LITTLE ROCK — Jerry Franklin, Jake Bequette, Joe Adams, Jarius Wright, Greg Childs, D.J. Williams and selected others had it.
No one had to teach it to them; they had it when they first stepped foot on the University of Arkansas campus. They have it now.
They have passion and pride for the Razorbacks.
They fought with every ounce of blood, sweat and tears to bring glory to the school they followed all or most of their lives.
It was OK that Bobby Petrino didn’t instill that into his recruits because he ruled by fear and intimidation and he got results that way.
Now, though, there are only a few who understand what it means to wear the Razorbacks uniform.
For sure Tyler Wilson does.
He grew up with it.
That’s why he wanted to address the media after the Alabama game and gave an impassioned plea to his teammates and fans to not give up. It was going to get better.
He didn’t say it, but he meant that if he had to put the team on his shoulders, that was what he would do.
Razorbacks pride, passion and tradition were why Wilson passed on leaving early for the NFL Draft last spring. He wanted to come back and keep the train rolling. He would have been carrying a clipboard in the NFL with a contract of around $10 million if he had left early.
The feeling that this year’s group of Razorbacks are missing the passion was never more obvious than the Alabama game, and when Wilson came back Saturday against Rutgers, he brought passion with him.
Yet, despite his Alabamasize blunder, it was John L. Smith speaking at the Little Rock Touchdown Club luncheon Monday who made it clear.
Yes, he said Alabama but he meant Arkansas, and he gets what this team means to this state. Certainly not everyone’s on board, but to a very large part of the state, what happens on Saturdays is incredibly important.
Smith got passionate when he talked about the great fans of Arkansas, calling them the best in the country.
More important, he said that when the team fought to come back against Rutgers, the fans were right there fighting, too.
Definitely some of the crowd had left, but those fans who stayed made up the difference with their voices.
They had it.
There is no doubt this year’s team has come up short in overall talent. That’s the result of the past three recruiting classes, and it is obvious that instilling the old passion of being a sweat Hog has been missing.
Not totally, but too much.
This might be the place to mention that the new white helmets were about as inspiring as two-day-old Coke. At first glance, from a distance, it looked like Texas was on the field.
The lack of passion displayed has nothing to do with the helmets.
It has everything to do with heart.
Wilson is a great example, standing in there every game in which he has played and taking a pounding as he waits until a receiver is open before making the throw. Says the right things.
He gets it. He’s had it his whole life, but maybe its time for Smith to give an impassioned pep talk about taking pride in being able to wear the uniform and compete for a school for which most young men can only dream about playing.
How guys like Darrell Walker, David Bazzel, Joe Kleine and others came from another state but bought into the Razorbacks fever and still do.
It is an honor be a Razorback, and everyone of them need to start acting like it.
Sports, Pages 19 on 09/26/2012