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Arkansas's second-year head coach Chad Morris didn't go so far as to give a record he would deem acceptable for 2019 at SEC Media Days after having an "unacceptable" first season, but he did specifically say he wants to help the seniors leave a legacy.
The seniors could leave a legacy by simply helping to turn the team around, but most Arkansas fans hope that their legacy is a little more substantial, like taking the team from 2-10 to 6-6 and earning bowl eligibility, a feat that very few teams have accomplished in this century.
Morris and his staff have a lot of things going for them to reach that 6-6 mark that they didn't have in 2018. First of all, they were not, talent-wise at least, a two-win team last season. Sure, Bret Bielema left the cupboard a little bare when he was fired, but they never should've lost to the likes of Colorado State and North Texas.
Secondly, the Razorbacks added two grad transfer quarterbacks who are both by far and away more experienced and more equipped to run Morris's offense. Dustin Fry also added two JUCO offensive linemen, one who is already pushing for a starting spot heading into fall camp. Lastly, the staff and the recruiting department went out and signed a program-high 13 4-stars in the 2019 class and plenty of them will see the field this season.
With all those enhancements to the team, it's hard to imagine the Hogs not winning out in non-conference play and winning at least one SEC game.
Arguably, the factor that could be the difference between 5-7 and 6-6, 15 extra practices, a bowl game and a ring, is the Razorbacks' culture. Overcoming adversity, pushing past bangs and bruises, keeping your head up no matter the score, focusing solely on the next play, fighting through every whistle and, more importantly, through the fourth quarter, all of those things are what's going to take the Hogs to that next level this season.
According to the coaches, those mentality changes and student-athlete leadership are already showing.
From taking the team's nice Nike gear away during the spring to bringing in motivational speakers and Navy SEALS, every day that the Razorbacks have been on campus since November 23, 2018, the staff has been challenging them embrace the culture and fully buy in.
Key to Morris's ability to get his players to buy-in was getting those that hadn't to find a new home, and their replacements, some 40-plus freshmen, aren't burdened with the team's current mentality. They don't have the loser mentality in them that's permeated through the team since 2016. Most of the Razorback newcomers won constantly throughout their high school careers.
"We talk about it all the time, when it turns from a coach-led team to a player-led team, that's when you've got a chance to be special," Justin Stepp said. "You see them after workouts getting extra work in, I think a lot of these older guys see these younger guys and they realize they better turn it on."
It's great to hear progress is being made now, but it's in the fourth quarter, when the defense needs to get a stop to give the ball back to the offense, down 31-34, that's when the culture will either kick in or let you down.
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