FAYETTEVILLE -- Redshirt senior defensive tackle Eric Gregory will begin his third season under Deke Adams and second with defensive coordinator Travis Williams.
Gregory, 6-4, 324, finished with 16 tackles, eight solo, one sack and a pass breakup in 2023. He's one of four defensive tackles in the rotation this spring with Cameron Ball, Keivie Rose and Ian Geffrard. Gregory talked about the fact Adams returns providing stability since prior to that the defensive line coaches changed yearly.
"It’s huge, man," Gregory said. "Like you said, we had a lot of defensive line coaches here and just to get him back, we don’t take no step back. It’s kind of ongoing because we know what to expect from him and we know what he wants from us. It’s been huge getting him back.
"This is the second year under Coach Travis. I feel like we can be way better than we were last year with our pass coverage, our run stopping and getting to the quarterback. I feel like we can improve that tremendously this year."
Arkansas completed its fourth practice of the spring on Tuesday and afterward Gregory talked about how the practices have been thus far.
"It’s been good," Gregory said. "It’s been physical. A lot of competition. I’ve seen good reps on both sides of the ball. It’s been great."
More specifically, Gregory talked about how Tuesday's practice was for the defense.
"I feel like we brought energy from the beginning to the end," Gregory said. "Everybody had energy coming in and I feel like we started fast and we finished fast. I feel like the energy level we brought into practice, it followed throughout the whole practice."
Two true freshmen on the defensive line last season, Geffard and Quincy Rhodes Jr. (defensive end), are now in the rotation.
"We’re seeing maturity in them," Gregory said. "They’re taking the criticism they’re getting for feedback throughout film and then you see them apply it the next day at practice. I feel like that’s a huge step from them from their freshman year to now. Before, we would see them get in their head a lot, but now they’re actually taking the coaching and applying it to the field."
Junior defensive end Nico Davillier is lining up at first-team defensive end opposite Landon Jackson. Gregory has been impressed.
“You can just see it by looking at him," Gregory said. "He’s gotten stronger and he’s more confident in his ability to stop the run and to get out to the quarterback. And we see that and we’ve been seeing it in the offseason and from the first day we started practicing. We’ve seen it.”
Albany transfer defensive end Anton Juncaj is running second-team end opposite Rhodes and behind Davillier at this time. Gregory likes what he has seen from him so far.
“At first getting in, you kind of see a little bit in where he can improve in," Gregory said. "Basically, at the speed of the game. But I feel like he’s gotten a lot better from day one. We see the natural strength he has and the bend he has. I feel like he’s coming together now.”
Some of the loudest chatter this spring has been the return of Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator. Gregory said Tuesday it's much different than going against another offense.
"Well, they’re throwing a lot," Gregory said. "They’re throwing a lot at us, so we’ve got to stay on our game. There’s something new every day, so we can’t just be focused on what they did the day before, cause they’ll then throw something new in the next day. We’ve got to be on our toes. It’s really helping us a lot."
After a 4-8 season, Gregory talked about the feel on the team this season. He likes what he has seen thus far.
"I think we evolve every year," Gregory said. "I think we learn something new from the past year every year. Just kind of like Fernando is saying, I see a lot of difference on offense. I see energy on the offensive line every single day from the jump. They’re bringing energy and they’re pushing us to strain even harder. I feel like that’s really huge for the defensive line and offensive line to take that next step to be better."
Arkansas will conduct its fifth practice on Thursday before taking off for spring break.
Photos Courtesy of Craven Whitlow CW3 Sports Action
