“I tried to stay far away from him,” Williams said. “I didn’t want to touch him. Let him heal on up nice and good.”
The Razorbacks got a good indication that is happening, when Adams returned to practice on a limited basis for the first time since suffering a minor stroke.
Adams took a big step in his healing process. He took his turn catching passes off the Razorbacks’ ball machine during the early part of practice, worked with the training staff off to the side a little later, and even got his hands on a couple of punts, according to his teammates.
“It was kind of a start to his recovery I guess you could say,” receiver Jarius Wright said. “He has to start somewhere, so putting the pads back on and coming out to practice with us (Tuesday), it meant a real lot.”
Arkansas offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said the Razorbacks still don’t know when Adams, who caught 16 passes for 216 yards with 2 touchdowns in four games, will be able to play. He said that will be up to Arkansas’ medical staff, which is evaluating the sophomore daily.
Petrino said seeing Adams on the practice field Tuesday was a “great sign,” though.
“He’s smiling, walking around in a great attitude,” Petrino said. “I’m just happy to see him happy.”
Two-Minute Drill
• Paul Petrino said Arkansas’ third-down performance remains a concern after the Hogs went 2-for-13 at Florida. The Razorbacks are 20-for-76 (26.3 percent) on third down, which ranks 116th in the nation.
“We’ve always taken great pride in being real good at it,” Petrino said. “It’s just something that right now we’re not as good as we need to be and hopefully it will be our coming out week and we light it up on third down.”
• Receiver Lucas Miller did not practice Tuesday for unknown reasons. Miller, who missed the two games with a broken collarbone, did not catch a pass at Florida.
• Arkansas cornerback Rudell Crim wore a yellow, non-contact jersey during Tuesday’s practice. Crim started at Florida and recorded four tackles, one for a loss.
Inside Scoop: Smith Still Day-to-Day
Running back Michael Smith participated in portions of Tuesday’s practice. But position coach Tim Horton said the senior, who missed last Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury, still isn’t ready to return to the field.
“If we played (Tuesday), I doubt he could have played,” Horton said. “But thankfully we play on Saturday and he did a good job in individual (drills). Didn’t get a whole lot of team reps, but we’ll just see how he progresses.”
Smith wasn’t available for comment after Tuesday’s practice, but offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said the Razorbacks will be prepared to play with or without the team’s leading rusher. Dennis Johnson replaced Smith at Florida, running for 107 yards on 14 carries. Broderick Green added 10 carries for 40 yards and a touchdown.
“The game of football you could be gone in one play,” Petrino said. “So that’s why you always have to have a plan for all your guys. We have a plan for all of them and whoever is in the game, we’re going to use that plan.”
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