College Football

Arkansas defense eyes encore effort

Doubt arises after high rise

Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith instructs his players Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015, during practice at the university practice field in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas defense has its share of doubters.

Analysts across the SEC have questioned whether Arkansas can turn in an encore performance for second-year coordinator Robb Smith after the Razorbacks’ surprise jump to No. 10 in the nation in total defense last year.

Hog tied

Arkansas improved from No. 76 nationally in total defense to No. 10 in 2014. A comparison of the Razorbacks’ defensive rankings from the past two seasons.

CATEGORY;2013 (RANK);2014 (RANK)

Total defense;413.4 (76);323.4 (10)

Rush defense;178.4 (78);114.6 (12)

Scoring defense;30.8 (88);19.2 (10)

Pass yds allowed;235.0 (72);208.8 (37)

Pass efficiency;150.1 (104);123.4 (49)

3rd down conv.;.434 (94);.396 (59)

4th down conv.;.643 (105);.222 (1)

Red zone;.822 (52);.697 (5)

Skeptics point to the Hogs’ loss of NFL draftees Trey Flowers, Darius Philon, Martrell Spaight and Tevin Mitchel, as well as quality safety Alan Turner, as part of the reason Arkansas’ defense might not be as strong.

“The defense was ridiculous,” SEC Network analyst David Pollack said at SEC media days. “That’s the biggest step backward I see for them. How do you replace Flowers and Philon?”

The Razorbacks will introduce a defense filled with new faces for the first time Saturday against the potent running attack of Texas-El Paso, which wants to apply an Arkansas-like blueprint in Conference USA.

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema gave the nickname “Bad News Bears” to the defense in the summer and didn’t include a defensive player among the team’s three representatives at SEC media days.

“It’s a bunch of guys who no one really knows their names, but I think we’re going to play really well together and cause a little bit of noise in the league,” Bielema said midway through summer.

Asked how the defense might carry over last year’s performance, in which the Razorbacks ranked No. 10 in scoring defense and No. 12 against the run, Smith spoke about the overriding philosophy.

“The biggest thing for us is that we have a few things that are really important to us defensively that we want to hang our hat on,” he said. “We feel that we can’t win the football game unless we stop the run, limit big plays and create takeaways. We just spend all our time focusing on those three things.”

Defensive backs coach Clay Jennings said adherence to the scheme should produce similar results.

“If we do our 1/11th and do what we’re supposed to do to fit within the defense, then the scheme will make plays for us,” Jennings said.

Arkansas’ doubters have been vocal since the Razorbacks capped their 7-6 season by holding Texas to 59 total yards in a 31-7 rout at the Texas Bowl.

Bielema said he came across an analysis while at a clinic in Houston that showed Arkansas had the most effective defense in the country in 15 categories for the final four games of 2014. That stretch included shutouts of No. 17 LSU and No. 8 Ole Miss, the domination of Texas and a 21-14 road loss to Missouri.

The question is whether Arkansas can mesh holdovers like linemen Taiwan Johnson and JaMichael Winston, linebacker Brooks Ellis and defensive backs Rohan Gaines, Jared Collins and D.J. Dean with emerging talent and swing that momentum into 2015.

“I definitely think we can repeat the performance,” Johnson said. “One thing we have this year that we didn’t have last year is coming into the season we have a better understanding of the defense, and I think that goes a long way.”

Arkansas’ defenders have heard the skepticism.

“I laugh,” Gaines said. “It’s definitely not just one or two or three stars on this defense. We have a solid group of guys that work hard and a bunch of guys that are tough.”

Collins said the defensive group uses the naysayers as motivation.

“We really can’t listen to what the media thinks,” he said. “We just have to go out and work and become the best defense we can become.”

Ellis said he doesn’t get tired of hearing from skeptics.

“It’s a constant reminder that we have something to prove and something to work towards to make a name for ourselves,” said Ellis, who is a defensive captain along with Winston. “We can improve from last year, even though we had a really good defense last year.”

Smith radiates positive vibes to the unit.

“ He tells us every day we can get to Atlanta with the guys we have, and I truly believe that,” Winston said early in camp.

It should be noted that Arkansas made its big leap defensively despite facing one of the nation’s toughest schedules, with a new coordinator in Smith, two new assistants in Jennings and Rory Segrest, along with much the same personnel as the previous season.

“We changed out three coaches, and the impact I think was immediate,” Bielema said. “Robb brought in a philosophy that allowed us to play very simple. We minimized our communication, our verbiage, our language and that allowed us to play a lot faster and a lot more aggressively.

“The No. 1 thing is our players became confident and it began to reflect in how they played and it got better and better in every game.”

The Razorbacks led the country in fourth-down defense, allowing a conversion rate of 22.2 percent, and ranked fifth in red-zone defense, allowing scores on 69.7 percent of their opponents’ drives inside their 20-yard line along with their top 12 rankings in total defense, scoring defense and rushing defense.

Junior linebacker Josh Williams, who made two starts for Ellis last season, put a different spin on whether the Razorbacks can duplicate last year’s defensive work.

“It’s like Martrell Spaight, no one had heard of him,” Williams said. “He did all of that in one year. So, you’re telling me that no one else can come out of nowhere and do that?”