By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas receiver Jarius Wright won’t forget the dubious beginning to his career.
He may not have been the guy who fumbled the opening kickoff in 2008, which also was the first play of the Bobby Petrino era. That unenviable honor went to safety Elton Ford. But Wright was there on the field to play a part in the moment.
“I didn’t mess up,” Wright said. “I tried to tell the kick returner to stay, but he ended up returning it out anyway. He got me killed and he got himself killed and he fumbled the ball.”
Wright smiled after Tuesday’s practice and shook his head thinking about where the Razorbacks are now, two years later, as they prepare to play Tennessee Tech in Razorback Stadium tonight at 6.
Arkansas has a national ranking (No. 17), a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback (Ryan Mallett) and a roster filled with seasoned veterans. It has all culminated in a campaign loaded with tantalizing expectations, one Arkansas has been preparing for ever since the 2009 season ended.
Illustration by Vic Harville
“It seems like a couple of years since we played,” Mallett said. “That’s how it’s felt. But we’ve been working hard and we’re ready to go out and show everybody what we’re made of.”
What Arkansas is putting on the field, it believes, is a championship-caliber group.
It’s a far cry from where they were two years ago, when the Razorbacks needed a fourth quarter rally to slip by Western Illinois 28-24. And then a comeback the following week to slide past Louisiana-Monroe 28-27 en route to a 5-7 season.
Offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said no one has forgotten those difficulties. But even then, the Razorbacks thought the payoff was coming.
“We came here to build a program that was going to compete at a high level every single year,” McGee said before preseason practice began. “This is what we wanted. The reason that I left Northwestern to come here is that we were going to build a program that competes for the championship week-in, week-out and we were going to go recruit the top players in the United States.
“It was two years ago we talked about this. It doesn’t catch us off-guard. You want to work at a place that you’re expected to win.”
Arkansas will open 2010 with every major contributor on offense back after the group put together a record-breaking season in 2009.
An although the defense has struggled for two straight seasons, veterans are back at most positions, there’s more depth across the board, and an overall improvement in talent.
“We’re better physically,” Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette said. “We’ve recruited some great guys, but we’ve also busted our butts in the weight room in the offseason. We’re a bigger, faster, stronger team than we were last year and that usually translates to a better performance.”
Growth has not been limited to just those areas.
Players and coaches believe there is immense improvement in the mental side of the game.
Veterans know the playbook and what Arkansas is aiming to accomplish much more so than the first season, when intricacies on both sides made most scratch their heads. They’ve earned unofficial football degrees in studying and breaking down opponents, too, understanding what they’re trying to do to the Razorbacks on each and every play.
“We feel like we’re just a way better team,” Wright said. “We’re way more confident in ourselves. Way more confident in each other.”
Tennessee Tech is not Georgia or Alabama, the Hogs’ first two Southeastern Conference opponents, but Arkansas’ growth should be on display.
Don’t count on a first-game struggle against a Football Championship Subdivision school like 2008, when 16 true freshmen played roles. Bequette said Arkansas may be “too jacked up” for the opener and it could lead to mistakes, but there’s too much talent for the Razorbacks to struggle.
“So many people are looking forward to this season,” said Arkansas linebacker Jerico Nelson, who said the things he learned as a true freshman in 2008 have prepared him for his third season as a starter. “There’s so much hype about this year that we have to come out and produce.”
It has been the theme of the long offseason and Arkansas, understandably, is tired of talking about it. Petrino alluded to after the Razorbacks’ last full practice Thursday night, saying he was glad the interviews are over. It’s time to play.
Eight months have passed since the final game of the 2009 season, when Arkansas beat East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl. Two full years have gone by since the Razorbacks took their first baby step toward becoming a championship-caliber team.
The difference, Wright said, is “amazing.”
“When I was a freshman, you never imagine yourself being here at this point,” Wright said.
Today’s Ticket
Tennessee Tech (0-0) at No. 17 Arkansas (0-0)
When: Tonight at 6 p.m.
Where: Reynolds Razorback Stadium
TV: Pay-Per-View
Radio: Razorback Sports Network
Satellite Radio: Sirius (Ch. 22); XM (Ch. 199)
Coaches: Arkansas — Bobby Petrino (13-12 in third season); Tennessee Tech — Watson Brown (13-21 in fourth season)
