The last time for Arkansas coaches to have major fun came Monday.
Three days before players report and four days ahead of the first football practice, Chad Morris sent his coaching staff to Paradise Valley Golf and Athletic Club to spend some time with the media.
There were formal interviews ahead of lunch with Morris and strength coach Trumain Carroll, then time for one-on-one with all members of the coaching staff. Then there was golf.
I hit the daily double (an old Oaklawn Park term) when assigned to the golf group of John Chavis, the defensive coordinator. And there was a 30-minute lunch alone with Joe Craddock, the offensive coordinator.
There were multiple highlights, but there were two that stand out. The first came when Craddock and I discussed our golf-playing fathers. Craddock is the Morris staffer with the best swing, a full turn with a driver that unleashes dead-straight 300-yard smashes.
Offensive line coach Dustin Fry is a long hitter, too, but he doesn’t have Craddock’s polish. Tight ends coach Barry Lunney has a finished game, but his lefty swing lacks power and won’t subdue the par fives like Craddock.
Craddock’s father probably can outplay anyone that participated Monday at Paradise Valley. There may be a treat soon when Craddock gets a new Ping set as fitted by Arkansas golf coach Brad McMakin. Craddock is going to send his old set to his father in Alabama.
“He’s got a set of blades he’s been hitting since college,” Craddock said. “There are no metal woods. It’s those old wooden heads that no one plays anymore. I so want to get him new equipment, but he won’t. I want to get him a new set because he’s leaving a lot on the table as far as distance.”
I told him that’s what I once did for my father when I started Hawgs Illustrated magazine 26 years ago and my income changed. Craddock did better than that a year ago when he replaced his dad’s 20-year old S-10 pickup with a new Silverado.
“That old truck was falling apart,” he said. “He’d worn the rubber off the steering wheel. The console was falling apart.”
The presentation of the new truck has to be a great memory.
“He cried,” Craddock said. “I didn’t because I was having so much fun. Everyone was watching, and there is some video.”
It’s still in Craddock’s phone, so I got the treat of watching. It tells you about all you need to know about a father and son, a wonderful moment in their lives.
There was a great moment of a different time just before a thunderstorm cut the round short by about three holes. I was thankful of the approaching weather. I’d grown weary, and what’s left of my bad swing was falling into pieces.
I’d worm myself out walking around in the rough looking for my group’s stray shots. Carts had to stay on paths because of morning rains. I was trying to be the nice guy. In the end, I had to chew some pain pills for my old knees before bed.
I was about out of gas when we reached No. 13, a 140-yard par three. It was there that Morris and a few of his administrative staffers were camped all day. They had tables with dozens of Razorback logo golf balls that they were handing out to anyone who could hit the green.
Chavis did better than that. He came within one foot of a hole in one with his perfect No. 8 iron. With everyone cheering at the back of the tee box, Cha-vis hit a towering shot toward the approaching black clouds.
That’s when his inner “Chief” came tumbling out. He took one glance to see the perfection of his slashing swing, then turned his back on the green and strode toward Morris. As everyone hollered, it hit 18 inches from the cup and popped up to the lip, then spun back to 12 inches. I thought it may have disappeared for an instant.
Chavis struck a pose in front of the head coach. I warned him to be careful with that kind of shot. Morris might be thinking there had been too much golf this summer.
No, not really. Chavis has been solid on the recruiting trails all spring and summer. He’s been on the road the maximum days allowed, chasing top defensive prospects with the likes of Steve Caldwell, his long-time ends coach from their Tennessee days.
Caldwell told me before golf that his buddy has displayed “more intensity than I can ever recall. He’s always been intense and good on the road (in recruiting). But he’s been at a higher level this year.”
I mentioned that to Chavis, and he said, “The only way to get better is to go recruit better players. That’s what we are doing.”
Actually, Chavis said the Hogs are getting better. He gave a tip of the cap to Carroll for making players faster and stronger this summer.
Oh, there was one more treat on the day. I’d sent a text to a friend about the pairing with Chief. Almost immediately a text arrived with a picture of Chavis from his Tennessee playing days – with a wild and crazy hairdo that was common in the 1970s. Let’s just call it big hair.
“I love it,” Chavis said. “That picture has popped up through the years, and my players have always gotten a kick out of it. I had a momma put my picture and her son’s picture side by side a few years ago. Our hair matched.”
I don’t know if Chief smiled more after his golf shot, or when I showed our group that picture on the seventh tee.
We had so much fun. Chip Souza, Bobby Swofford and Alyssa Orange were the rest of our team. We were at 6-under, probably as good as we deserved for our ability, when the storm made us head for the clubhouse.
None of us played particularly well, but I didn’t lose a golf ball and found five that other groups decided not to hunt.
I gave the sleeve that Morris presented to Swofford. He needs more golf balls than me. He hits it 310 with a little hook. Some turn over and can be found. Some go straight and can’t be found. Others turn way too hard and are gone for sure.
There was a towering Swofford drive on No. 10 that was John Daly like. It needed to go about 290 with a hook to finish in front of the green. From an elevated tee and with the wind at our back, it went 330 and around some pines right at the green. I was sure it was perfect. We never found it, and it probably trickled into the lake within 15 yards of the pin.
There was some football talk. I wanted to know from Chief if there are any linebackers behind Dre Greenlaw and Scoota Harris. Chavis is the linebackers coach.
“I think Dee Walker is going to be fine,” Chief said. “I’ve got to get him ready. He’s got the speed. I will get him ready.
“Hayden Henry is going to play, too. Henry is a swing guy. He’s going to be cross-trained, him inside and at (strong side). There will be times we play against teams that we match with three linebackers. He’ll be the (strong side).
“Then, he’ll play in the nickel, too, against others. We want to get him on the field as much as possible. He’s got the intensity, and he knows (the scheme).”
I asked both Craddock and Chavis for the player that gives them the pulse of their respective units. The answer: Hjalte Froholdt, Dre Greenlaw and Santos Ramirez — all of whom say the team is ready.
“(Dre) is going to tell me if there’s something going on that I need to know,” Chavis said. “And he’ll probably get it fixed.”
“(Froholdt) is my guy,” Fry said of the O-line room. “He coached our line all summer when (coaches) can’t be out there. He’s like a coach on the field. He knows the details of our scheme. He knows all five spots and could get it taught to our young players.
“I’d say he’s the pulse of our entire offense.”
Craddock agreed, but we talked more golf and family than anything else Monday. It was a time for building relationships.
That’s what Morris is all about. I see it with everything he does from recruiting to player development and the way he’s reached out to media. No Arkansas coach has worked harder in that aspect since Frank Broyles.
Of course, my days go all the way back to the 1960s when my family headed to Broyles’ house after Fayetteville games for steak dinner. Barbara Broyles cooked for the staff and a selected few of the media that included my father.
Past UA coaches have played in the golf outing, spending time with a foursome. That’s not what Morris wanted to do Monday. He stayed at that 13th tee to see everyone for a fun 15 minutes as the pairings rolled through.
Our group started on No. 1, so we were the last to get there. There wasn’t a closest-to-the-hole contest, something Chief would have easily won. If we would have done it right, our group should have headed to the clubhouse after Chief picked up the sure gimme.
That would have been the way to launch us all into football season. Yes, I know everyone is ready for a prediction on the season. I won’t do that today. I always wait until fall camp is done. Right now, I’m just going to try to get the soreness out from Monday’s golf, the first for me in three years.
There may not be another round until Morris calls us together at the end of next summer. I won’t miss it, but I will leave the stray shots in the woods next time.
Clay Henry can be reached at chenry@nwadg.com.