FAYETTEVILLE -- Nick Perry is the newest member of Sam Pittman's staff at Arkansas and is working with the cornerbacks.

Perry came to Arkansas from the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL. He played in college for Alabama in the SEC. Perry talked about how it has gone since he got to Arkansas.

"Before we get started, my voice is a little gone," Perry said. "It was third down day, and we were getting after it in the secondary. So, this is a good thing, where my voice is hoarse, that's a positive thing. But it's been a blessing. It's been a crazy ride, coming from Seattle, coming to Arkansas, but we started with a bang."

Perry talked on Tuesday following the fifth practice of the spring about what compelled him to return to coaching in college.

"To me this is a premier program," Perry said. "You know I played football in this conference. I remember coming here in 2010 and Arkansas coming back in 2011. I was here for the 2014 game. This place is a hard place to play at. The fans love it. The atmosphere is crazy. So it was a no-brainer when I got the call from Coach T-Will and Coach Pittman, my wife couldn’t pack our bags fast enough. We’re back down south. We get to wear the [cardinal] so I’m ready to roll."

Perry and the Tide won the 2010 game 24-20 in one of the loudest atmospheres at Razorback Stadium. Perry was asked about any memories from that game?

"Pig sooie," Perry said. "Pig sooie. I don’t think I had pork for the next two months after that game. It was a wild atmosphere, and once again, coming in and Arkansas was throwing the first punch. They did that. And we knew going in we always respected Arkansas. And knowing they’re going to play hard. It’s going to be tough. This is a tough place to play at. With the fans there and the pig sooie it can get a little wild."

Perry has been working with five cornerbacks who are competing for the starting spots. Among the five are redshirt senior Julian Neal, 6-2, 208; sophomore Selman Bridges, 6-2, 185; redshirt senior Kani Walker, 6-2, 204; redshirt junior Jaheim Singletary, 6-2, 201; and junior Keshawn Davila, 6-1, 165. Redshirt senior Jordan Young, 6-0, 198, is a transfer from Cincinnati who is working at cornerback and the Hog spot.

"All the new additions have been a breath of fresh air," Perry said. "Julian, he brings experience. Obviously, he brings size, speed, and we all see him out there – the guy can play. And Jordan Young, he played a lot of ball in Cincinnati, and he's bringing that experience with him as well. A lot of these guys that we've added, even Kani Walker, even adding the freshman Nigel Pringle, the biggest thing for them, we have flexibility now. We have a lot of depth. The guys that can play man-to-man coverage, guys that can be physical in the run game, and guys that can take the ball away. And that's the emphasis we're putting on them this camp. and in the spring, and over the summer – we've got to get more takeaways. And we've been doing that thus far."

Perry talked about how important it is to find who will be the cornerbacks and then possibly move the others to the back end of the secondary at safety or the Hog.

"Really it’s really open," Perry said. "We’re all competing. It’s only been day five guys. We added some guys and this is a good problem to have. We have some guys that are all competing. They’re all making each other better. We’re only as good as our weakest link and right now we have none. So whoever marches out there on the first game, they’re going to be ready."

Arkansas Defensive Coordinator Travis Williams has said he feels Perry coaching wide receivers for a year in the NFL helped him.

"It was tough," Perry said. "Being on offense for a year is eye opening, you know. Usually when you’re coaching a position you see your 11 guys on your respective side of the football. When I went to offense I was able to see all 22 at that point. And so learning how - it’s like a puzzle - learning how the pieces fit and then learning what receivers like to do, because I’ve been in those meeting rooms, I’ve coached it. And now, it’s like a double agent. I’m saying, ‘OK, this is what they’re trying to do. This is how we can attack them.’ We play defense for a living and at cornerback we always want to take the fight to them. I don’t want to play defense for 60 minutes. I want to play a little offense. That’s fun as well."

Arkansas could have starting safeties one 6-4, 226, and other 6-1, 222. If that as big a weapon as it appears?

"Yeah, I mean, it's throwback football, and whenever we have size out there and we have speed that can keep up, that's gonna make it hard for offenses," Perry said. "They've got to game plan us as well."

Arkansas will be off on Wednesday before returning to the practice fields on Thursday at 9:15 a.m