[Tuck4Bama]

FAYETTEVILLE — It wasn’t Felix Jones’ 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that stood out most to Arkansas special teams coach James Shibest in the Razorbacks’ season-opening victory.

Shibest was more concerned with the returns that didn’t go as well. Arkansas’ terrific tailback tandem of Jones and Darren Mc-Fadden racked up 163 yards on four kickoff returns, a figure that places the Razorbacks fourth nationally after college football’s opening week. But it could have been better as far as Shibest is concerned.

“You can talk about that kickoff return from Felix, but we should have had a couple more,” Shibest said. “We could have had more big plays if we’d blocked a little bit better. The kids know that.” Special teams play as a whole was a mixed bag for the Razorbacks in their 46-26 victory over Troy on Saturday. There were moments of brilliance and others that led to much head-scratching among Arkansas coaches.

For every positive, like Jones’ return or the consistency displayed by freshman kicker Alex Tejada, there was poor decisionmaking from the team’s punt returners and inconsistent coverage on kickoff returns.
“There were a lot of bright spots,” Shibest said. “They weren’t just good, they were bright spots. There were some real bad ones, too, that we need to work on.

WholeHogSports.com - Half-empty attitude for UA special teams