FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas completed its 11th preseason practice on Wednesday and Marcus Woodson spoke to the media afterward.
Woodson and Nick Perry coach the secondary while Travis Williams is in charge of the defense in addition to the linebackers. Woodson talked about a big secondary with Larry Worth III, 6-4, 226; Miguel Mitchell, 6-1, 222; Caleb Wooden, 6-1, 195; Jordan Young, 6-0, 198; Kani Walker, 6-2, 204; and Julian Neal, 6-2, 208, as well as numerous others.
"Well, you’d rather 6-2 than 5-8, right?," Woodson said. "This is a grown man’s sport. This is a league that you’ve got to have length. This is a big man’s sport. It’s a physical game. We were able to go out and find guys who fit who we are that have length to go with it. We are bigger and as a coach it feels a little better getting off the bus and taking the field when you look the way that we look, than the alternative, right, the other way around. So I’m excited man, but it’s still about production. I don’t want to look big and not play big. So for us it’s just about getting them coached up and having them play as big as they look. And right now we’re headed in the right direction."
Is this the largest secondary Woodson has coached?
"It is," Woodson said. "It is, man. I’ve been fortunate to be around some big ones, but when it comes from top to bottom, this is the biggest one I’ve been around. Now, the good thing is that they’re big and they can run, right? It’s still about speed as well because of the position that I coach. They’re not just big. They’re big and can run and we’ve just to continue to work on the things we’ve got to get better at every day, which, what we talked about earlier: the communication. It’s going to be three things for us that we want to create as a routine: that’s being disciplined, being consistent and having elite communication and that’s what develops trust."
One thing the Hogs want from their defense this season is to create more turnovers. Woodson said the Razorbacks are working on that.
"I just think it's what you emphasize as a coach," Woodson said. "You're going to get what you emphasize. And in terms of the back end, when we pursue the ball, we pursue it to go get the ball, not to necessarily always make a tackle. So it's about the ball, it’s about the ball, and it's about the ball. That's what the game is about. So when the ball is in the air, we want to go and get it, and then when, you know, it's a run play, we want to go and force it out. So our desire to get the ball out has to be greater than the ball carrier, wanting to secure it, right? And when the ball is in the air, we’ve got to want to go and get it more than the receiver. And at the end of the day, if we can get the ball back to the offense, to Coach (Bobby) Petrino and the guys, we'll be an elite team. We were undefeated last year when we won the turnover margin, right? But when it was tied or we were minus one, we didn't win a game. So, the obvious is that we need to get takeaways and we need to protect the ball."
Who has been doing a good job in practice at forcing turnovers?
"It's a collection of them all," Woodson said. "Again, like I believe in having a no-name, type of secondary right now. It's about we and us. If Larry Worth gets one, Miguel Mitchell got one, right? So it's about the unit. It’s not necessarily corners, safeties, it's the Hogs defense, right? So regardless of who get it, we got it, and the offense got the ball now."
This will be the third season in a row for Woodson, Travis Williams and Deke Adams to coach together on defense. Woodson talked about his relationship with Williams.
"Well, just the more time you spend with someone, the deeper the relationship gets and the more you understand each other," Woodson said. "Travis is like a brother from another mother. The moment we met, day one when we worked at another institution, it’s like I had known him for 10 years. He holds me accountable. I’m able to hold him accountable, and it’s obviously healthy for the staff on defense and obviously for the players, as well. It’s a joy to show up and work with him every day."
Arkansas will return to the practice fields on Thursday at 9:15 a.m.
