FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema has already begun to scheme up ways to improve the Razorbacks' defense in 2017, and one of the measures could mean a fundamental change to the front.
"I'm tinkering around with doing a little 3-4 stuff in the future," Bielema said during a far-reaching Monday news conference.
Bielema has employed a four-man front as a base defense since he took the Arkansas job in 2013, but his background featured plenty of three-man fronts.
"I played in a 3-4. That's what I originally started in," he said. "I got into coaching and the transition to the 4-3 was a big deal for me."
Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith, who has a background at Iowa, like Bielema, and has also worked with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL, said he liked the idea of having different alignments at his disposal.
"Any time you can create some flexibility, especially in your front seven, [it's good]," Smith said. "We did some things like that in Tampa with 3-4 packages, and it allowed us to alternate who the fourth rusher is and the various ways to bring the fifth rusher.
"I think all those ways are positives for us moving forward. I'm excited about exploring those avenues in the offseason."
The multitude of offenses Arkansas faced with dual-threat quarterbacks, which presented a constant stream of run-pass options, took its toll on the Hogs statistically.
Arkansas will enter the Belk Bowl against Virginia Tech -- led by multi-talented quarterback Jerod Evans -- ranked 75th in the nation in total defense, allowing 428.7 yards per game. The Razorbacks are 94th against the run, allowing 209.3 yards per game.
"It certainly hasn't gone the way we wanted it to," Smith said. "We haven't performed to our standards or our expectations or to how we performed in the past."
The Razorbacks allowed 543 rushing yards, the most in school history, in their 56-3 loss at Auburn, and although the Tigers out-flanked Arkansas on a few plays in that game -- notably Eli Stove's 78-yard touchdown around left end on Auburn's first offensive snap -- much of their damage was done between the tackles.
Bielema said having a bigger nose guard in a three-man front has an appeal. The Razorbacks put weight on Taiwan Johnson to work at the 3-technique tackle spot in 2015 after his breakout year as a 260-pound nose guard in 2014. Johnson went back to nose guard as a 284-pounder this season.
However, Arkansas also lost leverage on a number of edge runs through the course of the season, and the addition of speed at two outside linebacker spots could help contend with that.
"It's a little bit of [adding speed], and I think [with] the offenses you're seeing, the dexterity to be able to play in space and having the ability to bring pressure on both sides," he said. "To be able to put more pressure on the offense by what we do defensively."
Bielema said several SEC teams are running 3-4 schemes but employing stand-up players with linebacker-type bodies up at the line to create a 4-3.
"They have guys that are doing a little of both," Bielema said. "I think we have those kind of guys. A guy like Michael Taylor. A guy like Randy Ramsey, and like a couple of the guys we're recruiting that have the ability to run like a linebacker but are also able to get a rush at D-end."
Bielema went into the 3-4 discussion when he was asked about freshman defensive lineman Jonathan Marshall, who is redshirting this year.
"He'll be a guy that can probably be that heavy 5 [end] or a 3-technique," Bielema said. "In recruiting, we'll also kind of address that with junior college stuff, [get] some bigger inside players."
Bielema said college football is trending back to a place it has been before in terms of defensive alignments.
"I liked the ability to have consistently [two] outside linebackers and two inside guys," he said. "That's what I grew up with. The game of football kind of evolved to the 4-3, and now it's kind of going the other way."
Smith said the idea of using more 3-4 fronts isn't a brand-new concept for the Hogs.
"It's kind of been talked about a little bit within these walls for a while," he said. "I'll let Coach B go into that stuff in greater detail, but I think it's something we're going to put some time and energy and effort into, and see where it takes us."
Sports on 12/13/2016