FAYETTEVILLE — The stickers on the Arkansas players' helmets aren't necessarily for big plays on the football field, which is why a backup who hasn't played much might have several stickers.
"The things that we probably put more leverage on are away from the game," Coach Bret Bielema said. "So if you have a 3.0 [grade-point average], then you get recognized. If you're an academic All-SEC player, you get recognition for it, short-term G.P.A. as well as long term."
Good plays also win stickers, but they're only given out after victories.
Bielema said things like a third-down catch or a third-down tackle yield stickers, as well as hitting certain weekly grade-performance standards or being on two or more special-teams units.
Performances in road victories are weighted.
"A sticker might be worth one for a home game, but worth two on the road just because we understand the importance of and the difficulty of doing that," Bielema said. "Also, if you beat a ranked opponent versus an unranked opponent, there is a little bit more [emphasis]."