Razorback head coach Bret Bielema meets with the media every Thursday at 11 p.m. (CDT) via teleconference. Here are the key notes from today's meeting.
- Bielema said he is excited to start SEC play in Cowboys Stadium with a chance to start a new season. He said defensively they saw some things they can shore up in the short term on third downs that'll make an offense play left-handed. He said the players will find out where they stand from this time a year ago.
- Regarding injuries, Kody Walker practiced Tuesday and is still sore with the hand but should be able to help them in some capacity moving forward. Josh Williams and Eric Hawkins are both cleared 100 percent, but how much they play depends on how they figure into the game plan.
- Bielema said Jerry Jones spoke to the team a year ago, and it was a great deal for their team. Recruiting Texas, he said they'll have a lot of coaches there to evaluate. He said it's a high market for them in recruiting and several coaches will leave on Thursday after practice to evaluate in Texas.
- Regarding how he talks, he always says if you tell the truth you never have to remember what you said. He said when people take things out of context or use half quotes, it can be spun out all kinds of ways. He said what he loves about this job is you can be yourself, and sometimes that doesn't sit well with everybody, but it's a decision people make on their own. He said he always speaks his mind on what he believes in and what he feels, but at the same time he doesn't want to draw any negativity with the program or the university. He thinks it'll be water under the bridge when they win games.
- The difference in this team and the one he had late last year, he said there are things that have been steady but they also lost four players to the NFL Draft. He said they're building some on defense and sees some similarities that they're not quite where they need to be depth-wise at certain positions, but he said they develop players as well as anyone in the country. He said his teams always play better at the end of the year. He said he hopes to play better in Weeks 10, 11 and 12 than the beginning.
- Regarding the pass, he said the past two years they got criticized because they didn't pass enough. He said the one-sidedness has been in part due to being behind and it was what was working. This past weekend they were able to execute the plan that they went into the game with against Texas Tech in terms of running the ball and complimenting with the pass.
- On the Texas A&M game in Arlington, Bielema said it means a lot to the players they have now. The first year it wasn't in place, and the second year playing in that environment, having a lot of fans there, having it be fairly close, having several players on the roster from Texas, it means a lot to the program he said. Having the Jones family there for the dedication and now heading to their place, Bielema said his players feel that connection even more.
