The players new Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino named as the Razorbacks' most improved in the spring might be surprising to most Arkansas observers.

Quarterback Casey Dick, tight end D.J. Williams and receivers London Crawford and Carlton Salters entered the spring as suspects and somehow became prospects along the way. The same was true on defense for defensive ends Antwain Robinson, Jake Bequette, Damario Ambrose and Adrian Davis.

The Razorbacks started over with Petrino and a new coaching staff in the spring and the result was a fresh start for many players who often struggled under the old coaching staff.

On the day in which former Arkansas tailbacks Darren McFadden and Felix Jones were both selected in the first round of the NFL draft, the Razorbacks concluded their spring by passing the ball prolifically and productively, something that rarely happened under former coach Houston Nutt.

That was the offense Arkansas fans had hoped to see when a school-record 40,220 showed up to see the Razorbacks' first spring under Petrino. It was an impressive show but it was just a spring game and Petrino knows the Razorbacks have a lot of work to do to build the kind of balanced offense he employed so successfully at Louisville.

"We've made some big strides," Petrino said. "We certainly have a long way to go. We've got a lot of new faces in there. I feel good about our front on both sides, offense and defense."

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