Winston a natural leader

Pre-game talk fires defense, pleases coaches

Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen is pressured by defensive end JaMichael Winston during the Razorbacks' spring game Saturday, April 25, 2015, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen is pressured by defensive end JaMichael Winston during the Razorbacks' spring game Saturday, April 25, 2015, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- First, Arkansas defensive end JaMichael Winston talked a good game Saturday.

Then he played one.

Winston, a redshirt junior, had three sacks for 13 yards in losses to help Arkansas' starters dominate the backups in a 62-18 victory for the Red team over the White team in an intrasquad scrimmage for the 15th and final spring practice.

Winston's performance on the field came after he talked to his teammates at the request of defensive coordinator Robb Smith.

"It was intense," weakside linebacker Brooks Ellis said of Winston's pregame talk. "He was getting after us."

Ellis, a junior, said listening to Winston reminded him of how Martrell Spaight -- an All-SEC first-team linebacker -- talked to the team last season.

Sophomore middle linebacker Khalia Hackett said Winston sounded like Trey Flowers, an All-SEC defensive end.

Flowers and Spaight are now both getting ready for the NFL Draft.

"It's good to see JaMichael come into a leadership role," Hackett said. "I look up to JaMichael. He's telling me what to do, how to go about things."

Hackett said Winston helped fire up the defense Saturday.

"It doesn't matter who he's going against, he's going 100 percent," Hackett said. "I think he was great today.

"That's just JaMichael. You don't have to worry about him. He's always going to get lined up right and know what he needs to do. It feels good to know you can trust an older teammate like him."

Winston said he'd never addressed the team prior to Saturday, but that he felt comfortable.

"I don't ever get nervous," Winston said. "I said, 'Just keep bringing the intensity like we've been doing for all the 14 other practices and show everybody what we're about.'"

The way the defense responded, maybe Smith should have Winston talk to the team more often.

"I kind of enjoyed it," Winston said. "Whatever Coach Smith wants, I'm going to do my best."

The Red defense held the White offense to one first down and 44 yards on 28 plays. In the first half, the White offense didn't have a first down and gained 12 yards on 16 plays.

"We practiced all week like we were going to play a game Saturday, then we came out and had a great day," Ellis said. "Everybody was flying around making plays."

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema, a former defensive coordinator, applauded the overall effort.

"Our defense is not flashy, they don't blitz five times out of every seven plays," Bielema said. "They line up and play solid fundamentals, keep the ball in front of them and hopefully keep an offense off the field."

Winston, who didn't have any sacks last season, said it was nice to get three Saturday.

"A lot of the time last year I was stopping the run," he said. "I showed I can rush the passer. It was fun to get on the edge and do that."

The Razorbacks finished 10th nationally in scoring defense (19.2 points per game) and total defense (323.4 yards) last season in Smith's first year at Arkansas, and players said Saturday they expect to improve for the 2015 season.

Winston said the Razorbacks now have a better understanding of how Smith wants them to play.

"As last season went along, he grew on us and we grew on him," Winston said. "Now this year, we know what he wants from us and what we've got to do."

Hackett said he believes the defense has shown progress even with the loss of Spaight, Flowers and defensive tackle Darius Philon.

"I really don't think we've missed a step," Hackett said. "I think we're going to be even better."

Winston figures to be a big part of any improvement as a returning starter who had 26 tackles last season. He's more physical playing at 270 pounds this spring, a gain of about 20 pounds from the fall.

"Mike's been a guy that has impressed me since I got here," Bielema said. "He's very consistent. He goes to work every day.

"He just shows up. He's always in the right spot. He's taken his game to another level this spring just because he kind of emerged out of the shadows of Trey and Darius a little bit.

"I think Mike can be a special player for us."

A special speaker, too.

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Sports on 04/26/2015

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