Notebook: Bielema Introduces New Assistant Coaches, Scott & Walker
LATEST RECRUITING NEWS
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BRET BIELEMA PRESS CONFERENCE NOTES
-Bielema said he has one more defensive GA position that he will fill likely in the next 7-10 days.
-They will have stations set up for the players to work today. This is the start of Week 5 of their 8-week winter training cycle. They are maximizing the number of days they can have before they start spring ball, which is the reason for the later start.
-The nine players who joined the team in January have fit in 'like a glove,' Bielema said. They are working to get them more involved with 'Hoganese.' Jeremy Patton is still slated to join the team in June.
-Healthwise, Grayson Gunter had shoulder surgery and will be out throughout spring ball. They may be able to get him involved a little bit. Dre Greenlaw has kept his weight down and 'looks tremendous,' but will be limited in the spring.
-John Scott will work with the front three in the new 3-4 alignment. Bielema said he is very well-versed in the 3-4 scheme. He said the two guys, along with Kurt Anderson, they kept getting promoted within the NFL, a league he said stands for 'Not For Long.' Scott will work in Alabama and Texas a good deal in recruiting. With Chad Walker, Bielema said they had to hold out and wait for a chance to talk with him because of the Super Bowl, and he's glad they waited. Walker was a guy both Bielema and Paul Rhoads both already knew about going into the process.
-They're in a 'hanging process' with the kicking game because there is a chance they're going to get the 10th assistant coach.
-Jerry Montgomery, with the Green Bay Packers, suggested Bielema talk to John Scott Jr.
-One OLB will be more out in space, to the field, another will be a bigger, longer body.
-Karl Roesler was one of the biggest discussions they had. There are four or five guys who could do both and may be trained as such, like Roessler. Randy Ramsey and Michael Taylor will be OLB-types. Bijhon Jackson and Austin Capps will be nose tackles for sure. Jonathan Marshall, Briston Guidry, Jonathan Marshall and T.J. Smith will likely work at end and also nose. Dre Greenlaw, De'Jon Harris and Josh Harris are all likely inside linebackers. Dwayne Eugene will probably work inside and outside at linebacker. Dee Walker could be either inside or outside (he's at 220 pounds now), and Alexy Jean-Baptiste will definitely be outside. Giovanni LaFrance will be inside.
-Bielema said Paul Rhoads' contract is done and has been completed, it just hasn't been released yet.
-Bielema said he had a lot of coaches reach out to him after he made hires, which reaffirmed his decisions.
-Regarding recruiting, Bielema said one of the driving forces as to why he hired them was recruiting because it comes down to personality and being able to relate to the student-athletes. He said they are workers who are very detail oriented. They don't have SEC experience, but they are good people, and that usually wins out, he said.
-Kevin Richardson has been 100 percent cleared to practice (rotator cuff injury). His weight is back up, and he has been one of the better leaders.
-Kofi Boateng will ditch the brace (ACL) after the spring but is wearing it now.
-Regarding where Chad Walker will recruit, Bielema feels he'll be in east Texas and Houston, but some of that may change. He has strong ties in Louisiana, also. Bielema said he feels he's a guy they could put anywhere, which is rare.
-As for satellite camps, it should be the same with 10 days in the month of June and July.
-Bielema said he has offered a job to the 10th assistant coach if and when it becomes available. If not, he has a Plan B.
-Regarding switching positions, they may look at some guys who could help them in pass-rush situations, but there hasn't been anyone moving from offense to defense or defense to offense.
-Regarding the NFL Combine, they had three or four guys in the waiting list, and they all got in, he said. Arkansas will have eight players there. He said the ones who stayed here and worked with Ben Herbert will perform well, and they have all stayed here and worked with him.
-As for on-field work these next four weeks, they can't have a football, they can't have sleds and they can't wear pads, but they can work on everything else.
CHAD WALKER PRESS CONFERENCE NOTES
-Walker said he is thrilled to be working with Bret Bielema, who he said is very well-respected in the NFL ranks. He was always impressed with Paul Rhoads and how hard his players played for him when he was at Iowa State.
-He said he has family that lives in Arkansas. And he said in 2000 when LSU played Arkansas in Little Rock, he was a part of the LSU staff (an Arkansas win). The family he has here lives in Springdale and Fort Smith (aunts, uncles and cousins).
-He said Bret Bielema called him the day after the Super Bowl, and he really wasn't even considering it or anything at the time.
-Schematically, he said he has been very fortunate to be in every scheme imaginable through his career. He said they'll get more players in space and have better edge rushers and at the same time give an illusion of pressure in the 3-4 defense.
-He echoed what John Scott said below about working in the NFL being football all the time.
-His background as an 'on the road' recruiter has been on the small school level int he east, in Texas, in Mississipp and as far down as San Antonio. He pointed to Nick Saban giving him his first opportunity when he was at LSU, and he opened doors for him.
-Walker said he doesn't want to have any preconceived notions on the current players right now as they head into the first bit of on-field work today as part of the second week of the eight-week winter training cycle.
-On coaching outside linebackers, he said they have to be able to chase the quarterback, hunt the ball and be great tacklers and those things don't change. You can find those in every position on defense, he said.
-Walker said his biggest asset as a coach is being able to relate to people.
JOHN SCOTT JR. PRESS CONFERENCE NOTES
-Casey Rogers, who worked at Arkansas before going to the Cowboys this offseason, has had a big impact on John Scott's life.
-Regarding how Bielema got in contact with Scott, he said he received a text from a good friend who asked 'hey would you ever be interested in coming back to college,' and he said it would have to be a special opportunity in the SEC.' He texted that back to him, and the next morning, he said you may get a call from Bret Bielema. The next night, on a Thursday, he was watching a moving and Bielema called him and everything went from there.
-Seven of his 14 years have been working in the 3-4 defense. He said in the NFL coaches learn so much so fast because they don't have to deal with recruiting, so their learning is accelerated. They spend the off-season studying football and watching film, which they don't necessarily get to do as much in college.
-On recruiting, Scott said it is something that has always come easily. It is about building relationships, and he said he was blessed with a calm personality. Every stop in college he has been, he has always recruited the Georgia area. At Texas Tech, he recruited Houston. At Missouri State, he recruited Tulsa. He said it doesn't matter where you go if you can't build relationships.
-Scott met Paul Rhoads in 2009 when he was at Missouri State. He drove to a football camp at Iowa State to work it - a two-day camp. He also met him again when he was in the Big XII, and he said he also would always see him at the Coaches Convention and would always re-introduce himself.
-He said he is excited to be a defensive coach with that style of offense, which is similar to how things were when he was at Georgia Southern.