Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson was back in the Broyles Center on Monday, helping the Hogs prep for Mississippi State after a health scare Friday.

Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson was back at work Sunday, two days after being hospitalized for an infection. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/JASON IVESTER)

Robinson was battling an infection, was hospitalized over night and was released Saturday while the Razorbacks were dismantling Troy, 56-20. Robinson did not coach the game, obviously, but Coach Bobby Petrino expects the 53-year-old to be back on the sidelines Saturday in Little Rock.

That’s good news for the Razorbacks, especially with Monday being such a heavy game planning day. Last week the Hogs at least had Robinson for the entire week leading up to the game, which mean the game plan was already in place before Robinson fell ill.

Most of all, this scare has opened some of the eyes of the coaching staff at Arkansas. Eating healthy and exercising usually goes to the wayside during football season for coaches. Petrino’s vice is drinking coffee.

It’s habit, it seems, to pour yourself a cup of coffee when breaking down tape in the offices, Petrino said.

“I think the biggest thing is to make sure we do a good job of eating properly, not drinking so much coffee,” Petrino said. “And when I say that, I’m talking to myself because I’m not very good at it.”

This isn’t the first time Petrino has been a part of a health scare on a coaching staff. While at Louisville, defensive coordinator Mike Cassidy fell ill before a road game at Syracuse. Reggie Johnson, as he did Saturday for Arkansas, called plays for the defense that day, Petrino said.

It certainly has been a wild year for health on the football team, hasn’t it? Joe Adams‘ mild stroke in October will never be forgotten.

Flash Wingo
Watching Ronnie Wingo’s 83-yard touchdown catch and run develop late Saturday against Troy certainly was jaw-dropping. The true freshman ran most of that distance out of the backfield and his speed was apparent as he went untouched into the end zone.

He has a sprinter’s mentality. After all, he was one of the top track stars in the state of Missouri in the spring and won the 100 and 200 meters as a high school runner.

“It was great to see the other night,” Petrino said. “Just about all the coaches at the same time on the (head)phones said, ‘he’s gone’ and it was about 8 yards down the field. He’s very fast and he really showed the sprinter’s speed the other night.”

Is he the fastest player on the team, though? Well, he certainly is fast but probably isn’t even the fastest player in Arkansas’ large stable of running backs.

That honor, at least in the 40-yard dash, would probably go to kickoff return man Dennis Johnson. He tested out as the fastest player during spring drills.

JOHNSON IN THE DOGHOUSE?
Speaking of Johnson, the sophomore was in Petrino’s doghouse for a short time after the Ole Miss game.

Why? Well, he had a small injury and didn’t do everything the coaching staff asked of him to recover properly. Don’t worry, Johnson is back in the good graces of his head coach.

Johnson rushed for 58 yards on four carries against Troy on Saturday.

“If you react in a positive manner then it helps everybody,” Petrino said. “I thought it helped Dennis. It helped the fact that he got more on the field.

“I’ve always had a tremendous amount of confidence in him carrying the ball. You know he’s going to make yards and do a good job when he carries the ball. There was a time the other night where I just said, ‘Hey, Dennis. Let’s go. Get in there and go and we’ll get you the ball.’ He made three really, really good runs.”

We had been wondering why Johnson, who is now the school’s career leader in kickoff return yards, hadn’t been getting many carries since his 107-yard rushing performance against No. 1 Florida. Now we know.

INJURIES
RB Michael Smith didn’t see much time against Troy because of an unspecified injury, but should be good to go Saturday in Little Rock. OL Zach Stadther (knee) and DB David Gordon (foot) are the most worrisome for Petrino entering this evening. They’ll be evaluated tonight.

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