Injuries, rotation setting up opportunities for Whaley

An injury thrust Devwah Whaley into the spotlight after the Arkansas football spring game.

When the sophomore running back lines up in the backfield for the Razorbacks (2-5) against Ole Miss (3-4) at 11 a.m. today in Oxford, Miss., another injury furthers the opportunity for the Central grad.

The Razorbacks three-man running back rotation lost freshman leading rusher Chase Hayden to injury last week. Whaley, who is third on Arkansas with 311 rushing yards and three touchdowns, said he's fresh and ready for the chance.

"The running back rotation has been beneficial," Whaley said. "This weekend I'm going to go in focused and know I could get more opportunities against Ole Miss."

After Rawleigh Williams III, Arkansas leading rusher in 2016, retired after an injury on the last play in the Razorbacks' spring game, Whaley was thrust into a featured role.

Suddenly, he was the Razorbacks leading returning rusher. He put up 602 yards on 110 carries with three touchdowns as a true freshman. It wasn't the 1,701 yards and 23 touchdown season he posted as a senior at Central, but it showed he had acclimated to the college game.

"The difference in game speed between high school and college is by far the biggest thing I had to adjust to," said Whaley, a recreation and sports management major. "The size and speed of the players and the overall game is different. There's a lot more to learn. It's not just simple plays. It's faster and more physical."

Arkansas' offensive depth chart resembled a MASH unit, but was further depleted last week when it lost a pair offensive stalwarts to injury in a 52-50 loss to Auburn.

Already faced with injuries to Hayden, quarterback Austin Allen and wide receiver Jared Cornelius, All-SEC senior center, Frank Ragnow, who Pro Football focus graded as the top center in the SEC, suffered a high ankle sprain and will miss the rest of the season.

Because of their absences, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said the entire offensive unit will have to adjust.

"It starts up front where our tight ends, wide receivers and offensive lineman all have to do a better job of helping (the running backs) execute the run game," Bielema said. "That feeds into what we believe in offensively with the play action pass. We want to take advantage of the offensive looks we get because the running attack feeds our passing game."

Even though T.J. Hammonds, a running back as a freshman who turned into a wide receiver, will return to the offensive backfield to provide the Razorbacks with depth, Bielema said he expected an increase in snaps and touches for Whaley and second leading rusher David Williams.

"On Sunday we sat back and thought we probably should have run the ball a little more," Bielema said. "Especially in the first half. At times we did very well with it. We thought Devway was healthy going into last week and he should be that much more so this week. We are really excited and he should have a spike in attempts and results."

It's no secret that Arkansas' offense wants to run the ball. In a 34-30 win against Ole Miss last season in Fayetteville, Arkansas had 200 yards on 51 rushing attempts. Whaley had 11 carries for 65 yards. With a rushing defense that ranks 126 out of 129 FBS teams, Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said first and second down will be critical for the Rebels' defense.

"They are going to get the run game going early with their big personnel and we've got to do a good job of loading the box and getting some stops on first and second downs," said Luke about the Arkansas' offense. "We want to try to force them into some passing situations and I think then the advantage switches back to us because we've got some really good pass rushers. We've got to put some extra hats in the box and do whatever we can to slow the run game down and get ahead of the chains a little bit."

While an uptick in touches is expected against Ole Miss, Whaley said he spent the offseason preparing as an every down running back.

"I want to be a better all-round running back," Whaley said. "My goal is to be a three-down back. I've got to run routes, catch the ball and be good in pass protection. That's the most important thing."

If Arkansas executes its game plan against Ole Miss, Whaley might have to hold off on frequently showing his pass protection kills.

Source: beaumontenterprise