Bobby Petrino didn’t call plays for Arkansas in the Red-White game, but that didn’t slow Tyler Wilson and the Razorbacks offense down.
Wilson threw for 467 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Red team to a 65-0 win against the White on Saturday.
The Red team –– comprised of starters and key reserves –– scored on six of its eight first-half possessions and dominated throughout the game.
“We moved the football up and down the field,” offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said. “There were a couple plays here and there that we could have executed a little bit better with the first group, but it was overall a real happy day. The other group didn’t play as well as they needed to. That’s just something they have to keep working on and keep improving.
“I’m really happy with the first group.”
Wilson found tight end Chris Gragg for 6-and 60-yard touchdown passes and senior running back Ronnie Wingo had 2, 1 and 11-yard touchdown runs for the Red team, which led 37-0 at halftime.
Wingo ran for a game-high 88 yards and the three touchdowns on just 14 carries.
“He played good,” Petrino said. “It was nice to see him get out and use his speed. He got his pads down, he finished his runs at the end. I was really happy with Ronnie.”
The first play of the game featured a cameo from junior running back Knile Davis, who hasn’t been hit since breaking his ankle in August. Davis motioned out of the backfield, ran a route and wasn’t thrown to, then left the game and didn’t return.
“He begged us,” Petrino said. “He wanted to be in there one play, so we just put him in motion and told him to ‘get out of the way, make sure nobody falls on you.’ At least he got in there for one play. It will be great to have him out there next year, back running and making plays for us.”
The Red defense shut down a White offense led by backup quarterbacks Brandon Mitchell and Brandon Allen for much of the day. The White offense had just 85 yards with Mitchell and Allen in the first three quarters.
“We get (linebacker) Alonzo Highsmith back (from a pec injury) it is going to be scary,” defensive end Chris Smith said. “We have got a good defensive coordinator (Paul Haynes). So I am happy to see what happens.”
Wilson and the Red offense were stopped on just one drive in the first half and also had the half end with the ball on the White 27-yard line.
Wilson finished spring practice 101 of 146 passing for 1,600 yards, 15 touchdowns and no interceptions.
“He is the face of the program, in my mind,” Haynes said. “Tyler and Knile. Guys like that. They’ve proven it, so they deserve it.”
Wilson addressed the team before it left the field after pregame warmups, a speech delivered by Bobby Petrino in the past.
“Veltkamp said, ‘Hey Tyler, it’s yours today,’” Wilson said. “So I just said, ‘We’re all out here together,’ mentioned a couple things I said in the meeting … I said, ‘Hey, everything I talked about we’re playing for today. We’ve got great support.’”
Wilson threw for 404 yards in the first half and spread the ball around to different weapons.
Gragg finished with nine catches for 130 yards and the two scores, while senior receiver Cobi Hamilton hauled in 11 catches for 156 yards and sophomore receiver Marquel Wade had six catches for 136 yards.
“He knows he’s the guy,” QB Tyler Wilson said. “He knows that any time we’ve got 1 on 1 coverage, he’s got to be the guy. You see a difference in his attitude, you see a difference in his demeanor coming to practice every day. I’m lucky to have Cobi Hamilton on my team.”
Mitchell and Allen both struggled while on the White team.
Mitchell completed 8 of 13 passes for 72 yards, but was sacked three times. Allen completed just 5 of 12 passes for 28 yards and was sacked twice.
Both were better with the Red team, though. Allen completed 4 of 6 passes for 38 yards and a touchdown, while Mitchell ran for a 4-yard touchdown on a bootleg.
“Wanted to get those other quarterbacks a couple reps with the ones in the second half,” Petrino said. “They did a great job.”