Arkansas defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads talks to the media after Friday’s practice about adjusting to the 3-4 defense.
Ramirez: New defense gives players chance to ‘just play’
Arkansas defensive back Santos Ramirez met with the media following Friday’s practice and talked about the new defense.
Bielema may be ready to take talent over experience
As college football teams begin workouts this week, it’s a time of optimism from sea to shining sea.
Even in the SEC. I actually heard someone from Ole Miss call a talk show this week that predicted a 10-2 record for the Rebels that included beating Alabama.
Seriously. That’s how crazy it gets.
Fans desperately want their team to win. They spend the weeks after SEC Media Days convincing themselves this will finally be the year.
Hope springs eternal.
And, to be perfectly honest, it’s hard to tell anything from the first days of fall practice. That’s because if players stand out from the crowd you never really know if it’s because they are that good or the backups they are doing it against aren’t.
If you’re looking for some deep insight to this year’s Razorback team here, I don’t have it. Bret Bielema doesn’t have it, either.
He spent over 20 minutes (longer than most Monday press conferences during the season, which is the longest of the week) talking about position moves and how high certain players can jump. In case you’re wondering, some of them can jump really high.
The two most important positions on the field, I’ve learned from coaches over four decades, are offensive tackles and defensive backs, particularly cornerbacks.
The Hogs have guys that look good in shorts and helmets at those spots, but so does everybody else. They may even look good in early scrimmages.
But how will they look against Texas A&M on Sept. 23? That’s the first real test. Oh, TCU on Sept. 9 might be a little exam, but what counts is what happens in the SEC games and the Aggies will be the first one of those.
Maybe the most promising thing about this team came during Bielema’s press conference and fans should really take notice of it.
In my opinion, experience is over-rated and a grasp from fans trying to convince themselves players get better the longer they stay. The reality is most don’t improve enough to make much of a difference from year to year.
“The worst thing to have is a bunch of players coming back from a six-win team,” legendary Alabama coach Bear Bryant said one time.
Talent beats experience nearly every time.
Which is why one little nugget Bielema dropped is very, very important.
“The older guys better wake up,” he said in the first press conference of the season. “Some guys who have been here just three months have shown that they can get it right.”
For fans looking for a positive right off the bat, that’s it.
If the talent is equal, experience provides a little edge.
Last year’s national championship game proved that. Clemson’s junior quarterback Deshaun Watson beat Alabama’s rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts because, well, he knew how to win the game in the end. He had about 60 seconds worth of experience over a player nearly as talented.
A year ago, Watson was playing in the national championship game while Hurts was wrapping up a high school career in Texas.
For Bielema, who talks about fifth-year seniors in an effort to keep hopes alive as he enters his fifth season, the fact is he is recognizing that some newcomers may be better.
Which means the recruiting is better.
Which also means the team could be better.
Bielema with media after Hogs’ opening practice
The practice report from Razorback Sports Communications:
A new season officially began Thursday as coach Bret Bielema and the Razorbacks hit the field for their first official practice of preseason training camp.
Here’s a few notes and key storylines from Practice 1:
At A Glance
The Razorbacks kicked things off at 4:10 p.m., at the Fred W. Smith Football Center outdoor practice fields and went through a 24-period workout, which included two water breaks, in helmets and shorts.
Following individual drills, the Hogs went through multiple periods of 7-on-7 with an emphasis on 1st-and-10.
There was one position change of note. Redshirt freshman Dylan Hays was working out at defensive tackle instead of on the offensive line. Bielema told the media following practice that he and the staff have been impressed with Hays ever since he arrived on campus. The move will allow Hays, a native of Little Rock, to see time on the field more and give redshirt freshman Jonathan Marshall the opportunity to get reps at both defensive tackle and end.
Hunter Henry was in attendance before heading to Los Angeles Chargers training camp, which begins July 30 in Costa Mesa, California. Henry is entering his second season after leading all NFL tight ends with eight touchdown catches and earning a spot on the PFWA All-Rookie team last season.
Safety First
In an effort to reduce impacts of practice hits, multiple players on the offensive and defensive lines wore padded helmet covers.
“It’s an added layer of protection for big guys who get continual reps,” Bielema said following practice. “And I think it’s something that’s really positive.”
SEC’s Top Returning QB
Austin Allen, who led the Southeastern Conference in total passing yardage last season, is back for his senior campaign and second season as the starting signal caller. Allen took the reins at QB from his older brother Brandon a year ago and immediately made his mark. He led the SEC with 3,430 passing yards, including a league-best 2,291 in conference play and finished with 25 touchdown passes, which ranked second in the conference.
One of Allen’s top targets will be senior Jared Cornelius, the veteran of the receiving corps. Highlighted by three straight 100-plus yard receiving performances, Cornelius recorded 32 receptions for 515 yards and four touchdown catches, while adding a rushing score, in 2016.
Whaley Ready to Carry the Load
After backing up regular-season rushing champion Rawleigh Williams III last season, sophomore Devwah Whaley will be counted on for more carries in 2017 and looks to become the featured running back in the Razorbacks’ offensive attack.
Whaley, who came to Fayetteville from Beaumont, Texas, as one of the top backs in the country, ranked as a four-star prospect and No. 3 at his position, rushed for 602 yards and three touchdowns on 110 carries 13 games played last season.
A Doak Walker Award candidate, Whaley will have the opportunity to become the latest member of Bielema’s elite 1000-yard rushing club. Bielema is well experienced in producing 1,000-yard rushers. In fact, he’s the only active FBS head coach with a 1,000-yard rusher in each of the last 11 seasons (2006-present).
The Hogs’ backfield will also feature some new faces, including graduate transfer David Williams, who also saw first-team reps Thursday with Whaley, and freshmen Maleek Williams and Chase Hayden.
Anchor of the Line
Senior All-American center Frank Ragnow will lead the offensive line for the second straight season.
Ragnow was college football’s best offensive lineman in 2016, according to Pro Football Focus. This year, he’ll look to repeat that. He’s a candidate for the Rimington, Outland and Wuerffel trophies and boasts spots on several preseason All-America teams, including earning first-team honors from Athlon Sports and Lindy’s Sports as well as second-team status from Sporting News and Phil Steele.
Earlier this month at SEC Media Days, Bielema had high praise for his star lineman.
“He might be the best I’ve ever coached,” Bielema said. “Not just at the center position, at the offensive line position.”
New Look D
Led by new defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, the Razorbacks’ 2017 defense will feature a new 3-4 scheme.
Defensively, Arkansas returns 23 letterwinners, including five starters. Led by captains Santos Ramirez and Kevin Richardson II, the secondary is arguably the most veteran unit on the roster having combined for 57 starts heading into this season.
Rhoads’ defense also includes Butkus Award candidate linebacker Dre Greenlaw, a freshman All-American in 2015 who played only seven games due to injury last year, and cornerback Ryan Pulley, who tallied the second-most pass breakups in the SEC in 2016.
Up Next
Arkansas is scheduled to be back on the practice field for another 4:10 p.m. workout on Friday.
Mid-major heavyweights added to early schedule
Arkansas’ early basketball schedule continues to take shape with defending Sun Belt Tournament champion Troy the opponent in North Little Rock.
The Razorbacks will make their annual trip to the Verizon Center in North Little Rock on Saturday, Dec. 16, welcoming Troy to town as the Trojans are coming off their best season in program history that culminated with a conference championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Arkansas also returns from a short holiday break to host 2017 NIT Final Four participant CSU Bakersfield on Wednesday, Dec. 27 inside Bud Walton Arena.
The Roadrunners posted 25 victories a season ago and captured their first Western Athletic Conference regular season championship in program history.
Troy Notables
• Went 22-15 last season and had a top 150 RPI.
• Won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
• Return their top two scorers and 62.4 percent of their scoring output from last season.
CSU Bakersfield Notables
• Went 25-10 last season and won the WAC regular season championship.
• Posted a final RPI of 59 with five victories against top 100 RPI teams.
• Return 42.2 percent of their scoring and their second leading scorer.
Arkansas continues to add to its best home schedule of the Mike Anderson era, hosting three non-conference teams coming off NCAA Tournament appearances and two more that advanced to postseason play.
Under Anderson, Arkansas is 55-2 (.965) in non-conference games in Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks are 3-1 all-time against Troy and will play the Roadrunners for the first time in program history.
The Home Dates We Know
• Friday, Nov. 10 – Samford
• Saturday, Dec. 9 – Minnesota
• Saturday, Dec. 16 – Troy (NLR)
• Wednesday, Dec. 27 – Cal State Bakersfield
• Saturday, Jan. 27 – Oklahoma State
Bielema before starting round at golf tournament
ROGERS — Arkansas coach Bret Bielema met with the media before starting his round in the NWA Razorback Club Golf Tournament on Monday at Shadow Valley Country Club.
Tretola one of two people involved in shooting
ROGERS — After Bret Bielema got the call about Sebastian Tretola being one of two people involved in an early Saturday morning shooting, he was relieved his former player was safe.
“At first my heart went out just to make sure everything was okay,” he said before the NWA Razorback Club golf tournament in Rogers on Monday.
Then he started thinking.
“It’s kinda just one of those alarms that goes off in your head that makes everybody aware of just what’s out there in the world we live in today,” Bielema said.
Fayetteville police responded shortly after 1:45 a.m. to a parking lot near Lit Lounge off Dickson Street, and two shooting victims were later transported to the hospital, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Monday.
Police didn’t identify either victim, but Paul Kuharsky of 104.5 The Zone in Nashville cited a statement from the Tennessee Titans, where Tretola now plays, indicating he was one of the two people who were shot.
According to the statement, Tretola was grazed by a bullet, has been treated and released and is “thankful for only a minor injury.”
“When I got ahold of him yesterday, the first thing I gotta do is hug you, the second is I gotta punch you,” Bielema said.
He got the news of the arrest early, because with a newborn in the house, Bielema is up early and looking at his phone.
“Unfortunately, it was a negative situation,” he said. “At first, my heart went out just to make sure everything was okay. I reached out to Sebastian and didn’t get him, then reached out to his mom, she answered, talked through the scenario … kinda just went back and forth through the course of the day and thankfully he’s good.”
In the end, Bielema was just glad, first, that none of his current players were involved and that Tretola was okay, suffering a minor injury when a bullet grazed him.
“He’s kinda always been on that edge, you know,” Bielema said. “I want him to realize what he has. I love the kid to death and hopefully he’ll triumph from this moment.”
Pair of players won’t be at start of preseason drills
Alexy Jean-Baptiste and Montaric Brown won’t be on the field when Arkansas starts fall practices Thursday.
Blame the snail pace of getting things through the NCAA in Brown’s case.
“Unfortunately, sometimes there is a little big of lag in the NCAA side as well, as you’re dealing with a lot of paperwork and coursework,” Bielema said Monday about Brown’s situation. “Getting everything in in a short amount of time, sometimes it just doesn’t happen as fast as we want.”
He didn’t appear too concerned, though, citing what he thinks is a strong group of incoming players at the defensive back positions.
“It’s not like a do-or-die situation for him to get here,” he said. “We’ll find out — just like we do with all freshmen — what can they handle mentally and physically, and if the answer is yes, then we’ll go ahead (and play him). If not, we’ll have a chance to redshirt him.
Jean-Baptiste redshirted last year and injured a foot in spring practice and the rehab hasn’t progressed as far as the coaches want.
“He wasn’t going to be where we needed him to be,” Bielema said, adding that he expects him to be in drills closer to the start of the fall semester.
South end zone gets scoreboard completed
???? Panels installed.
We've got a full video board in the south end ???? pic.twitter.com/jxyjpGe9vS
— Arkansas Razorbacks (@ArkRazorbacks) July 24, 2017
Arkansas’ fans will now get to see a full video board in the south end of the stadium as construction continues on the north end.
Fans will get their first view of the new look when the Razorbacks host TCU on Sept. 9.
Hogs take over SEC Network on Monday
(Information from ArkansasRazorbacks.com is included in this story.)
Arkansas is taking over the SEC Network for 24 straight hours on Monday. Ten memorable games, all with one common theme.
That theme all involves games against teams in Texas, mainly for recruiting purposes in that state, showing the Razorbacks against those teams.
Only problem is putting the 2014 blowout win over Texas Tech in the prime time slot at 8 p.m. Monday night.
No, seriously. Why feature anything with the Red Raiders? If the Hogs can’t out-recruit Tech in Texas, they need to get better recruiters. There are high schools in Texas that recruit better players than Tech, but more likely it’s a chance to take a back-handed shot at Red Raiders coach Kliff Kingsbury after he called out Bret Bielema after beating the Hogs in 2015.
Two more games that would help recruiting more?
How about the 2003 win over the Longhorns in Austin, the 2000 Cotton Bowl win over Texas or even the 1988 win down in Austin?
Those would promote the brand more in the minds of potential recruits than any win over Texas Tech.
Get the popcorn ready and get settled in for a fantastic day of binge-watching the Hogs.
11 p.m. (Sunday night)
Football vs. Texas – Oct. 20, 1979
Arkansas capitalized on a pair of Texas turnovers to take a 14-7 lead and then marched 66 yards downfield to set up a 31-yard field goal as the No. 10 Razorbacks earned a 17-14 victory over the No. 2 Longhorns at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
It was Lou Holtz’s first win over the Longhorns as Arkansas’ head coach. The Razorbacks finished the season co-champions of the Southwest Conference at 10-2 overall with a 7-1 mark in league play.
1:30 a.m.
Men’s Basketball vs. Texas – Jan. 6, 2009
Mike Washington slammed home the win over No. 7 Texas in front of a raucous Bud Walton crowd for Arkansas’ second upset of a top-10 team at home in a week.
It marked Arkansas’ seventh straight home win over a top-25 opponent and its 43rd consecutive non-conference home win.
3:30 a.m.
Softball vs. #5 Texas A&M – April 16, 2017
Sophomore Ashley Diaz’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning capped a two-run final frame and gave Arkansas a walk-off win over No. 5 Texas A&M in Fayetteville.
It marked Arkansas’ first win over a top-five opponent since 2014, while it was just the fourth loss in 41 games for the Aggies.
5:30 a.m.
Football vs. Texas – Dec. 29, 2014
Brandon Allen tossed two touchdowns as Arkansas cruised to a 31-7 beating of Texas in the Advocare V100 Texas Bowl.
The Razorbacks’ defense harassed the Longhorns’ offense all night, holding them to a season-low 59 total yards, including just two on the ground.
8:30 a.m.
Baseball vs. Baylor – June 11, 2012
Arkansas earned a trip to its seventh College World Series in program history in 2012 when an RBI single by catcher Jake Wise broke a scoreless tie in the 10th inning to beat the Baylor Bears in Waco, Texas.
The Hogs had to battle back after losing the first game of the Waco Super Regional and was able to get a combined five-hit shutout from five different pitchers for the 1-0 clinching victory.
11:30 a.m.
Men’s Basketball vs. SMU – Nov. 25, 2014
Future SEC Player of the Year Bobby Portis led the Razorbacks to a wire-to-wire victory over the Mustangs with a game-high 22 points on the road in Moody Coliseum.
It marked Arkansas’ first road win as a ranked team in 16 seasons.
1:30 p.m.
Football vs. Texas – Oct. 17, 1981
Arkansas topped No. 1 Texas 42-11 in Fayetteville for the program’s largest win ever over the Longhorns.
The Razorbacks’ offense carved up Texas’ fourth-ranked defense, behind 323 total yards, five touchdowns and a pair of field goals, while the defense forced seven turnovers.
4 p.m.
Baseball vs. Texas A&M – May 20, 2017
A two home run day from first baseman Chad Spanberger propelled Arkansas to a dominating 8-0 victory over No. 22 Texas A&M in College Station to close out the regular season in 2017.
The series win over the Aggies helped Arkansas build the momentum it needed to make a strong postseason run that included an appearance in the SEC Tournament final and a selection as an NCAA Regional host for the first time since 2010.
6 p.m.
Men’s Basketball vs. Texas – Feb. 4, 1990
Down one with less than 20 seconds remaining in regulation, head coach Nolan Richardson walked off the court after Arkansas is called for a technical foul.
Lee Mayberry hit a 25-footer from the top of the key with less than five seconds remaining to send the game to overtime, where Richardson returned and Arkansas defeated the Longhorns on the road, 103-96.
8 p.m.
Football vs. Texas Tech – Sept. 13, 2014
Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams ran wild, combining for six rushing touchdowns and 357 yards on the ground in Arkansas’ 49-28 routing of Texas Tech in Lubbock.
The Razorbacks totaled 438 rushing yards and limited the Red Raiders, which came in averaging 365 yards passing, to 252 yards through the air.
Former Hog arrested on DWI Sunday morning
Former Arkansas basketball player Ronnie Brewer was arrested Sunday morning just before 1 a.m. in Fayetteville for driving while intoxicated, driving left of center and violating a local noise ordinance.
Brewer, 32, was booked into the Washington County Adult Detention Center at 1:03 a.m. and released in under an hour and a half after posting $1,055 in bond. A court date has been scheduled in Fayetteville District Court on August 21, according to the Washington County sheriff’s office website.
Brewer played at Arkansas from 2003 to 2006 where he averaged 18.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks. He also was 51–151 from three-point range and shot 75 percent from the free-throw line.
Selected with the 14th overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz, Brewer went on to play or Memphis, Chicago (twice), the New York Knicks, Oklahoma City, Houston and the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League.
This is not Brewer’s first brush with the law for driving under the influence.
Brewer entered a plea of no contest in August 2014 on a misdemeanor charge of drunk driving and a judge in Los Angeles Superior Court sentenced Brewer to three years probation, mandated he attend 10 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and ordered him to attend three months of alcohol abuse classes.
The charges stemmed from a drunk driving arrest in Beverly Hills, California, in February earlier that year.
