Bret Bielema, new assistants meet with media

NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. WAMPLER Arkansas football head coach Bret Bielema talks Sunday Dec. 6, 2015 about the Razorbacks' invitation to attend the Liberty Bowl in Memphis playing against Kansas State. The hogs won five of their last six games to become bowl eligible.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. WAMPLER Arkansas football head coach Bret Bielema talks Sunday Dec. 6, 2015 about the Razorbacks' invitation to attend the Liberty Bowl in Memphis playing against Kansas State. The hogs won five of their last six games to become bowl eligible.

— Follow along as Bret Bielema and new assistant coaches John Scott Jr. and Chad Walker meet with the media Tuesday.

Bret Bielema

— One more defensive GA position to fill, but everyone else is here and working.

— "Herb is overwhelmed with how everyone has performed the first four weeks of our program."

— Had a number of players honored for All-SEC academic. Something important to him.

— The nine early enrollees have fit in really well. Had good gains in the weight room. "Our upperclassmen have been really helpful with them."

— All the prospects are on track to graduate and be here this summer, including TE Jeremy Patton.

— Grayson Gunter had shoulder surgery and will be no-contact in spring ball. May do some route running.

— Dre Greenlaw is taking an active leadership role with the linebackers. He's kept his weight down.

— John Scott Jr. will take the front 3 and came highly recommended by college and NFL coaches.

— Scott and Kurt Anderson getting promoted every year is telling.

— Scott will recruit Atlanta, Carolina and maybe into Texas.

— Walker was someone he had to wait for but really wanted to talk to. Had his wife in town last week, already has a house. "He's not afraid to make moves." He'll take outside linebackers. Vernon Hargraves will take inside linebackers. Paul Rhoads and GA's will handle the secondary.

— Getting the 10th coach could affect how they'll prioritize special teams. Rory Segrest didn't have any special teams responsibilities aside from working with the kicker, punter and snapper.

— On hiring NFL coaches: Really wanted a technician when they hired Kurt Anderson. "It's been a marriage made in heaven. Our offensive linemen grew a lot last year." That steered him toward who he hired this year. John Scott was recommended by Jerry Montgomery. Chad Walker was one of the few names of potential candidates on both his and Paul Rhoads' lists.

— One of the OLB's will be more outside in space. The other will be more inside. The two ILB's will be guys who don't leave the box as much.

— Karl Roessler is an OLB. Randy Ramsey and Michael Taylor are 2 others.

— Bijhon Jackson, Briston Guidry and Austin Capps would be true NG types and hold the gap. The rest would be DE's. Jonathan Marshall could play at nose.

— "One of the things you like about the 3-4 is bringing pressure off the edges and up the middle."

— Dwayne Eugene might be a guy who could play inside and outside.

— "We do have one scholarship left and we're actively recruiting inside guys."

— Realized early on at Wisconsin that he had to make a staff his own. Wanted to hire football coaches, not friends. Has a five-step process that he goes through when he hires coaches. It's one thing to talk to a DL coach who worked with a LB coach, but it's another to talk to the TE coach who goes against the LB coach every day. Robb Smith was one of the two most personal hires he's made. Doesn't like going that route, but will if they're the best man for the job. Didn't really know the 2 new hires.

— Paul Rhoads' contract is done.

— Chad Walker was a name he knew through Mike Stoops. He'd been with Nick Saban at LSU and Miami. Everything kept coming back positive about him. People reached out after the fact about both guys praising the hire.

— Didn't talk to Kliff Kingsbury about Scott.

— "I think one of the driving forces of why hired them comes down to recruiting." A lot of recruiting comes down to personality. Both guys are meticulous and detail-oriented.

— They have the foundation of defensive terminology and the playbook. Every day he gets a big package of notes documenting how the new installation is going.

— Kevin Richardson is cleared and involved in everything. Been one of their better leaders. He and Greenlaw were 2 of the guys missed most.

— Kofi Boateng is cleared but still wearing a knee brace. He'll ditch the brace after spring. Has to get confidence in the knee.

— Walker can recruit anywhere. Thinks he'll be in East Texas and Houston. Has strong ties in Louisiana.

— Camps will probably be the same as last year, 10 days in the middle of summer. Helped big time last year.

— He's offered a job for a 10th coach if it happens. Been courting them for a few months. Has a plan B if it doesn't work in their favor. Some schools can hire a guy as a quality control assistant and then promote them if the 10th spot becomes available. They aren't able to do that.

— No one has flipped from one side of the ball to the other, but they're interested to see what T.J. Hammonds can do at WR. Hayden Johnson will get looks at FB and TE. There could be some OLB/DE depending on situations.

— Had 3-4 guys on the NFL combine waiting list in December and they all got in. Fun to correspond with NFL guys when you feel strong about them. Thinks there's a few guys who didn't get invited to the combine but have a niche and can be free agent guys.

— Guys who stay and work with Herb perform well at the combine. Hunter Henry didn't last year and didn't perform well, then came back and worked with Herb and did really well.

— The hardest drill today will be a mat drill. Five minutes of intensity the players don't want to repeat. One drill incorporates cornhole after they've been pushed. "You say the word cornhole and they all smile until they realize what they have to do to get there."

— Don't have finish lines anymore. Call them strain lines instead.

— Dee Walker could be inside or outside. He's good when he wants to play. Giovanni LaFrance will be an ILB and play Mike.

John Scott Jr.

— Happy to be here. "I'm very excited about the University of Arkansas." Excited about the opportunity to coach in the SEC.

— Has a lot of coaching buddies in college because he's spent most of his career there. Got a text from a friend asking if he'd want to come back to college and he responded that it'd have to be a special opportunity, something in the SEC or similar. Got a text the next day saying he might get a call from coach Bielema. He did and that's how it got started.

— Learned the 3-4 as a GA. Ran the 3-4 at Missouri State, Texas State and the Jets. More than half of his stops have been 3-4.

— It's hard enough to get 3 DL, but it's even harder to get 4. You can disguise more blitzes and do more stuff than when you're playing with 4 traditional linemen. With the way college is trending, you have to be able to adapt to formations and tempo.

— You learn so much so fast in the NFL because all you do is football. No recruiting or other stuff. They watch so much tape during the offseason. You learn a lot of little things you wouldn't have time for in college. Todd Bowles is a genius and it comes from watching so much film and having that time to study the game.

— Enjoyed his time in the NFL. Approached it planning to stay until there was a great opportunity that made him want to do something else.

— Recruiting is something that has always come pretty easy. Recruiting is building relationships. "The good lord has blessed me with a calm personality" and demeanor. "You could put me in Timbuktu and I'd find the best player in Timbuktu." Has always recruited Georgia at every stop. Recruited Texas and Houston heavily at Texas Tech. Recruited Tulsa while at Missouri State.

— Has met with his players 1 time and several guys have stopped by. "They seem like a very hungry group." Has heard they take care of business off the field, which correlates to on the field.

— Spent the last 2 days grinding it out and piecing together terminology and the playbook with the other defensive coaches. "We've got some really, really good football coaches in that room."

— Met Rhoads in 2009 when he was at Missouri State while working an Iowa State football camp. Would see him at coaches conventions. Saw him while he was in the Big 12.

— Excited to be a defensive coach with the style offense Arkansas has. Having a physical offense allows the defense to be more physical because it's what they face every day in practice. Slows down spread offenses because they aren't on the field as much. "Very excited to be on the other end of that instead of the receiving end of that."

Chad Walker

— Really excited and thrilled to be at Arkansas. Has watched the program from afar with much respect. Speaking to NFL people, realized how highly respected Bielema is. Really excited to work with Rhoads. Got to see him while he was at OU and Rhoads was at Iowa State. Respected how hard they played.

— Has family from Arkansas, from Springdale and Fort Smith. Was here in 2000 in Little Rock. Quentin Caver had a pick-6 and it was a tough day.

— Extremely quick turnaround after the Super Bowl. Left, flew back. Mix of emotions after the game. It was really tough. Bielema called him that night. He hadn't considered leaving before, but "when an opportunity arises like this, that's something you have to do."

— On if he feels he's a 3-4 guy: "I consider myself a football coach." He's been in every scheme possible at one time or another.

— The 3-4 allows you to get more players in space. The fourth rusher can come from anywhere.

— Just got here, but looking forward to working with the staff. Rhoads is extremely thorough, passionate and what he thought he would be.

— Flew in Thursday with his wife. Went house hunting and got all that stuff out of the way. First day was Monday.

— There's a lot to take from the NFL because it's football all the time. In a lot of meetings. You learn how to relate to different guys and what motivates them. You learn in-game adjustments.

— Recruited the eastern seaboard and Texas while he was at Bryant.

— Nick Saban is a mentor of his. Gave him his first opportunity. He opened a lot of doors for him. Had tons of mentors along the way. Didn't talk to Saban about the job but they have a good relationship.

— The Super Bowl stings as a competitor, but you've got to move on and learn from what went on and what went well.

— Hasn't seen any film on his new players, which is on purpose so he doesn't have any preconceived notions.

— Looking forward to working with Scott Jr.

— OLBs have to affect the QB in pass-rushing situations, hunt the ball and be great tacklers. Those things don't change.

— Thinks his biggest strength as a coach is his ability to relate to guys and be himself.

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