The following is a list of key notes out of Arkansas coach Bret Bielema's regular Wednesday teleconference.
- Backup cornerback Cornelius Floyd started to make the turn last week, and they travelled him last week. He's involved in all four phases of the kicking game. It was difficult to involve him heavily in the game plan since he has been out so long, but moving forward there'll be more opportunities for him.
- Bielema said they played a good game against Texas A&M but are disappointed with the outcome. He said the good news is they all made it home safely, they have high character players and they turned the page to Tennessee on Sunday. He said they had a really good practice on Sunday and on Tuesday.
- He said Tennessee is a good team that also lost a heartbreaker last week at Florida. Bielema said they're really impressed with QB Joshua Dobbs and RB Jalen Hurd on offense. He said they've lost some good players on defense, like Curt Maggitt, who he recruited.
- Bielema has never been to Knoxville but is familiar with the history of the series. He said they know it's going to be very loud and is going to be very 'us against the world,' and he feels that's what the doctor ordered for his team right now.
- Bielema said he watched Tennessee's bowl game live last year against Iowa and was impressed with Dobbs. He said obviously he's watched a lot of film since then, but he said Dobbs jumped out to him in that bowl game.
- Regarding how the team turned things around last year, Bielema said he knows they had a 'clunker' against Toledo, but he said he saw improvement from Toledo to Texas Tech and from Texas Tech to Texas A&M. He said that's what keeps his guys going, they know they're getting better. He said they haven't wavered at all.
- Bielema pointed to losing some really good defensive players who were very vocal as an issue, and that's something they're working to address in getting better vocal leadership and communication with the players.
- He said they have looked at what Tennessee does well and are working to make that complicated for them. Though he said Tennessee has a lot of weapons. Several good players at wide receiver, though no 'jump out guy.' He likes both their tight ends and has been impressed with the offensive line. He called Hurd a 'very, very impressive running back.'
- With freshman running back Rawleigh Williams, Bielema said during the course of the week last week he saw some things in practice where he was like 'oh boy, it's coming,' and he thinks this week it'll be even more. He said they see some things in practice that he can't wait for the world to see. Dre Greenlaw, freshman linebacker, has also had a really good start to the week.
- Bielema said nobody is dwelling on Texas A&M other than on the mistakes they're making. Again, Bielema spoke about how much they loved their 4th-and-3 play call that they felt would put them in a spot to close the game out, but they committed a false start.
