Hogs DBs help, battle each other

Arkansas defensive backs Jared Collins (29) and Josh Liddell (28) go through practice Saturday, April 11, 2015, at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas has safeties in numbers this spring.

There is talent, experience and competition at the position with senior Rohan Gaines, sophomores Josh Liddell and De'Andre Coley and redshirt freshman Santos Ramirez.

Senior Davyon McKinney, sitting out this spring while he recovers from foot surgery, will be back in the mix at safety in the fall.

Gaines and Liddell have starting experience but are being pushed by Coley and Ramirez, defensive backs coach Clay Jennings said.

All four have taken first-team reps this spring, but Gaines has had the most work at No. 1 strong safety with Ramirez behind him. Liddell has been the primary starter at free safety backed up by Coley.

"Each of them bring different things to the table," defensive coordinator Robb Smith said. "Josh Liddell, for me as a coordinator, is like a security blanket. He knows things inside and out and he's a great communicator on the field."

Smith said Coley, who had 12 tackles in 11 games last season, is a physical presence in run support and when receivers go over the middle.

"Rohan, you love his experience," Smith said. "He can do things at free, he can do things at strong. He's played a lot of football here. I think he's really understanding our package, and that's going to help us moving forward."

Ramirez moved from cornerback to safety to begin spring practice.

"Santos is a guy who brings those corner skills to the safety position and allows you to man up," Smith said.

Jennings said Gaines, who was suspended for the Texas Bowl for disciplinary reasons, has come back strong this spring and assumed a leadership role.

"I had a talk with Rohan when we came back from spring break and told him that I'm going to ask a little bit more of him as far as being a total teammate, being the guy that teaches the other guys along the way," Jennings said. "He's been doing a great job with that, making sure guys are keeping up their energy and enthusiasm from the opening stretch to the last period of practice."

Jennings said the other safeties are doing a good job of following Gaines' lead in a competitive environment.

"It could be real easy for any of those guys to be selfish and not help one another and have a little bit of animosity," Jennings said. "But the one thing that we've talked about is, we're only as good as our weakest link, so all those guys treat it as a brotherhood."

Gaines has started 26 games, including 10 last season, but said he knew he had to earn back the coaches' trust after his suspension.

"Around here, we earn everything," said Gaines, who has 167 career tackles and last season returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown against Ole Miss. "There's a lot of competition back there in the secondary, and I feel like if I show I'm the best they'll put me out there.

"I'm trying to be a coach and help the younger guys out that haven't played certain positions before, just trying to do what it takes to help the team win."

Liddell played the second half of Arkansas' 17-0 victory over LSU after Gaines was ejected for targeting -- hitting a player in the head or neck area -- and started the next game against Ole Miss -- a 30-0 victory -- when Gaines had to sit out the first half. Liddell then started the Texas Bowl when Arkansas beat Texas 31-7.

"It was exciting to get out there and play in those big games when the defense did so well," Liddell. "Being part of that gives you a lot of confidence."

Liddell, who had 12 tackles in 12 games as a freshman, said he's up to 210 pounds this spring after coming to Arkansas last summer at 190.

"I'm bigger, I'm stronger, I know the defense better," he said. "It's like night and day from where I was as a freshman coming in. Things are just a lot more stable for me right now. I feel really comfortable."

Jennings said a good example of Liddell's maturity showed in a recent practice when he made sure everyone in the secondary got a rotation call for man-to-man coverage.

"Josh did great job of communicating the call," Jennings said. "There was no panic."

Ramirez, who has gained about 20 pounds and is at 205 this spring, said he prefers playing safety to cornerback.

"I like to roam, and I like to hit," he said.

Ramirez' physical style was on display when he hit receiver Eric Hawkins -- who held onto the ball -- in the first spring scrimmage.

"Santos is going to be a big factor this year as far as the big hits," Hawkins said. "Look for him to make somebody fumble or break up some passes."

Arkansas' coaches had planned to play Ramirez last season but he redshirted because of a hamstring injury. He worked on the scout-team defense.

"The biggest thing I learned was how to play the game of football," Ramirez said. "How to play fast, how to play smart and to play like a professional."

Gaines said Ramirez's attitude is a plus for making the move to safety.

"He has the mentality that nobody can beat him at anything," Gaines said. "That's what you've got to have to play back there."

Smith said he is looking forward to seeing how the safeties perform in next Saturday's Red-White game.

"We've got four guys back there that are really competing and doing good things, and that's going to bring everyone's performance up," Smith said. "If we can just collectively as a group keep getting better, it'll help us a lot in the fall."

Sports on 04/18/2015