FAYETTEVILLE — Notes from Bret Bielema, Dan Enos and Robb Smith's Monday press conferences.
BRET BIELEMA
— The offensive MVPs from Friday were RB Rawleigh Williams and WR Keon Hatcher.
— Defensive scout MVP was Grant Morgan, working at MLB. Drew Morgan's younger brother.
— Brooks Ellis and Deatrich Wise. Ellis had zero mental busts. Bielema said Wise was a "pretty special guy" all year long.
— WR Luke Rossi was the offensive scout MVP for impersonating Taylor. He'll travel this week.
— Ryder Lucas and Toby Baker special teams MVP. Scout-team special teams MVP was Tyler Phillips.
— Bielema notes Arkansas' recent success in big road games, beginning at LSU last year.
— TE Austin Cantrell was a bit "groggy" after his hit on the punt return, so they pulled him out. But he'll be able to practice tomorrow.
— CB Kevin Richardson is out for the year with a pectoral injury. Looking at a four-month rehab. Bielema said losing him will have to be absorbed by depth. He was a backup at a lot of positions and manned the nickel spot at a lot of times.
— DJ Dean will be back this week. He's listed as the backup to Jared Collins at field corner. Without Richardson, look for him and Henre' Toliver to play a lot of nickel
— Jared Collins had been nursing a back injury, which limited him Saturday. Shouldn't affect him much moving forward.
— Hjalte Froholdt graded out mid-70s. Bielema said not great, but not unexpected for a first start. Not many mistakes were mental. May need to harness his aggression better.
— Bielema was impressed with Kenny Hill's performance for TCU on Saturday. Also said he liked Michigan transfer Derrick Green at RB. Green was a potential transfer option for Arkansas, but Bielema said the staff liked the depth at RB.
— Bielema says Toliver will probably play more nickel with Richardson out, which means Ryan Pulley is the starter at boundary corner.
— DeAndre Coley and Santos Ramirez will compete for the starting job this week in practice. Rough game at times for Ramirez that included missed tackles, being a step slow in coverage and other issues.
— Bielema said he thought press coverage threw La Tech off. Of note, two field and boundary corners pressed on 14 plays apiece out of 54, so while markedly more than in the past, it wasn't an every down occurrence by any means. Bielema noted that TCU will definitely spread them out and present a challenge with putting players in space.
— Bielema said controlling possession will be key against TCU's up-tempo attack. Noted some of the teams that blew leads over the weekend had it happen by quick three-and-outs with turnovers.
— Bielema said Austin Allen was maybe overly critical on himself. Noted he had four drops factoring into his stats.
— Bielema said RB Devwah Whaley will "without a doubt" play more moving forward. Said he was great after the game and yesterday. Noted they wanted to get T.J. Hammond and Duwop Mitchell in there, too.
— Bielema said Hatcher was "the Keon I saw of old." Liked a few of his blocks on La Tech DEs. Noted that Hatcher broke a tackle attempt in which the defender tried to yank him down by his hair, then cracked that several media members probably wish they had the hair for that to be an option.
— With the way the game went, the coaching staff opted against DeJon Harris getting any snaps at MLB. Ellis played the entire game.
— Bielema said they want FB Hayden Johnson to grade out better, but he was improved in the second half, especially late.
— Bielema lauds Gary Patterson as a defensive coach, looks back upon Wisconsin's meeting with the Horned Frogs in the Rose Bowl. Notes how unique their 4-2-5 look is, enhanced by some of their personnel.
DAN ENOS
— Notes that Rawleigh Williams was solid and he expects him to get better.
— Said he thought Austin Allen was "average." Had his good moments, but said at times he didn't play within himself and tried to make plays happen that weren't there, referencing his second interception where he tried to force a ball in after a receiver ran the wrong route rather than throwing it away. But said he liked how he played his best in the most critical moments of the game.
— Said pass protection has to be better, but everything was very fixable. The issues varied, with different positions having issues at different times. Liked the line's physicality.
— Praised Keon Hatcher's impact, noted him fighting through two attempts to be tackled by his hair. Obviously Hatcher was key on the game-winning drive.
— Said Bielema's decision to go for it was "awesome." "You can't play with scared money."
— Said the fourth-down touchdown was a special play they work on. Said Froholdt was a big reason the play worked.
— Compared playing at TCU to another SEC game. "Might as well add another one."
— Said Hayden Johnson had his best drive of the game on the final one where the Hogs ran the clock out.
— Expects Dominique Reed will figure in each and every week. "We'd love to get him going."
— Noted Devwah Whaley was one block away from having big runs on both of his carries.
ROBB SMITH
— Said Kevin Richardson is one of his favorites and Hogs will have to adjust using their depth at corner, shuffling guys to different spots. Seems like Toliver and Dean will both likely figure in at nickel. Dean is listed behind Jared Collins at field corner. Collins played every snap against Louisiana Tech, so odds are most, if not all, of Dean's snaps will come at nickel.
— Noted DeAndre Coley has been coming on since spring and they reward players who play well. Said competition helps everyone.
— Entire emphasis this week will be preparing for TCU's tempo.
— Said Brooks Ellis was in the right place all the time and handled La Tech trying to get him matched up on Taylor well. Said his biggest job this week will be managing Hogs' tempo to match TCU's.
— Tevin Beanum is back listed as the first-team defensive end heading into the TCU game. Enos said he liked the way he practice last week and thought he played fast.
— Said Randy Ramsey will have a niche and the staff is cooking up ways to utilize his abilities as a pass rusher.