Arkansas’ Warning in the West

SEC Coaches echo each other at SEC Media Days once they hear a question about Arkansas. They each shake their head and utter the same nervous answer,  “They’re good.”

Time to study the competition.

When opposing coaches talk about their upcoming 2011 engagements with Arkansas its a quick lesson to the threat looming for SEC schedules.
With out hesitation USC head coach Steve Spurrier knows right away who he's nervous for.
"Arkansas played against us better than anybody," he said. "They blocked and tackled, didn't make many mistakes either- they're a good team."
South Carolina defensive tackle Travarian Robertson also nervously eyes the competition and remembers them vividly from last year.
"Arkansas had a great offensive line," he said. "They got a great coach and from what I've seen they stuck together as a team, have great confidence and great discipline."

Like many other teams in the conference, Arkansas has to replace a prolific quarterback in Ryan Mallet, who left for the NFL Draft. The competition in Fayetteville will pit junior Tyler Wilson and sophomore Brandon Mitchell against each other for starting quarterback position.

“With Wilson, it’s very impressive how much he cares, his commitment not just studying offense but defenses,” head coach Bobby Petrino said. “I’ve been very impressed with Tyler.”

“He still has a little time to get ready,” receiver Jarius Wright said. “But who ever the coach decides to put out, the team will have their back.”

Petrino says Wilson fills a leadership role amongst the team. Wilson and the younger Mitchell have been competing since the spring, and Petrino doesn’t think much will change about making a decision closer to game time. He describes that it is a ‘process’. When one quarterback does great in practice, he may falter with the spring game. If one does poorly in practice, he may flourish in scrimmages.

With inexperience in that position, a lot of help will come from the running game and an extremely successful back in Knile Davis. 

“We have a huge advantage with Davis,” Petrino said. “He can get us out of bad runs.”

Last year, Davis had better numbers than both Alabama’s Trent Richardson and South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore. This year the quiet expectation of his explosion on the field is hard to miss from teammates and opposing teams alike.

“We have a running back that’s going to shock the world,” said teammate defensive end Tenarius Wright.

When Petrino talks about his receivers like Jarius Wright, Joe Adams, Greg Childs, or Cobi Hamilton he simply says, “they make plays.” That small statement makes a gigantic impact on the field for young Razorback QB’s.

“The benefit for our QB is they don’t have to be saying, ‘this is my best receiver, I have to throw to him,” Coach Petrino said. “They can all make plays for you.”

The Razorback offensive line has also improved according to teammates. And that’s great news for a team needing to protect young arms and using Davis as a weapon. But according to Petrino, while his offensive line has been given accolades, after losing key players there is still reason for concern.

“On paper that unit will have the biggest question mark,” Petrino said. “The advantage of having back our interior makes the question marks on the edges. Size wise and athletic wise we’re there. They’re just youthful.”

On top a stellar offense anticipated in Fayetteville, coach Bobby Petrino says his defense doesn’t get enough credit. “They never do,” he says.

 “Every game I tell them, ‘Hey, defense is where you win big games, where you win championships.’” He said. “And they held their rope, they kept us in a lot of games.”

“We have pride in our defense,” receiver Jarius Wright said. “This year we have depth on D, more experience. We’re kinda depending on them this year.”

Last year Arkansas was good. This year, they have even more pre-season buzz surrounding them. From what coaches and players say, they are using the mistakes of last year to perfect their present season.

“Being a 7-5 team, having that taste in our mouth…” Tenarius Wright said shaking his head. “We don’t want that taste in our mouth anymore.”

No matter the unit Petrino says the goals are avoiding mental mistakes. Mistakes Wright saw some of last year.

“Last year we needed more focus, more mental capacity,” he said. “We just needed that extra edge. The big stage was just a lot to us. It was definitely jaw-dropping to me.”

Now, there’s a call to action. The team as a whole has made an effort to study more film and to study it better, paying more attention to more detail. Outside the film room, there’s a blatant and upfront goal whether it be as a team or individually.

“Just being faster and stronger,” Tenarius Wright said. “We are realizing this is not just a game. We’re going to strive to be better. We’re watching film and picking up more detail. We just are playing no hesitation, no thinking about it, just full speed football right now.”

According to Petrino spring’s focus for the team was third downs, and creating offensive confidence by going with the big plays, the deep throws and explosive runs. On the other side of the ball, defense worked on red zone D and stopping the run, which is everyone’s weapon in the SEC this year.

For Arkansas’ running game, while things look good, Davis knows there is still room to improve. Whether that’s with the ball in his hands or being a team leader in the weight room.

“I’ve definitely stepped up to be a vocal leader this year,” Davis said. “My blocking has to be good but my reads coming out of the backfield have to be better than last year.”

In Arkansas’s weight room instead of flashy signs, there is just a 2011 schedule- no circles, no marks, just a black and white view of what’s ahead. While they stare at opposing names and dates as they train, enemy camps are training too, only they have Arkansas’s name circled on their schedules.

“Do you think you are an honest contender for the National Championship this year?” one reporter asked several Arkansas players.

“I do,” was the only answer given.

“There’s no extra pressure with the West, we have high expectations ourselves,” Jarius Wright said. “We’re a pretty close bunch already, we take care of our teammates.”

 Jarius speaks for a team with focused confidence and chemistry. A team that realizes the blemishes of last season and their close path to success this year, as long as they stick together and keep on the “grind.” 

Out With The Old, In With The New

“It’s an exciting time to be a football coach. We’re all undefeated right now.”

After a disappointing 2010 season, coaching changes and team chemistry- Florida has a lot on their plate for 2011

       With that, Florida’s new head coach Will Muschamp took to the stage of Media Days. After Urban Meyer’s highly publicized coaching conclusion at Florida, Muschamp headed to Gainesville in December. After what he calls a “productive spring”, he’s eager for the season to start.

       “We had a good five-week offseason into spring,” he said. “I feel comfortable with our talent level. We do have some deficiencies as far as our as far as our numbers are concerned. I am concerned about that.”

        Despite his concern on the roster, he knows its tough getting sympathy in this league.

        “I don’t think anybody is feeling sorry for the Gators, for sure.”

         This off-season, Muschamp wants to create a blue-collar hard working mentality and says the team has identified playmakers on both sides of the ball. Both wide receiver Deonte Thompson and sophomore defensive tackle Dominique Easley have gained attention with their explosive spring practices by both players and coaching staff alike.

          For defensive end William Green something the Florida lacked last year was teamwork, something that is not going unnoticed this year. New team chemistry has both young and veteran players excited to share space on the Gainesville gridiron.

         “I told all the younger guys, ‘Are you going to go the distance? Are you with us or not?’” Deonte Thompson said. “We are a close knit team- everything is more ‘team’ this year.”

       As a new comer, Muschamp’s chemistry with the team is also evident. The initial comparison fans, media and even players look at is to his predecessor. Some players say they are similar, but others divulge greater differences in the two “great leaders”.

        “[Muschamp’s] a great coach, great defensive coach,” Florida quarterback John Brantley said. “Great intensity and he’s brought that to the team. We needed that, that giddy up.”

     “All the coaches interact with us a lot, Muschamp works out with us sometimes,” Thompson said. “I think the worst thing you can do as a leader is be something your not,” Muschamp said. “I’m a defensive coach.”

      Muschamp’s presence is not the only highly coveted addition to Florida’s coaching staff for 2011. Offensive mastermind Charlie Weis will take to the feild and Dan Quinn will help Muschamp’s defensive mindset as defensive coordinator. Weis, whose extensive resume with the Patriots and Dan Quinn’s history with the Dolphins combine to usher in close to 40 years of NFL experience.  

    “Since day one, seeing Weis’s track record- I’ve been jotting down as much as I can,” Florida QB John Brantley said. “He’s great.”

      Florida’s ties to proven NFL coaches got even more obvious this spring when Patriots head coach Bill Belichick attended Florida’s pro day. He watched some practice then spoke to the team.

     “What a presence he has within a group,” Muschamp said.

       But Belichick’s presence reached the University of Florida even before he physically visited campus, by way of Nick Saban. Once upon a time Saban coached under Belichick and Muschamp coached under Nick Saban while the two were at LSU. When asked what influences he took from Saban, praise was not short-lived.

      “I think more than anything, total program management, philosophically, what you believe offensively, defensively and special teams being tied together on both sides of the ball for what you what you want to be,” he said. “Having accountability, responsibility. All those things to me are traits of good football teams, certainly some things that reemphasize to me what was important. I had a great working relationship with Nick. He’s very smart, detail oriented, very organized in what he wants to do, the vision he sees for his program. That’s a credit to him.”

         Last year an 8-5 record had the Gators longing for better days. Like other SEC teams faced with a disappointing 2010 season the Gators hope to use the feelings of last year’s defeat as motivation.

        On the field, Florida looks to perfect the pass rush. For players, the stream of studying film “hasn’t really taken a break.” Recent years remember Florida as a constant favorite, but this year the expectations have eased, putting them in an unfamiliar underdog mentality.

       “We have a chip on our shoulder about how we played last year,” Green said.

       “We love it [being the underdog],” Thompson said. “We don’t need it…we have lots of young guys that are hungry.”

       “Being the underdog it does make it easier cause you’re not being hunted.” Green said.

       Florida may not be hunted yet, but teammates say quarterback John Brantley is improving with this year’s Gator offense, aiming for a “balanced” identity.

      “We have a more pro style offense, and you can see Brantley has his confidence back,” senior wide receiver Deonte Thompson said. “It’s a big difference, coming in very confident with 7x7 drills, he controls the huddle, more verbal.”

       “I think we’re going to surprise people this year,” Green said.