Hogs Finalize South Carolina Preparations

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UA Sports Information)- The Hogs held their final practice on Thursday for about an hour before they face the Gamecocks this weekend for homecoming. Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt believed it was one of his teams best weeks of practice all season. "We had a good mental day today," Nutt said. "Weve really had a good week of practice. Our guys are looking forward to playing and theyre excited about homecoming." Nutt has been pleased with the progress of new starting quarterback freshman Casey Dick and is looking forward to seeing him carry over his skills to the playing field in this important league match-up. "He did good," Nutt said. "He improved each day and I think he really concentrated with great focus. Now hes got to do it live. For the first week knowing hes going to play he did very good." Nutt also commented on the status of senior defensive end Clarke Moore and sophomore tight end Mason Templeton. Both had been fighting injuries, but have increased mobility and will be ready to play. Currently Arkansas is leading the Southeastern Conference in rushing yards per game with 256.6 yards, while South Carolina is 12th with 83.5. Nutt is looking to win the time of possession battle on Saturday to help maintain this ranking. "I hope we do the same thing that we did in Georgia," Nutt said. "To be able to control the ball that long, but score a few more points." The UA staffs primary concern about USC is its defense and the different packages that have been run throughout the season. The Gamecocks are coming to Fayetteville with a lot of enthusiasm from their victory at Tennessee. "Their defense and what are they are going to give us," Nutt said. "Are they going to try to come after a young quarterback or give us things we havent seen before? If you go back to the first game there have been a lot of different packages. They play hard and with a lot of passion, especially the Tennessee game. Well just see how they play it." The Gamecocks and Razorbacks will face each other on Nov. 5 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. with Jefferson-Pilot televising the game.