Saturday two quarterbacks from the River Valley/ Northwest Arkansas area will face off in an SEC football game, having never played each other before. Shiloh Christian's Kiehl Frazier was still a freshman at Greenland when Tyler Wilson was winning his last State Championship at Greenwood in 2007.
Frazier has struggled in his first year under center at Auburn. The Tigers are 117th in total offense and 116th in scoring offense. The running game hasn't helped him out much, nor has his offensive line.
"He's a great athlete," said Arkansas senior defensive end Alfred Davis. "Quarterbacks like that, you have to find a way to contain them. We have to try and find ways to keep him in the pocket and check him on bootlegs and reverse and things where he can make plays outside the pocket with his feet. We have to find a way as a defense to control him."
With Auburn's offense in disarray, this is a game where the Hogs feel they can outscore their opponent no matter what happens on defense.
The offense met with the media after practice Tuesday-
Offensive Coordinator Paul Petrino:
- Theres not just one thing that is keeping the Hogs from scoring, its interceptions, fumbles, tipped passed and some lack of effort but Paul knows its his job to put up points and he believes they have a great game plan for Auburn
- Paul believes the running game did improve against Texas A&M with some runs capable of being long touchdown runs but players need to give extra effort in order to make those big plays.
- Tyler is playing great, he is throwing for a lot of yards with an inexperienced receiving core. He will need to stop the interceptions but he always works hard.
- Young receivers have been making some plays but have been inconsistent. Petrino has been telling his players he wants them to be at their best when their best is needed, for all players.
Tight End Austin Tate:
- Austin knows he does not have the speed of Chris Gragg but he is bigger and brings a different aspect to the game with his style.
Wide Receiver Cobi Hamilton:
- The team is not executing in critical situations and thats something they have been working on in practice to carry over to the game.
- The chemistry between Wilson and Hamilton is great and gives them a lot of confidence.
Running Back Knile Davis:
- The fumbles have been tough and the other teams have been making good defensive plays, thats football, but knile knows he must hold onto the ball.
- Knile knows that the hogs are good, he knows the type of players they have so he feels confident they will turn the season around.
INJURY UPDATE: Starting safety Eric Bennett has been out the last two weeks, but he practiced Tuesday.
Starting cornerback Tevin Mitchel has been out three weeks because of gallbladder surgery. He dressed, but was limited.
Starting cornerback Kaelon Kelleybrew was inured last week.He also practiced but was limited.
Tight end Chris Gragg did not practice.