The Arkansas Razorbacks football buys in new employees

Arkansas added five new assistants during the offseason, and they already bought the team after just two spring practices.

Head coach Sam Pittman brought with him a group of coaches he said were home run tenants.

“Very, very loyal,” Pittman said Tuesday. “Hard workers. Basically, that’s exactly what we’re going to do once we make a decision there – up to the T. And that was on both sides of the ball. These are all of our new trainers, including our strength trainers. So I feel like at this point, and I don’t see it going any other way, we feel like we’ve really hit the mark with our new hires.

The Razorbacks added Dan Enos as offensive coordinator, Travis Williams as defensive coordinator, Marcus Woodson as co-defensive coordinator, Morgan Turner as tight ends coach, and Deron Wilson as assistant coach.

All five have been working hard with their respective groups during the team’s open practice session this week and there has been a high level of enthusiasm that has rubbed off on the players.

“I mean, everybody just shops in,” quarterback KJ Jefferson said Friday. “We all learn. It’s a new system, so everyone just takes the time to adapt and accept change, and everyone comes out, attentive and just focused on small details. Everyone buys into the process and simply accepts change. Feel like everyone is doing something really good. I feel like we’re in a really good place and off to a great start.

Although the team is obviously not ready for the game and there have already been some hiccups, they seem ready to learn fast. There are new plans on both sides of the ball that will take time to implement, but the goal is that they lead to more wins.

“I found the pace, I felt the coaches did a really good job and the kids responded to that,” Pittman said after Thursday’s practice session. “I think our kids are really responding to our strength team and our coaches and I think you can get a lot better that way quickly. They take part in coaching and I thought today was really nice, I really enjoyed it.”

In addition to adding new coaches, the Razorbacks added more than 20 new grantees to the roster this spring. The new faces bring a new level of competition as everyone tries to earn their place.

Jefferson said he saw a strong work ethic from the trio of transfer wide receivers – Tyrone Broden, Isaac TeSlaa and Andrew Armstrong.

“These guys always came willing to get extra work, trying to perfect their craft in any way they could, whether it was in the briefing room, on the field, catching balls, running routes, or contested catches,” Jefferson said. “Everything, these guys are always trying to perfect their craft. Just bringing a work ethic here and just being able to have all the other guys just feed off the energy and that work ethic is what allows that talent to grow in that space and at the competitive level.”

Arkansas will hold three more drills — Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday of next week — before going on spring break next Saturday, March 18. The team will return from spring break on Tuesday March 28th to hold 10 more drills, with the 10th being the red-white game on Saturday March 15th.