In his second season as the defensive coordinator for the University of Arkansas and 25th as a defensive coordinator in the SEC, veteran John Chavis doesn't have many answers or solutions for the Razorbacks' very poor defensive play lately.
Taking it on the chin, Chavis said he wouldn't be an excuse-maker and took responsibility for the latest in a run of poor defensive games on Monday.
"We certainly could have and should have played better and all that's on me," Chavis said while recapping the loss to Mississippi State in which the defense gave up a Bulldog program record 640 yards of offense. "When we send them out there to play we expect them to play to a level that is acceptable here in the SEC and the University of Arkansas. It's my job to make sure they do."
The home loss to Mississippi State is one of seven games Arkansas has lost by 30 or more points in the Chad Morris era. The Hogs rank 120th out of 130 FBS teams in points allowed this season and they're on pace to give up more total points than last season when they finished 101st.
Without completely throwing his players under the bus, in the heat of the moment Chavis did point to the personnel he was left to work with when he and Morris took over the team after Bret Bielema was fired in 2017.
"I think it's a combination of things," Chavis said. "Certainly let's just tell the truth. It was broken when we got here and we haven't fixed it quick enough."
In 2017, Arkansas had the worst statistical defense in school history, allowing 36.2 points per game. Sticking with roughly eight starters from that bad 2017 defense, the Hogs improved minorly in Chavis's first season, but it didn't make a difference in the win-loss column as they lost a historic 10 games in 2018.
After the 2-10 season, Arkansas had a mass exodus of players both young and old, experienced and inexperienced. Eleven players on defense elected to either transfer, retire, enter the NFL draft early or got kicked off the team. That doesn't even include the loss of impact seniors like Dre Greenlaw, Armon Watts, Santos Ramirez and Randy Ramsey.
There was no choice for Arkansas but to fill all those roster holes through recruiting. The Razorbacks signed 12 defenders in the 2019 class, seven of which were ranked 4-stars by Rivals.
The problem is most SEC programs don't depend on true freshmen to come in and play right away. Using one position for example, there are just two true freshmen starting at corner in the SEC and one of them was the No.1 prospect in the nation, Derek Stingley.
Alabama is getting away with starting four freshmen on defense and one sophomore, but the rest of the starters are juniors and seniors–and Arkansas's signees aren't typically on par with Alabama's signees.
"We've got five or six freshmen that are either starting or playing a lot," Chavis said. "That's an 18-year-old versus a 22-year-old. That makes a difference."
