Football is hard to play, but sometimes that's what makes the game special, former University of Arkansas offensive lineman Marcus Elliott said.
Elliott, a two-time All-Southwest Conference performer, told members of the Rotary Club of West Pine Bluff and high school football players and coaches Thursday that playing under Lou Holtz helped him learn how to envision success when things aren't going as well as expected.
"For us to succeed and get to the next level, we've got to start with having vision and seeing ourselves as successful," said Elliott, who played with the Razorbacks under Holtz from 1981-83 and under Ken Hatfield in 1984. "So, here's what we did -- before every game, and before every practice, we get taped up, we put our pads on ... and he would make us go down to that indoor facility and lay flat on the ground on our backs."
Holtz would bring out a big boombox for music, Elliott said, and play what he called "spooky soft music" as he gave the Razorbacks instructions and play calls while they lay down with their eyes closed.
"He would go through the first 15 plays of every game or every practice as we lay there on the turf ... just visualizing success, just visualizing how to be successful," Elliott said.
He added that Holtz, better known for winning the 1988 national championship at the University of Notre Dame, instituted the practice after a heavily talented 8-4 Razorback team that stunned then-No. 1 University of Texas in 1981 lost the Gator Bowl to the University of North Carolina at the end of that season. The 1982 Hogs defeated the University of Florida in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl to finish 9-2-1.
Elliott, a health care administrator and frequent guest on KABZ-FM 103.7's afternoon talk show "DriveTime Sports," spoke to players and coaches from at least nine southeast Arkansas high schools, as well as assistant coaches from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
Elliott said he likes second-year UA Coach Sam Pittman, whose Hogs are coming off a 3-7 season and had a bowl game canceled because of covid-19 issues afffecting opponent Texas Christian University.
"I feel an obligation to be honest," Elliott said. "I think Pittman ... I like him. I think he's a football guy. I think they needed a football guy for a long time, and I think he's going to do a great job coaching and developing what he has. But I think the problem is, in that league, you've got a lot of teams that are super, super talented. You've got teams with so many resources. ... I think Arkansas can show they are so much improved, and they may not win much more than three or four games. I mean, they could literally be better, but that conference is loaded. The SEC [Southeastern Conference] is crazy."
Any complaints over Elliott's honesty might not amount to the criticism he says he got in lobbying the NCAA and states over the radio to pass laws allowing college athletes to benefit financially from their names, images and likenesses, a practice that previously would have risked a student-athlete's eligibility.
Twenty-three states including Arkansas have passed such legislation, with varying effective dates, according to BusinessofCollegeSports.com. Arkansas' NIL law will go into effect Jan. 1, 2022.
"I think the best thing that could happen to a program from Arkansas is name, image and likeness," Elliott said. "I think it puts them in the game with Alabama when it comes to recruiting. I think that same five-star that normally would never consider the Razorbacks -- they've heard about Walmart; they've heard about Tyson, they've heard about Stephens Inc. -- so they feel some type of opportunity from that corporation. Arkansas just may have an opportunity in the future with name, image and likeness."
Pine Bluff High School Coach Rod Stinson said the new policy would have been beneficial to the Razorbacks when he played with them from 1997-2000.
"I played with Anthony Lucas and Clint Stoerner, Kenoy Kennedy, all those guys who were big-time during that time in the SEC, so I think it would have helped them a lot," Stinson said.
He played on three Arkansas teams that played in bowl games, including the 1999 team that stunned defending national champion University of Tennessee and routed the University of Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
"I think any kid that has a chance to make some income off of their name and likeness, they should be able to," Stinson said.
Former Pine Bluff and White Hall assistant coach Antonio Lovelady brought two of his standouts to the luncheon as Dumas' new head coach. Lovelady replaced George Shelton, who's now leading the program at Elliott's alma mater, Little Rock Central.
"It's been a position I've kind of been looking at for years," Lovelady said. "[Dumas Superintendent Kelvin] Gragg reached out, and I was definitely interested. We just got the ball rolling from there."
Establishing the right mindset, Lovelady said, is key for a team that graduated many players from a 9-4 Bobcats team that reached the third round of the 4A state playoffs.
"Just getting them into the routine of how we want to do things and go about it from week to week," Lovelady said.
