FAYETTEVILLE — Bobby Petrino strode up to a group of reporters and asked, “What’s up, guys ?”

The Arkansas Razorbacks’ media day was already three hours old by that time, and Petrino, probably about tired of talking, was showing redness in the whites of his eyes and puffiness around them.

After chatting with those reporters and two or three more media outlets, Petrino thought his media obligations — already pushing 20 individual interviews — were done for the day.

Nope, there was one more, so off Petrino went to sit with a television crew.

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It’s no secret Petrino isn’t exactly a fan of news conferences. As he took the podium bright and early Tuesday, after UA associate athletic director Kevin Trainor asked media members to identify themselves before asking a question, Petrino remarked: “Introduce yourselves ? I feel like I know y’all real well by now. It’s a lot of media days we’ve had.”

Petrino is finding out the football fans in Arkansas love their Razorbacks information. Especially this year.

Arkansas fans have a new head coach in Petrino, an almost completely new staff, a large crop of promising freshmen, a pile of interesting story lines and even new jerseys.

The atmosphere of change is palpable in practically everything going on at the Broyles Athletic Center, from the new carpet in the hallways and stairwells to the turf on the ramps that lead to Reynolds Razorback Stadium to the schemes being used on both sides of the ball.

There are so few returning starters back that nearly half of them — 4 of 9 — were elected team captains: quarterback Casey Dick, center Jonathan Luigs, defensive tackle Malcolm Sheppard and linebacker Elston Forte. Cornerback Jamar Love, a frequent contributor at nickel back and cornerback last season, was also voted in as a captain.

Petrino’s push to make his first Arkansas team competitive is ferocious. He jumped his offensive linemen vociferously at practice Monday, as if to show that the team’s strongest unit isn’t immune from his scolding on a scalding day.

He criticized how players adapted to the searing heat Monday, but he amended his position somewhat Tuesday.

“We did get a lot accomplished,” he said. “When you go back and watch the video, you see good things that maybe you don’t see when you’re on the field.”

UA Athletic Director Jeff Long sat in attendance during Petrino’s morning news conference; Petrino listened in when his brother, offensive coordinator Paul Petrino, and defensive coordinator Willie Robinson met the media.

“For us to be good — I’m not going to say great — we have to be technique sound, we have to be physical, we have to run to the ball full speed and we have to be mistake-free,” Robinson said. “If we fall in any of those areas, fellows, we’re not good enough to overcome.”

Robinson said matching up against an offense as diverse and intricate as is run by the Petrinos is good preparation.

“If we can understand what our offense does, to be honest with you, we’re probably not going to see a whole heck of a lot different from anybody we face,” he said.

Paul Petrino and the other coaches spoke of Dick’s impact.

“He did a good job of getting everybody out there in the summer and he ran the show,” Paul Petrino said. “His confidence level is up, and our confidence in him is up.”

Pretty much any Arkansas player requested for interviews was available to the media Tuesday, except those who ran afoul of the law during the summer.

“I don’t want to talk a lot about them,” Bobby Petrino said. “They are taking something away from the guys that have worked hard, done a great job all summer and are preparing to open the game.”