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Arkansas’ switch to a 3-4 defense to help improve speed and get pressure on the quarterback last season was an utter failure as the Hogs ranked last in the SEC in sacks (19.0), last in scoring defense (36.2) and second-to-last in total defense (438.3).

The Razorbacks will pay new defensive coordinator John Chavis approximately 1 million dollars this season to fix it. Chavis has spent 29 years in the SEC as a defensive coordinator. And while his defenses slipped for three years at Texas A&M, there is not a better defensive coordinator resume in all of college football.

“Talent alone is not going to win ballgames for you,” Chavis said. “What we’re looking for is guys that can play through mistakes, get ready for the next play and put that one behind. If you’ve got talent you can do that. The big part of getting a football team ready to play is the mental preparation. If you don’t have the mental preparation and you’re not tough mentally then it’s going to be hard to win close ballgames.”

After fielding a national top 10 scoring defense and total defense in 2014, Arkansas’ defenses got progressively worse the next three seasons.

Arkansas’ sack leader in 2017 was middle linebacker De’Jon Harris, who finished 33rd in the SEC with 3.5 sacks. Even though 2017 was the worst statistical year in defensive coordinator John Chavis’ career as an SEC defensive coordinator, four Texas A&M players were in the top 20 in sacks last season under his watch.

“He’s more for sending pressure. Last year at Texas A&M, they led the lead in sacks. That fits me really well because I like getting after the quarterback,” Razorback senior defensive end Randy Ramsey said. “These coaches do a good job of putting players in the right position to be successful, so yeah I love the new fit.”

That 2017 list includes defensive end Landis Durham who tied for first in the conference with 10.5 sacks. In 2015, Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall from Texas A&M were each in the top 10, and Garrett led the SEC with 12.5 sacks.

Ramsey is lighter at approximately 6-4, 230 pounds, and it remains to be seen if it will affect him in run-stopping…though he said he is not concerned. Ramsey added that he is looking to add five-to-10 pounds for the upcoming season. He did a good job getting pressure Saturday and also registered a sack. Chavis described Ramsey as a ‘freak athlete.’

“I was amazed because Coach Chavis has coached some of the top elite guys at LSU,” Ramsey said. “He coached Myles Garrett, so for him to compare me to those type of guys, I was like ‘wow.’

Ramsey came to Arkansas as an outside linebacker who had played everything from cornerback to defensive end in high school. It shouldn’t be too big of a surprise that he has bounced around at Arkansas, as well.

He came to Fayetteville as a 4-3 outside linebacker. Then after returning from hiatus he started off as a 4-3 specialty defensive end and played linebacker some as a sophomore. Then last season he played outside linebacker in the 3-4 scheme and was supposed to be a pass-rush specialist but only garnered 3.0 sacks.

Now Ramsey is a 4-3 defensive end, and he isn’t the only player who feels like he has found a home. Junior journeyman Jamario Bell is in the same boat.

Bell arrived at Arkansas as a defensive end and worked briefly at outside linebacker as a true freshman. He moved over to a crowded and talented tight end room as a redshirt freshman and then moved to 3-4 outside linebacker late last spring. On his first day with the first team defense last August, Bell broke his foot.

Now he is back at defensive end, and he had a big scrimmage on Saturday. Depending on the different unofficial stats that came out of Saturday’s scrimmage, Bell either had three sacks or two sacks and a tackle-for-loss. One of those was a strip-sack. Most of the time he was facing walk-on left tackle Tyler Hall but also mixed in with the first group.

“The new scheme I really love it. Coach Chavis, he’s all about pressure. Like I said he cuts its loose and lets us play,” Bell said. “The new staff are really great guys. They come in and really care about us, and we can tell they really care about us. You just want to play for them. We want to go out and do the best we can.”

“Obviously athletic ability probably a little better than I ae anticipated, but he’s starting to show up a lot,” Chavis said of Bell.

Chavis hasn’t always had defenses that were great at racking up sacks. In 2014 during his last season at LSU, the Tigers ranked 13th out of 14 teams. However, that was more by design than anything because that defense was also No. 1 in total defense and No. 2 in scoring defense. But this defense needs to roll the dice, so they are going to be more of an attacking group this season.

“I love it. The defense is excited, everybody on the defense,” Ramsey said. “Even safeties and corners are blitzing. Those guys love it because they talk about how they don’t get to rush the quarterback a lot, so they love it a lot too.”

Arkansas brought in Gabe Richardson out of junior college last season to play the HOG outside linebacker spot, also. He had some moments but did not see a lot of action overall in 2017. Richardson also had a sack Saturday. He was extremely anxious to get off the ball and also jumped offside once.

“He’s very explosive off the line-of-scrimmage, very explosive,” Ramsey said. “I think me and him are the same kind of tweener guys, and I think this defensive scheme will fit us both well.

All those outside linebackers from a year ago who have returned for this season are now right ends who will go after the quarterback’s blind side. They will typically line up as a 5- or 7-technique depending on the strength of the offense. They will never flip flop from one side to the other and neither will the two interior linemen (though they could slide to a 1- or 3-technique on any given down). And on third downs, if the right end so chooses then he has the option of coming off the edge in a 2-point stance.

“Sometimes I like standing up. Just depends on the situation, yardage and where we are on third down. Whatever the scheme dictates,” Bell said.

It is Chais’ defense, but defensive ends coach Steve Caldwell has a pretty impressive resume, as well. Caldwell has coached a number of future NFL players and was with Chavis for 14 seasons at Tennessee. Then from 2010-12 he started his first stint at Arkansas under former coach Bobby Petrino.

He coached future NFL defensive end Jake Bequette and recruited and coached future NFL defensive ends Chris Smith, Trey Flowers and Deatrich Wise at Arkansas…which may already make him the best defensive ends coach Arkansas has ever had. Who else has played a part in sending four defensive ends to the NFL from Arkansas?

A lot of guys were telling me that he’s coached a lot of greats, too,” Ramsey said. “I’m just trying to soak in all the knowledge I can from a guy like that because he’s been around a long time, him and coach Chavis.