FAYETTEVILLE — One of the best looking players on the Arkansas football team is now playing like he looks. Teammates noticed this spring and voted Santos Ramirez one of the four captains this week.
There weren't a lot of chances to really see what Ramirez has changed in the final practice of spring on Saturday afternoon at Walker Pavilion. There was rarely any full contact and no tackling to the ground. That's how to see what a strong safety can do to make a defense work.
But the idea that Ramirez was voted captain – along with Austin Allen, Frank Ragnow and Kevin Richardson – caught my attention.
It contrasts with the worries about Rawleigh Williams, sent to the hospital after a neck “stinger” early in practice Saturday. The fact that Williams saw his career almost ended by a neck injury as a freshman makes the next few weeks complicated for the junior running back.
Why? It was clear that Williams faced opposition from his mother after the first neck injury. What will she want after this one? How do you send your son onto the field in such a vicious game after seeing something scary for the second time?
I am told that this injury is not related, but it doesn't make decisions on playing football easy. Neck injuries and concussions are the nasty part of the game that parents have to battle through.
It's the kind of hits that Ramirez can deliver that make the game tough to play and also give parents reason to second guess the merits of the sport.
Williams was hardly touched Saturday. It appeared a defensive linemen, perhaps McTelvin Agim, struck a mild blow to the side that staggered Williams in a drill that didn't include tackling. Williams didn't go down until it seemed he realized his arm had gone numb, the result of a pinched nerve, or a “stinger.”
There was going to be very little contact work for the day, something that probably disappointed some players. It isn't really football without tackling.
Without tackling, Ramirez just buzzed around Walker Pavilion in something akin to two-hand touch. He did break up a pass in the flats with a two-hand shove to the chest of the receiver. It was the only real chance to see the junior from Shreveport, La., produce anything close to violence.
“Oh, he's violent, though,” said Ryan Pulley, the junior cornerback with the magnificent cover skills and uncanny ability to jump routes.
“You go over the middle against our secondary, you are going to have to deal with Santos, along with De'Andre Coley. They will hit you.”
No one has ever questioned that. Now Ramirez will tackle you, too. There was confirmation from head coach Bret Bielema and others after practice.
“We always knew Santos could be a special player,” Bielema said. “But what we've seen – and he would be the first to tell you – is that there has been growth upstairs.
“He's never been bad (about studying football), but he's gotten serious. For those of you who have seen our scrimmages, you can tell he's become much more efficient in his tackling.
“He's always wanted to hit people. You remember the end of the Ole Miss game. He hit the quarterback and separated him from the ball. But what you may not remember, the quarterback was still on his feet after the hit and he could have still been running except he lost the ball.”
Allen was not surprised that Ramirez joined him as one of the captains. The strong safety in the UA defense might finally be truly strong.
“First, it's an honor to be voted by your teammates,” Allen said. “It means you need to be a voice and there is great responsibility.
“I thought Santos would be voted. He's had a great spring, a great spring. He's been tough to go against all spring.”
Quarterbacks match wits with safeties throughout practice. If Allen said Ramirez has made it tough, you can trust he has done that.
“Santos brings it every day,” Allen said. “He doesn't want to lose one play. He competes on everything. He wants you to know, you throw it over the middle, he'll be there.
“I think a lot of guys have stepped up and improved. I hope I've improved. I can tell you Santos is a lot better. He's going to be a big-time player for us.”
I'm sure that Ramirez would have preferred a real spring game, something that was on tap before the forecast hit in midweek with heavy thunderstorms predicted. They were there, too. About 3 inches of rain was dumped on campus during the two hours of the practice Saturday. Thunder rolled.
But there was no thunder on the field. There was nothing to prove to a pair of the greatest Arkansas safeties that there might be another one coming.
Steve Atwater and Ken Hamlin were on the sidelines. None have delivered any more vicious hits than those two. I'd add Kenoy Kennedy to that group and you'd have perhaps the three best to have patrolled the middle of UA secondaries.
Atwater has rarely returned to campus since going on to star with the Denver Broncos, earning a spot in the Pro Bowl eight times. He's in the process of relocating to Denver, perhaps in the next year.
Can Ramriez play like Atwater, Hamlin or Kennedy? It could be the single most important change that could happen to the Razorbacks in 2017.
“I think we are going to be good on defense,” Pulley said. “I think we have a chance to be a completely different defense.”
The difference could be the way Ramirez plays at strong safety, perhaps playing closer to the line of scrimmage in the new 3-4 scheme being installed by defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads. The most important thing Rhoads could have done this spring is convince Ramirez that he needs to tackle and not just hit.
At 6-2 and somewhere between 205 and 215 pounds, I'm not saying Ramirez looks as good as Atwater did. Atwater stands 6-4 and was in the 220 range. He played like a middle linebacker. And he didn't just hit running backs, he dropped them with form tackles that produced injuries.
Ramirez may be headed that direction. It's a big deal, but no less important than another big change I see developing in the new defense. The other is the pressure that seems to be building from the variety of blitzes coming from the 3-4 front.
“It's been more difficult for me,” Allen said. “The thing you have to do at quarterback is understand the pressures and the protections. I'm better at that, but it's tougher with what we are doing now. You don't know where the fourth rusher is coming from.”
Pulley smiled. He knows that quarterback pressures mean more balls up for grabs for him. The best ball hawk in the UA secondary understands he's going to get more chances.
“I don't think quarterbacks are going to know what hit them,” Pulley said. “That fourth rusher could be any one of the four outside linebackers, or it might be Kevin Richardson. That's going to make it more fun for me.”
The Arkansas secondary has not been a thing of beauty in the past few years. Ramirez has not always played to the way he looks.
“We are faster, quicker and just better,” Pulley said. “We are excited about the way we look right now. I think everyone is excited, even the offense.”
What's the old saying? You can look like Tarzan but play like Jane?
Santos Ramirez does look like Tarzan. If he can tackle like some of those great safeties watching him Saturday, the Hogs may have something in 2017.