FAYETTEVILLE — Defensive end coach Rory Segrest was speaking figuratively. But it worked literally, too.
Randy Ramsey has turned the corner mentally. And the defensive end can turn the corner with his pass rush.
It's great news for everyone, especially Ramsey.
Ramsey is the 6-foot-4, 228-pound sophomore from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Dillard High School. He came to Arkansas two years ago and even earned a letter.
But the rangy linebacker fell out of school and football, basically earning himself a ticket back to Florida. As everyone knows by now, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema doesn't mess around.
Ramsey wasn't doing what it took in the classroom, on the field or in meeting rooms. He was not all-in. Well, he was out in everything.
Ramsey earned his way back onto the football team with a year off to restore his eligibility through Internet courses. He was granted walk-on status last winter, convincing coaches and teammates that he was finally all-in as a Razorback.
“He's a new person,” said Brooks Ellis, linebacker and team captain. “He proved it to me in the meeting room, in the weight room and on the field. He does everything right. We are glad to have him with us.”
Bielema was hesitant to let Ramsey back on the team. It took visits on the phone and then in person before the walk-on status was made available. And Bielema was careful not to offer “too much sugar” even when things were going well last winter.
There were hints along the way that the head coach liked what he saw. He mentioned Ramsey before spring practice began. He said the linebacker was sending him daily texts with scripture. It was also clear that Ramsey was living out the scripture.
Ramsey did his first interviews at Sunday's media day. He embraced the opportunity to speak about his good fortune to be a main cog in what Robb Smith thinks is going to be a more versatile defense, capable of banging heads with smash-mouth teams like Alabama and LSU as well as spread teams like Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
And guess who is front and center in those plans? It's the long, lean Ramsey, now both a strong-side linebacker and the strong-side end - what Smith calls the “R” position. Ramsey is going to play for both Segrest and linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves.
All say Ramsey has turned the corner and can also turn the corner in pass rush settings.
“He's a new guy,” Segrest said. “He's turned the corner, yes he has. He's taking advantage of a great opportunity.
“He's got the perfect combination of speed, quickness and length to be a pass rusher. I saw tape of him playing the strong end spot in high school. He can do that for us. He was that hybrid linebacker you are looking for and has a great focus about himself right now.”
Smith, the defensive coordinator, drools about the potential of Ramsey at the strong end spot. Well, he's been drooling about the possibilities since he first saw him on the practice field two years ago. He told me about Ramsey's ability to “flash” in practice two days into camp. Three days into the 2016 camp, Smith is raving about him again.
“What I see is someone who can play in our base 4-3 as a Sam linebacker,” Smith said. “Then, go to rush end in the same 4-3, making it hard for teams to tell that we've subbed to a different package. And I see him being able to play up or down in our nickel. It gives us great flexibility in our schemes.”
Yes, that sounds like an every day player and someone who can give both Brooks Ellis and Dre Greenlaw some rest as packages change and teams offer different offensive personnel through substitution.
That's a lot of learning for Ramsey. He's got a big playbook to digest. But he's in the playbook, something that didn't happen the first time around. He was accused of not coming to football meetings with pencil and pad. You won't hear that now.
“I'm trying to make the most of my second chance,” Ramsey said. “I didn't do things right the first time. I wanted to come back here and prove to everyone I could do it right.
“I've played down at end. I like it. I was glad they asked me to try it. I think I have the abilities to be tough on an offensive lineman. I know they are bigger. I'm not big, around 230. But I don't think I need more weight. The coaches haven't asked for that yet.
“What I think I have is speed and strong hands. My arms are long. I think it's tough for a tackle to get ahold of me. I'm a speed guy. I think that's my asset, get past them before they can grab me.”
Ramsey knows there are a lot of people watching to see if he'll mess up again.
“After I lost my scholarship, my eyes were opened,” he said. “I had been taking things for granted. I won't ever do that again.
“I learned an important lesson. You have to earn everything. I wanted back here, not somewhere else. I wasn't doing things right. I wasn't going to class. I wasn't doing things right in football. I came back to show everyone that I can do them exactly right. This is where I wanted to be and I'm so happy to be here.”
The scripture texts to Bielema aren't entirely original.
“My brother sends them to me,” Ramsey said. “Then, I go over them. That's when I send them to Coach Bielelma. They are straight from (the Bible). It's a fun book. That's the book I'm living by.”
It's been fun to watch, Ellis said.
“I don't think it matters what we give to Randy, he's going to do it,” Ellis said. “He's starting to emerge. We've got some leaders now who you wouldn't think would be leaders. But they are. It's guys like that who are doing things right. That's a leader.
“That's why I think this defense is going to be much better. We have leadership all across the defense. It gives us a lot of confidence. We know the defense. We understand our jobs. That builds confidence.
“I think we can play a lot of different ways. We have a lot of playmakers. We have a lot of confidence in a lot of different guys.
“Look a the depth we've built at linebacker. I see these freshmen as amazing players with amazing skills. Look at Scoota, what an athlete! What movement! We have talent in a lot of different areas and these freshmen are so fast and athletic for their size.”
Scoota is true freshman linebacker De'Jon Harris, the 6-0, 255-pounder from Harvey, La. Harris played some quarterback and tailback in high school.
“I can see that,” Ellis said. “I can see him at Wildcat. He's talented.
“All of those young ones are in the playbook. They are learning it. I'm impressed.”
Robb Smith has been pleased with what he's seen from the overall defensive knowledge of the playbook, from old guys and newcomers.
“We are so much further ahead than we were this time last year,” Smith said. “We are better. It's going to be a fun ride. We are better physically, we have more playmakers and we are much better in our alignment.
“We've added players. Our defensive roster is so much better. We have replaced the guys were missing last year at two key positions, where Trey Flowers and Darius Philon played. We are adding guys with our newcomers that can play those positions as we move forward, too.
“Then, you add what Randy Ramsey can do in so many different combinations, we are much better. We are better in the back end. We are deeper there. And we are so much more confident there.
Smith said the team is doing the little things right, which go a long way in the games.
“The big plays come when you make an alignment mistake," Smith said. "You give away things by just simple stuff like being in the right spot. We don't do that now. I feel good.
“Now we just have to keep adding the details. Avoid mistakes. Coach these young ones and see how many we can add to our groupings. I think we are better.
“I feel good that we are about ready to jump into some scout situations. We are ready to play against someone beside our offense in practice and we are going to do that some this week. I do think we are ahead.”
Maybe more than Randy Ramsey is about to turn the corner. It could be the entire defense. I'm not ready to make any season predictions, but my number might be going up.