going 33-of-49 for 404 yards. His longest pass was a 55-yard screen to Smith in the fourth quarter.
"We didn't do everything right, but we had some good execution," Petrino said.
Dick threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to London Crawford, who made a nice one-handed catch in the back corner of the end zone. He also found D.J. Williams for an 11-yard TD.
"Casey's made big strides," Crawford said. "They let him call the offense, go through all different reads."
Dick's brother Nathan played for the White team and completed a 50-yard pass in the first quarter to Rod Coleman, who did a nice job adjusting to the underthrown ball. That led to a 3-yard touchdown run by Taylor Huskisson.
Quarterback Ryan Mallett, a transfer from Michigan, hurt his right thumb a couple of weeks ago. He didn't play in the scrimmage but plenty of other Razorbacks had a chance to showcase their talents.
"We got our first win," Petrino said.
