Darren McFadden News
Creativity is key with McFadden
FAYETTEVILLE — There is no secret where Arkansas coaches want the football most this season when on offense.
With All-American tailback Darren McFadden in the backfield, they want the ball in his hands as much as possible.
What coaches don’t want is to simply hand the ball off to Darren McFadden 20 to 30 times a game. It’s too predictable. Plus, they feel they can better maximize his size and athletic ability with more creative play-calling.
Darren McFadden, 6-2, 215 pounds, showcased his versatility last year, moonlighting at quarterback in the Razorbacks’ Wildcat (now WildHog ) package. Coaches typically put Darren McFadden in the Shotgun with a predetermined play call, meaning he knew if he was going to hand off, keep the ball or pass it before the play ever began.
It appears Darren McFadden could have more decision-making power this year when he is lined up at quarterback. New offensive coordinator David Lee has implemented option components to the offense, which means there will be times when Darren McFadden will be asked to do even more than he already does.
Darren McFadden said he has no problem with the additional responsibility. He hasn’t perfected the art of reading a defense but is confident he can pick things up by maximizing his limited practice time.
“It’s something I’m real comfortable with,” Darren McFadden said. “It is something I have to work quite a bit on, though. I can’t just walk out there and do it.
“ I’m an ex-quarterback. Anytime the ball is in my hands, I like it.”
Option sightings have been rare during open portions of practice this season.
Darren McFadden, who ran for a school-record 1, 647 yards in 2006, has worked on it briefly while teammates worked on specialteams drills during early practice periods. Occasionally, the Doak Walker Award winner will stick around with Lee after practice for more tutoring.
How much option-specific work is taking place behind closed doors is unclear, but there is no denying Arkansas would like to utilize its option packages more as the season progresses.
What Darren McFadden is being asked to do shouldn’t be unfamiliar to Razorbacks fans. Arkansas implemented the radar option in 2003 to take advantage of quarterback Matt Jones’ athleticism. Lee was Arkansas’ quarterbacks coach at that time.
“We’re just trying to create confusion for the defense, make it hard for them to try to defend,” Lee said.
Arkansas can utilize Darren McFadden at quarterback in at least two offensive packages. They’ll use Racehorse and WildHog, which look a lot alike at first glance because Darren McFadden is lined up in the Shotgun for both.
Fullback Peyton Hillis and tailback Felix Jones join Darren McFadden in the backfield for Racehorse packages. WildHog formations most likely have Hillis or Jones lined up in the slot.
No matter the package name, the purpose is to get the Razorbacks’ best playmakers on the field together. Both Racehorse and WildHog afford them that luxury.
Arkansas used both against Troy when Darren McFadden tossed a 42-yard touchdown out of the WildHog and finished with 200 all-purpose yards.
Attempts at using the option yielded mixed results in the 46-26 victory. Hillis had a 14-yard gain off a Darren McFadden handoff early in the third quarter, but two other attempts led to Darren McFadden fumbles.
Hillis said it’s only a matter of time before Darren McFadden perfects the skill of making reads.
“Darren is a smart athlete,” Hillis said. “He’s a football player and a smart competitor. If Darren can get it all the way down, it will cause problems.”
Lee and Coach Houston Nutt said mistakes weren’t a surprise with the minimal amount of time devoted to the option in practice. Darren McFadden’s mistakes weren’t a matter of making the wrong read, but not pulling the ball out cleanly when he elected to keep it.
Those initial hiccups won’t deter Lee from asking more of Darren McFadden.
“I’m going to keep doing it,” Lee said. “We’re going to stay with it and try to give people headaches trying to defend it.”
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