Arkansas football

Bearers of 'Bad News'

Hogs defense out to make a name for itself

Robb Smith, Arkansas defensive coordinator, speaks to his players during practice Saturday, April 18, 2015, at the university's practice facility in Fayetteville.
Robb Smith, Arkansas defensive coordinator, speaks to his players during practice Saturday, April 18, 2015, at the university's practice facility in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas' football team is appearing in plenty of preseason top 25 polls, but the defense is flying under the radar.

Way under.

Six Razorbacks were voted onto three all-conference offensive teams at SEC media days last month, but not one Arkansas player was named to any of the 33 spots on defense.

"They didn't get a whole lot of love going into last year and they ended up being one of the top-10 defenses in the country," said Arkansas senior tailback Jonathan Williams, a second-team All-SEC pick at media days. "I expect to see that again this year."

Four players from last season's defense were NFL Draft picks: first-team All-SEC linebacker Martrell Spaight, second-team All-SEC end Trey Flowers, second-team All-SEC tackle Darius Philon and cornerback Tevin Mitchel. Two other seniors, safety Alan Turner and linebacker Braylon Mitchell, signed as free agents.

"The only truly big name we had on defense was Trey, and you saw all the great things that happened," Arkansas senior offensive guard Sebastian Tretola said. "We have guys that are definitely under the radar, but they know how to play this game very, very well."

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said he's excited about the defense despite the lack of name recognition and added he believes it can be a "very special" group.

"I've kind of been giving them the tag line, 'The Bad News Bears,' " Bielema said at SEC media days, referencing the 1976 movie about a Little League baseball team. "For those of you that have the vintage to remember that movie, they're a bunch of guys that nobody really had a strong game but played well together

"I think that's what our defense is. We've got a bunch of no-name guys that could be very successful together, and I'm excited to see them work."

Junior cornerback Jared Collins said the defensive players don't mind Bielema calling them no-names or Bad News Bears.

"We know what he meant by saying that," Collins said. "I think it's good to let the media know we don't care who gets the credit."

The key returner on defense is coordinator Robb Smith, who in his first season helped Arkansas finish ninth nationally in scoring defense (19.2 points per game) and 10th in total defense (323.4 yards per game) after the Razorbacks were 89th (30.8 ppg) and 76th (413.4 ypg) in 2013.

"They're so sound in what they do," Arkansas senior quarterback Brandon Allen said. "They're so well-coached.

"Coach Smith has really got them going. They don't make a lot of mistakes, they don't blow a lot of coverages. They're where they're supposed to be 98 percent of the time, and that's tough to go against.

"They're making our offense a lot better because we get to see them every day."

Junior linebacker Brooks Ellis said the defense can't focus on the losses of players now in NFL training camps.

"They're always talking about the guys that left," Ellis said. "We've got to make a name for ourselves and prove to everybody we can be as good as we think we can be. That's what we're going to do."

Bielema took Williams, Allen and senior receiver Keon Hatcher to SEC media days but said the absence of a defensive player wasn't because he doesn't believe in that group.

Bielema has a policy of rewarding seniors with extensive starting experience with a trip to media days, and the only senior on defense who started at least 10 games last season, safety Rohan Gaines, was suspended for the Texas Bowl because of disciplinary reasons.

Gaines returned to the team for spring practice and is listed at starting strong safety going into fall camp. Other defensive players with at least 10 starts last season are Collins, Ellis, junior tackle Taiwan Johnson and junior end JaMichael Winston.

Allen said those players will become more familiar in the SEC and nationally this season with new starters contributing more, too.

"A lot of no-name guys are going to make a big splash this year," Allen said. "A lot of guys that people may not know about now, but they will after the season."

Sports on 08/08/2015

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