FAYETTEVILLE — Mark Taurisani, Arkansas’ Director of Football Operations, approached Bret Bielema after a recent team meeting after finding a notebook that had been left behind in the Football Performance Center.
“I saw it right away and said, ‘That’s Dwayne Eugene’s,’” Bielema said. “He brings that notebook into every meeting.”
What Taurisani found is actually notebook No. 3 for Eugene, a junior linebacker from Louisiana. He’s already gone through two over the course of his Razorback career, the result of taking notes in every meeting, no matter how miniscule. Pen and notebook are out in team, linebacker and special team meetings. They’re in use whenever Bielema has a guest speaker address the team.
“My dad just always instilled in me when I was young that you’re never too old or young to learn,” Eugene said. “Knowledge is power, so I just try to write as much as I can down.”
The detailed notes paid off Saturday as he made his second career start in the 34-30 win over No. 12 Ole Miss. Eugene has bounced around between all three linebacker positions, with his main role before Saturday coming on special teams, where he participated in all four phases.
But Dre Greenlaw’s breaking his foot early in the Alabama game opened up the door for playing time at weakside linebacker.
“I’m sorry that Dre Greenlaw went down, but this is a moment I’ve been waiting for all my life,” Eugene said. “I just keep preparing because you never know when your number is called.”
Eugene finished with three tackles and two hurries, often playing the role of linebacker blitzer as the Razorbacks hurried Chad Kelly into a 5 for 18 second half.
The notes he takes this week will be in an effort to improve after his first substantial playing time on defense this year
“I left a lot of plays out on the field that I felt that I should’ve made and coach felt I should’ve made,” Eugene said.
Eugene was able to come up with an interception off a tipped pass after filling in for injured Dre Greenlaw against Alabama. But playing an entire game against as explosive an offense as Ole Miss has provided a learning experience. The notebook definitely hasn’t gone unused this week.
“He didn't grade out as well as he hoped he would,” Hargreaves said. “First time starting and first time playing for an extended period of time. It wasn't bad. He knows now what he's got to get done, play in and play out and over a long period of time. Hopefully that's going to help him a little bit.”
Hargreaves and secondary coach Paul Rhoads entered the interview room right as Eugene was finishing up his interviews Tuesday evening. Both coaches made it a point to playfully give Eugene a hard time about participating in his first media session of the year.
“He never wavered,” Hargreaves said. “He'd always come in and practiced and done everything we asked him to do. When the time came, he got in and got it done.”
“As coaches, we love him to death,” Bielema said.
Like usual, Bielema addressed the team Saturday morning before they left the hotel. Eugene was one of his main talking points.
“I said ’35 has earned this opportunity. I know Dre got injured, but 35 has earned this opportunity with the way he prepared.’ And we saw that today,” Bielema said after the Ole Miss win.
Eugene will start again this week at Auburn. He appears to be a good bet to man the Will spot until Greenlaw can return. It’s highly unlikely anyone will outwork him.
“Every time I’ll write something down, that night I’ll just review what I went over and just let that sink in and marinate that in,” Eugene said.
The notes are paying off and now he’s in a position to take a lot more. It might soon be time for notebook No. 4.