FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas completed its ninth preseason practice on Monday and following it Travis Williams, the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, met with the media.
Williams was asked about the linebacker room and if he feels it's deeper than last season.
"We have more pieces," Williams said. "We have a lot of ingredients, and we have to cook the meal. We got to put the ingredients in the right spot so the meal can be right. But we have the ingredients now. We got to make sure, 'Okay, it's not mildew. It's not spoiled.' And what that means, if it's not our standard, they're not getting to the ball. they're not playing a physical brand of ball, that's not part of our ingredients. So, we have the right pieces, we just have to put it all together. So, it's been a good deal."
Williams went on to praise some individuals at linebacker including Wyatt Simmons, former standout at Harding Academy.
"We usually rotate four or five depending on the personnel," Williams said. "They come out in 12-personnel, 21-personnel. Putting an extra Sam backer in the game. (Xavian) Sorey, and (Stephen) Dix – (Bradley) Shaw has been really good and Andrew Harris has been really good. Trent Whalen has been a really good get for us out of the portal. A guy that has a lot of experience, a guy that's going to be able to play special teams for us, a guy that's going to be able to help us on defense.
"And then you got Wyatt Simmons that's continued to blossom. See the thing about Wyatt, he got a redshirted last year, then we started spring ball and he had a hamstring (injury). So, now you're getting to see him get more reps. He's a guy, man ... He goes hard and plays the right way. So we have some good guys there, good nucleus of guys. And then you got Tavion Wallace, who's a true freshman, that's out there and he's playing with the older guys and doing some different things there. So, we have some good pieces in the linebacker room."
Williams provided more detail on Simmons' improvement and development.
"Really, he's doing really well out there," Williams said. "He's doing some really good things. He runs to the ball. Great effort guy. Great human being. Let's start there. Great human being. He's been a really good player for us. He's picking up the system and he's a guy now – he's not laying down for nobody. You're going to have to like beat him, right? You're going to have to like– he's a tough kid, a tough-minded kid. A great effort kid and a kid that's just fun to be around."
Simmons was a freshman in the same recruiting class as Shaw.
"He's a really, really hard worker," Shaw said. "He's not gonna stop for nothing. He wants to learn and he goes hard every day."
Dix also chimed in on Simmons' play at linebacker.
"Yeah, man, he got a lot of grit, man," Dix said. "Like that guy, he won't give up easy man. And I think that's why he's still progressing. He has a motor and he just has the will to keep going."
In the spring, Arkansas' defense provided a lot of three-linebacker sets, but it has been more 4-2-5 this preseason. Is that accurate?
"No, we have them," Williams said. "It’s just now that you’re out there it’s just the install, the days of the install. A lot of that stuff is coming. We’ve got so much more defense that we’re going to put in. But it’s a schedule to the install. So we’re going to be multiple. You’ll see three linebackers out there. You’ll see three high safeties. You’ll see a 3-4. We’ve got a lot of different things. Like today, we had a different blitz package, different guys rushing. So OK, who is the guy that could give us juice so we could just play coverage and not blitz. So it’s different personnel we’re putting in but as far as the installation schedule, we’re not there yet."
One goal for the defense this season despite what alignment they are in is to create more turnovers.
"We need to," Williams said. "We need to force more turnovers. We need to get more sacks. I think what's going to really help us is our length. We’ve got better length in the back end. All four guys have length, so the tipped balls, different things like that. If it’s the quarterback and it's just a three-step drop, the d-line has to get their hands up because you're not getting a pass rush. So we’ve got to get our hands up to get more tipped balls. You know, we’re doing more deny-the-ball coverage, as well. That's where you get the turnovers, as well. We'll be able to rush four and then be able deny the ball. We'll be able to blitz and deny the ball. We got some different things, because we got some different skillset guys in our room. Being able to be multiple, being able to be aggressive, so you can get those turnovers."
The Razorbacks will return to the practice fields on Tuesday at 9:15 a.m.
Photos: Craven Whitlow
