Spring football in the SEC has come to a close for 2016. Arkansas, the last SEC team to hold spring practice, wrapped up its 15-practice session with the Red-White game Saturday at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Here are three observations from Saturday's action:

The defense looks poised to take a step forward: With nine starters returning, there is plenty of experience for the Razorbacks to draw from. The defense performed well overall on Saturday, particularly the first-team unit. Granted, the first-team defense primarily faced the second-team offense but the unit did what it was supposed to do in that scenario: Dominate, holding the second-team offense to 49 offensive yards and 1.8 yards per play. The defensive line, which returns the vast majority of players from last season's two-deep, appears to have a capable pass rush, spearheaded by 2015 sack leader Deatrich Wise Jr., who had two sacks. The second-team unit also held its own against Arkansas' first-team offense, holding it to just one first-half touchdown drive. The first- and second-team defensive lines combined for nine sacks. The defense as a whole was solid and played as well as defensive coordinator Robb Smith could ask.

The offensive line remains a work in progress: The Razorbacks didn't run the ball particularly well on Saturday. Some of that was personnel-related, as Rawleigh Williams III -- who only saw limited action in a non-contact jersey -- recovers from the neck injury suffered vs. Auburn last fall and Kody Walker recovers from a broken foot that kept him out of the end of spring ball. But the offensive line is working with three new starters and a position change and it showed: The first-team offense averaged only 3.8 yards per carry. The two longest runs of the day came via speed sweeps from receivers Keon Hatcher (21 yards) and Cody Hollister (15 yards). The first-team offensive line also yielded three sacks to the second-team defense. Improvement up front will be needed when the season approaches.

Austin Allen's day was a mixed bag: The stat line for Arkansas' new starting quarterback reads decent enough -- 13-for-19 passing for 141 yards and no interceptions -- but it wasn't a mistake-free outing. Allen was nearly intercepted on the day's first offensive drive (a pass he threw in the middle of the field was broken up by Dwayne Eugene, who got both hands on it but couldn't secure it), and later there was a fumbled handoff exchange between he and running back Denzell Evans and a dropped snap in the second half. That said, he showed off some of his strengths, including on the dropped snap, which he picked up before firing a bullet into the hands of Hatcher to set up a 1-yard Evans touchdown run. He showed accuracy and sufficient arm strength and made good decisions with the football for the most part.