FAYETTEVILLE - Coach Bret Bielema has picked up on three major themes through one week of spring practices, and one of them is that the Razorbacks have good ears.
“I’ve told our coaches three things: First is, our players are very open to coaching, so be careful what you tell them,” Bielema said Friday. “Make sure you tell them exactly what you want and how you want it to be executed because they’re listening to everything you’re saying.
“Second thing is, we have a group of players who are very hungry, so feed them on a daily basis, make sure that they improve and get better from day to day and we’ll get a chance to be great at the end.
“And then the last thing is, I think we have a group of players that are very talented. Certain positions are better than others, but as a group we have a talented football team that we want to make sure that we allow them to play as fast and physical as possible. We don’t want to slow them down by verbiage. We don’t want to slow them down by making them think too much or talk too much.”The champ
Fullback Kiero Small was a favorite of the previous coaching staff, and his attitude and leadership have already been recognized by the new staff.
“If there’s one guy that’s been a championfor me in every way, shape or form in everything we’ve asked him to do, it’s KieroSmall,” Coach Bret Bielema said. “From being the best recruiting host in December and January to being a physical specimen that transformed his body, lost almost 20 pounds from last fall to where he is today in eight weeks with Coach [Ben] Herbert. There’s some before and after photos. I’m not going to put them out there, but some pretty impressive transition with him.”Middle man
Bret Bielema has identified Kiero Small and center Travis Swanson as unquestioned offensive leaders in the early going.
He compared Swanson favorably to some of his best centers in his eight seasons at Wisconsin, including Peter Konz, a second-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons last year, and Travis Frederick, a top prospect in the 2013 NFL Draft.
“I think Swanson, if he’s not going to be the best center in college football, I’d like to see,” he said. “Travis is right there with [Konz and Frederick] and might be a little bit taller and a little bit longer, which gives him a chance even higher.” Change up
The position changes for the Razorbacks appear to be minimal through one week of spring.
Demetrius Dean, who played sparingly last season, has moved from tight end to fullback to help an area of need. The sophomore from Fayetteville, who is listed at 6-3, 270 pounds, is targeted to drop some pounds.
“He’s going to have to trim that down,” Coach Bret Bielema said. “Obviously, he put on a little bit of weight since Fayetteville High School. One thing he is, he’s very gifted. Athletically, he’s talented with his hands.”
Bielema mentioned that sophomore Dayvon McKinney might be approached about switching from cornerback to safety.
Alone time
Bret Bielema opened his news conference Friday by saying he wasn’t trying to “punish” anyone by closing practice and explained how the Razorbacks needed some alone time while undergoing a big transformation in leadership and adjusting to the new staff.
“I just thought it was important for us to kind of get on the same page, let us have an understanding of who we are and what we are before we kind of let some people in,” he said. “I do promise, at some point in the four weeks after we get back from spring break, to let the media in, see us in action.
“Let us have an opportunity to see our guys work, see our guys interact with one another and have an opportunity to see what we’ve been building.” SEC clips
Some of Bret Bielema’s tape study before spring drills did not involve the Razorbacks.
“To be quite honest, I watched a lot of SEC vs. SEC that didn’t involve us,” he said. “I watched Alabama vs. LSU. I watched a lot of good football.”
Bielema said he wanted his first impressions of the Razorbacks to be ones he formed after seeing them in person during skills drills in winter.
Better than average
The Razorbacks have not tried to push their installation of packages this spring, Coach Bret Bielema said.
“We are not going to push the envelope to try to put in a playbook that doesn’t need to be used until the first game,” he said.
Bielema said he has told his assistants to slow it down and make it great.
“Don’t hurry and make it average. Slow it down and make it great,” he said. “I used that philosophy in finding a wife and carried the same thing football-wise.”
Sports, Pages 30 on 03/17/2013