FAYETTEVILLE — Austin Capps made his first trip to the interview room at Arkansas on Tuesday night. A four-star prospect out of Star City now running with the first team at nose tackle, it was only a matter of time until he was requested.
When a reporter joked with ultra quiet Capps on the surroundings, he smiled and said, “I could do without coming in here.”
The interview room also doubles as the scout team meeting room before practice. Capps skipped that in his freshman season, something he figured was on tap when he arrived at Arkansas. Lo and behold, Capps lettered as a true freshman, making 12 tackles in 12 games. He did miss the Texas A&M game because of a scooter accident.
Capps is a reluctant interview, but handles questions in solid fashion. He's not going to elaborate, but he's going to give thoughtful responses. It was actually my second interview with Capps, dating back to a session before he enrolled at Arkansas. He drove to Fayetteville to be in the cover photo with McTelvin Agim for the Hawgs Illustrated recruiting issue 14 months ago.
He handles interview requests the same as about anything else that's come his way at Arkansas. He'll do them.
Head coach Bret Bielema thought about moving Capps to offensive guard after the fall, a subject which was broached in a January meeting.
“I told him I'd do it,” Capps said, but noted that it hadn't come up again.
It probably won't come up again, either. Capps, a true sophomore, has moved ahead of senior Bijhon Jackson on the first team through two weeks of spring drills. Bielema praised Capps after Saturday's scrimmage, then revealed that Jackson might get a try at defensive end in the 3-4 front.
A reporter must have got confused over that tidbit on Tuesday because Capps was asked about the potential of making a similar move. Bielema has not talked about any more moves for Capps, just Jackson. You don't leave a senior behind a first-year player.
“I haven't heard anything about that,” Capps said of his inclusion in the defensive end talk, something that hasn't happened. “But I'd do it.”
That didn't surprise cornerback Ryan Pulley, also in the interview room Tuesday. He said he figures Capps would be up for anything. And, he also predicted that the big man didn't have a lot to say in the interview room.
“I have not heard him say a lot,” Pulley said. “He's just about working, going about his business. That's what you are going to get from Austin.”
Both Capps and Pulley think the Hogs are progressing just fine in the conversion to the 3-4. Both like the potential in the new scheme and think it fits the personnel.
“I like it,” Capps said. “I like it a lot. I think it gives us a lot more range to make plays. There is more movement.”
That movement wasn't noticeable in the first scrimmage. The defense kept to the basics with no slants or stunts in the front.
“That will come,” Capps said. “I think you will see that we don't have to stationary like we did last year. What we did last week might have made it a little harder on us, but it will all come.”
Pulley said the same thing. He thinks the 3-4 – and the way the Hogs are going to play it – turns loose some players who might not have appeared to own speed last year.
“We've got some guys up front like Sosa Agim and Karl Roesler – two good ends -- Austin Capps and Bijhon Jackson at nose, then Mike Taylor and Randy Ramsey at outside linebacker,” Pulley said.
“Ramsey didn't get to show the things they have because of the way we played the front. And, you have a guy like Randy who is a much better pass rusher than it looked like last year because of the way we played. He really wasn't on the field that much.
“I think we have a lot more athletes than it looked like last year. We have ends and we have nose tackles. We have outside linebackers.
“I think what you see now is not what we are going to be when we get all of our calls in. We don't have them in, but I know what's coming. I know how it's going to progress. I see it. Randy is going to be one of the best edge rushers in our league.”
Capps isn't the foot athlete that some of the others are in the front, but he has lightning in his hands. It's an asset that serves him well in defeating blockers. He's strong, a record breaker in high school weight-lifting competitions. But that's not where Bielema thinks he gets his fast hands.
“He played lots and lots of baseball,” Bielema said. “He's got the quickest hands of anyone we've got. I was interested in what (new defensive line coach) John Scott thought about Austin. After the first day, he was talking about his hand quickness.”
What's all of that mean?
“I think it's just how quick you get from your hands on the ground to your hands on the blocker,” Capps said.
Center Frank Ragnow has said the same thing. He calls Capps amazing. That's not what Capps calls Ragnow.
“What Ragnow is, he's the best in the nation,” Capps said. “I think it really helps me to go against Frank every day in practice.”
Ragnow is not scrimmaging, but he's still first in line in every individual drill this spring. Ragnow is not sitting out that stuff.
“It's helping me get better,” Capps said. “I like going against him, but it's hard to keep up with him. I like working on the first team, but it's pretty quick there.”
Capps is pleased with his new position coach.
“I am liking it so far,” he said. “He's a cool guy. He will tell you a lot of jokes, but we work.”
Capps thinks he's made improvement from last fall. Asked if he was happy about his performance as a true freshman, he said, “It could have been better. I really didn't expect to play last year. I wanted to play, but I thought I'd probably be redshirted. So maybe I did more than expected.”
A reporter interjected that the defensive philosophy might not have been set up for the defensive linemen to make many tackles.
“It was if you got off blocks,” he countered. “You get off of a block, you could get as much glory as you'd want. I didn't feel like I did that.”
The offensive line had the upper hand in the first scrimmage. That could change as more movement is added this week, as promised by Bielema.
“We do expect to make more plays in this defense,” Capps said. “We are excited to be in this scheme and this front.”
That's about all you're going to get from Austin Capps. It might be enough. If the new defensive scheme leads to more plays for Capps, that might mean more trips to the interview room.
If that's the case, I know the way Capps would answer requests from the media relations staff. No, he wouldn't like it, but he'd do it. That's just his nature and it's all good.