LITTLE ROCK — The latest in a series profiling Gulf South Conference football teams in Arkansas.
RUSSELLVILLE - Arkansas-Monticello Coach Gwaine Mathews recently was asked to pick which in-state Gulf South Conference team scared him the most.
"Tech," said Mathews, before giving "Jeff Byrd" as hisreason for choosing the Wonder Boys.
Byrd was hired in the offseason to be the defensive coordinator at Arkansas Tech after spending four seasons in that role at Southern Arkansas, coaching 13 All-Gulf South Conference players.
He helped the Muleriders finish 18th nationally in rushing defense last season at 96.8 yards per game and was a finalist for the Muleriders' head coaching job after Steve Quinn was not retained as coach.
Instead, Byrd came to Russellville to coordinate an Arkansas Tech defense that has struggled the past two seasons. The Wonder Boys finished 2008 tied for eighth in scoring defense in the 11-team Gulf South, giving up 33.6 points per game.
"Coach Byrd, he brought in a whole new attitude on football and how we looked at it," said senior linebacker Matt Kitchens, a three-year letterman and one of eight returning starters on defense. "He demands excellence in everything that we do. We go and we get people now."
Byrd's presence has been felt on offense, too.
"We expect greatness from Coach Byrd," senior running back Tim Childress said.
Greatness would be a tall order for the Wonder Boys' defense, or almost any defense in the Gulf South. Only two Gulf South teams, North Alabama and Valdosta State, gave up less than 23 points per game in 2008, with seven teams giving up 28 points or more. Four teams, including Arkansas Tech, surrendered more than 30 points a game and two gave up more than 40.
The way Arkansas Tech scores points, its defense might not have to produce shutouts.
"We haven't been where we've needed to be defensively the last few years," Wonder Boys Coach Steve Mullins said. "Moving the ball is something we've been able to do."
If the season opener is any indication, that should continue in 2009. The Wonder Boys gained 460 yards in Thursday's44-32 victory over Northeastern (Okla.) State.
Mullins is hoping his history of success with transfer quarterbacks continues with Nevada transfer Nick Graziano, who threw for 354 yards Thursday. Unlike his predecessor, former Arkansas transfer Cole Barthel, Graziano doesn't have go-to receivers Justin Ray and Tracey Stiger, who exhausted their eligibility last season.
What Graziano does have is experienced receivers, starting with seniors Rolaundo Wright, Frantz Simeon and Landon Turner. Childress will be part of a running back rotation that returns all major players from last season, including sophomore Joby Hills and junior Cody Burns.
If Arkansas Tech continues to score a lot of points, it would count as business as usual in Russellville. It's stopping people that has been a struggle, and it's what Byrd has been hired to fix.
"Jeff is an intense person," Mullins said. "There is a new enthusiasm. If we can create three or four more stops than we had last year, we have a chance to be a better team."
Sports, Pages 21, 28 on 08/29/2009