Click here for linkMitch Smothers has gotten a tough indoctrination at left tackle for Arkansas this season, starting as a true freshman at one of football's most physically demanding positions.
As the blindside pass protection for quarterback Tyler Wilson, Smothers will face some of Alabama's best defensive athletes one on one Saturday. UA linebacker Dont'a Hightower, who sometimes rushes the passer in passing situations, said Alabama would try to take advantage of Smothers but stopped short of calling him a target.
"In the SEC, you never really know. That's something that me and Courtney (Upshaw are) probably going to thrive on," Hightower said. "Try to get a bead on him, try to get in his head ... we're going to try to take advantage of that."
All three of Arkansas' games to date have been at home, and with a capacity over 100,000, Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium is sure to make a challenging environment for a player who must communicate pre-snap not only with the linemen but on quarterback checks as well. Arkansas coach Bob Petrino has been pleased with Smothers' development.
"We've kind of just taken him and thrown him into the fire and said 'go with it.' He's really improved on his focus," said Petrino. "I think that's one of the things as a freshman, there's so many things happening around you and so much offense and defense that you have to learn to focus and concentrate on one play at a time. I think Mitch has really made improvement there."
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