FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Bret Bielema made his presence felt quickly during his first SEC Media Days appearance Wednesday, passionately standing behind previous statements no-huddle offenses are dangerous for players on both sides of the ball.
Bielema said at the SEC Spring Meetings earlier this year he felt teams should be given a set time to substitute players between snaps. Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, a proponent of hurry-up spread offenses, said earlier Wednesday of Bielema's comments, "When I first heard that, to be honest with you, I thought it was a joke."
When asked about Malzahn's comment, Bielema responded with a fiery 3-minute response about player safety.
"I'm not a comedian," Bielema said. "Everything I say, I truly believe in. When I go into a young man's home, when I'm recruiting a 17-year-old kid and you're going to move him halfway across the country, and you look a mom and dad in the eye and say, 'I'm going to look out for the personal well-being of your son in everything I do…I am trusting you to give me your son to come play for me.' If I have a son I have brought to this campus and I don't look out for his personal well-being, then I have lied to that parent.
"All I know is there are times when an offensive player and a defensive player are on the field for an extended amount of time without a break. You cannot tell me a player after play 5 is the same player he is after play 15. If that exposes him to a risk of injury, then that's my fault and I can't do anything about it because the rules don't allow me to substitute him in whether I'm offense or defense.
"The problem people have is you look at it from an offensive and defensive point of view. I'm looking at it from a head coach's point of view that the personal well-being and safety of my players is paramount."
Bielema likened the huddling scenario to kickoffs, which were moved back 5 yards prior to last season because of concussion concerns. The first-year Arkansas coach is a member of college football's rules committee.
"We did that for safety," he said of the kickoff rule change. "We dramatically decreased the number of concussions on kickoffs because of that rule change. If we can have the same effect and change the amount of injuries to an offensive and defensive player, and play the game still, would that not be a good resolution? It's not a joke to me, it's something I feel strongly about. It's not rhetoric.
"There is statistical evidence that show as players become more tired, they become more vulnerable to injury. That's all I'm talking about. If you want to play a hurry-up offense, play it. I'll play you. I don't care. But it doesn't mean I can't try to protect my players offensively and defensively."
Arkansas is scheduled to play several no-huddle teams this season, including Auburn on Nov. 2 in Fayetteville.
Bielema's passionate defense of his position didn't come to as a surprise to those around him.
"He's definitely not afraid to tell you what he thinks," Arkansas center Travis Swanson said. "He's not afraid to stand up for himself or his team, which is good for us."