FAYETTEVILLE — Darius Winston isn’t a man of many words. But the soft-spoken cornerback from West Helena didn’t need a rambling synopsis of his experience when he arrived on Arkansas’ campus late last summer.
He reported to campus later than most of the Razorbacks’ signees.
He hadn’t been in the weight room all summer, didn’t go through conditioning drills and wasn’t working with his future teammates in passing drills on the practice field in the blazing sun.
So when it was time to perform in preseason camp, Winston’s confi - dence lagged. It was that simple.
“Everybody was going 90 miles per hour and I was doing, like, 20,” Winston said. “I was a little star struck.”
But there’s good news: Winston — who was a five-star recruit out of high school — has closed the gap with a productive year in Arkansas’ program.
The 6-foot, 185-pound Winston is bigger, stronger, and, perhaps most important of all, much more confi - dent as he carves out a role in the Razorbacks’ defensive backfi eld.
Winston is working with the second-team unit and will be counted on in a defense determined to improve in 2010. Teammates believe Winston is ready to help.
“I don’t know why things went for him the way they went last year, but it doesn’t matter what went on then,” Arkansas cornerback Ramon Broadway said. “It’s a matter of where he’s at now. His confi dence is through the roof. I’m defi nitely glad he’s gotten the opportunity.”
It’s not unusual for freshmen to need a season to develop, but Winston’s case left many in Arkansas wondering what was happening. Winston was the high-profi le prospect in the state, choosing Arkansas over the likes of Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Tennessee.
But he never settled in and played in just four games.
“I heard a lot from people,” he said. “A lot of people came to me and I was hearing, ‘He was a fi ve-star. Why didn’t he play?’ ... I just felt like I’m here to play ball. These are my teammates. I’m not bigger than anyone. That was over with. Recruiting was over with.”
Arkansas strength and conditioning coach Jason Veltkamp said he wasn’t surprised to see Winston struggle. In his experiences, it happens to newcomers who don’t have a chance to spend the summer on campus.
“To come into the tempo of our practice and not be on campus with us at all, you really don’t have a chance in camp,” Veltkamp said. “You’re going to fall behind because we practice hard, we practice fast.”
But Veltkamp took on Winston as his own personal project once the season ended, working closely with the cornerback in the weight room over the winter.
It was important for Winston to add size and strength, so Veltkamp challenged the cornerback to make the most of their time together.
“Darius didn’t know what to think the first time I was in his ear,” Veltkamp said. “He looked at me like I was crazy. But by the end of the winter he enjoyed it.”
He was a new man in time for spring ball, too, looking bigger and playing stronger. He also had a new dose of confidence, too, something that seemed to come from the improvements in the weight room.
Winston worked with the second-team defense and drew praise from Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino and defensive coordinator Willy Robinson.
“I think Darius has gained confidence in his strength because of his improvement in the weight room,” Robinson said. “I think Darius has gained confidence in his X’s and O’s because he’s had more reps and he’s learning how to study. He comes in and he watches fi lm.”
But Robinson also said he needs to see more from Winston in other areas. The steps he has taken have been rewarding, but there is more improvement to make.
“I think what Darius has to get more confi dent about is tackling,” Robinson said. “The fact that he’s gotten stronger, the fact that he spent that much time in the weight room, it’s OK to go seek out contact.”
Winston has no problem with the constructive criticism.
He knows how far he has come in a year and plans on improving even more. Plus, Winston knows this: He is much better prepared to help the Razorbacks in 2010.
“Last year was tough,” Winston said. “I had to work hard, but I focused on getting a lot stronger and focused on getting better. ... I made a lot of strides.”