Arkansas football’s new defensive coordinator Travis Williams is known for his aggressive 4-3 defense and that’s not expected to change now that he’s in Fayetteville.
In previous seasons, the Razorbacks ran Barry Odom’s “rush three, drop eight” scheme that attempted to neutralize pass-happy offenses and it was successful to a point. In 2022, Odom dabbled in more four-man fronts, but the lack of top-tier talent and depth resulted in a 124-of-131 team finish in total defense in the country.
At Central Florida, Williams led his defense to a top-10 ranking in havoc rate in 2022. Havoc refers to the percentage of plays in which the defense records a tackle for loss, forced fumble, pass breakup or interception. That level of aggression is a welcoming change for Razorback fans, but head coach Sam Pittman was a bit skeptical at first, something he commented on at SEC Media Days on Wednesday morning.
“I imagine we'll be more aggressive but I don't want to be that aggressive,” Pittman said. “Man, they were cover zero a lot. I'm watching it and so when I interviewed him, I said, ‘Hey, man, I want to go after people but every now and then, can you leave a guy in the middle of the field back there, you know.’"
Pittman's uncertainty is understandable, but he said he knows that to turn the defense around, he will have to trust his new defensive coordinator.
“Those types of things have turnovers that come, Pittman said. “Sometimes you think about, well, what about if your corner gets beat and they go score. His corners -- well, what happens if we hit the quarterback and the ball goes up in the air and we get it and go score a touchdown, too. I like that. I have a lot of confidence in him and we will certainly be more aggressive. That's just his nature and his style.”
To ensure that the 2023 defense doesn’t fail for the same reason the 2022 defense did, Pittman attacked the problem at its core: the lack of talent and depth. After adding nine defensive transfer players via the transfer portal and the No. 20 Rivals high school recruiting class, Pittman did just that.
One major benefit to the additional talent on the defensive line and in the secondary is the ability to run man-to-man coverage.
“I think we are going to be better on the D-Line,” Pittman said. “I think we'll be able to play a four-man front. I think we'll be a little more aggressive. We've always tried to get man-to-man cover corners. And I think between (Lorando Johnson) and (Dwight McGlothern) and (LaDarrius Bishop) and (Jaylon) Braxton and some of those guys, I think we are going to have an opportunity to play a little bit more man which will allow us to be a little more aggressive and move that front.”
With an offense led by KJ Jefferson and Raheim Sanders, the Arkansas defense doesn’t necessarily need to be elite. If Williams can bring it back to being a middle-of-the-pack SEC defense — creating more “havoc” and turnovers in the process — the Hogs will be poised to compete in the SEC West in 2023.