Arkansas’ rebuilt secondary is earning attention early in fall camp, and the buzz around it starts with the way the group thinks the game.
Secondary coach Deron Wilson said the Razorbacks have put together a unit full of what he called “football junkies,” a group he believes stands out for its intelligence, detail and communication. Wilson, back in Fayetteville for his second coaching stint, said the way the defensive backs work together has been especially impressive.
"It's been going well. I think we have a really intelligent group that is intentional and detailed with everything they do," Wilson explained.
"I'd say, it's probably the smartest group and collective, the whole group together, how well they work together, that I've been around. I don't know if the smartest is the correct word, it's just the way they jell in the communication.
This group has been tremendously impressive."
Cornerbacks coach Eddie Hicks echoed that view after Day 4 of Arkansas fall camp on Sunday, pointing to the chemistry that has already taken hold in the room.
"Like Coach (Wilson) said, this group, man, they jell together," Hicks added. "The camaraderie is there. They hang out with each other away from the building, and they talk football outside of the building.
"They love football and they love being around us. They love being around the coaches and taking all the information in that they need to take for us to be successful."
The coaches identified several players who have stood out so far. Wilson mentioned junior Khmori House, Christian Harrison, Miguel Mitchell and Kyeaure Magloire. Hicks pointed to La'Khi Roland, Jahiem 'Joker' Johnson and Shelton Lewis.
That list is heavy on veterans, which makes sense given how much experience is expected to carry the two-deep. True freshman Tay Lockett is the exception at this point in camp.
Wilson said that kind of mindset isn’t an accident and comes out of the recruiting process.
"It was the guys we recruited," Wilson said. "I've never been around a bunch of guys, that from a voluntary meeting standpoint, they call coaches to meet.
Like we could walk through the building, and they're hanging out in the office, and we're going over football. They're football junkies.
"Most of the time, you figure it out when they're on the official visit and through phone conversations, how much they love football. If you love football, you're gonna put as much effort as you're supposed to and can into putting yourself in position to be a successful player. ... You can (also) see it on film because you see instincts on film when you see someone pull the trigger or you see a coverage."
Shelton Lewis, a Clemson senior transfer cornerback who is projected as one of the two starting corners, said the group’s shared purpose is what has helped create that bond.
"Whether we meet with the coaches or by ourselves, we're just trying to get better at the game," Lewis said. "Just being on the same page is our biggest deal. ... Just making sure when we're out there, we're in the call, I didn't get the call, I've got to trust him to give it to me, and that's what we're going to play for that down.
"So, just making sure we're all on the same page. We all just want to get in the facility, whether we're in there for 10 minutes or an hour, like there's something that we just went over that we can tie into that day.
I just think that's intelligence. Just what we work on, so we can play fast."
Arkansas will return to practice for Day 5 of fall camp on Monday afternoon, with 21 practices left before the season opener against North Alabama on Sept. 5.
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