Commentary

Razorbacks lacked leadership

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema watches warmups prior to a game against Virginia Tech on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016, in Charlotte, N.C.

Bret Bielema has himself a problem and it’s one that can’t be hidden.

After four full seasons at Arkansas, his program is lacking in leadership, which actually stuns me.

At SEC Media Days in July, ESPN’s Marty Smith stated, “As long as Bret Bielema is at Arkansas, you won’t have to worry about leadership.” He punctuated it with, “That’s a damn leader right there.”

At the time, I whole-heartedly agreed, but after watching this season unfold and in particular the last two games, I’ve got some questions. They are the kind of questions that aren’t easily answered in a press conference.

Bielema preaches discipline, accountability and consistency, but after four years in his program, he had one senior cited for shoplifting and another spit in an opponent’s face in the last game of his college career. Jeremy Sprinkle and Drew Morgan aren’t just two seniors, they are the heart and soul of the team, and if that’s how they’re behaving on the way out the door, you have a problem.

Personally, I really like and respect both players, and to the best of my knowledge, these were out-of-character incidents. But it is also an indication of how and why you blow a 24-0 halftime lead, which was preceded by a similar event at Missouri.

“In the second half, we had uncharacteristic busts on simple things,” Bielema said. “We did things that were uncharacteristic. Guys improvising and doing things that are uncharacteristic to what we ask them to do.”

I would argue those things have actually become exactly who Arkansas is and not uncharacteristic at all. This is what Hog fans have come to expect.

Consistently inconsistent might be the best way to describe Arkansas’ 7-6 season. It was somewhat fitting that the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde bowl performance capped off a 10-game lose-win-lose-win streak that baffled national pundits all season long.

Following the Belk Bowl, I asked Bielema about the up-and-down nature of his team.

“In a microcosm,” he said, “it’s a little bit of what I’ve seen every day going back to January, February, March and the inconsistency of us being on time for a workout and the inconsistency of certain guys that we should be able to count on to do things right. As a head coach, I’ve got to be more consistent in how I handle those things so they understand there is no other option than 100 percent all in.”

That quote should tell us all we need to know about this season. Arkansas lacked leadership and the program took a step back because of it.

My question is, why?

Why did Arkansas lack leadership this year? Was it just the personality makeup of the seniors? Was Bielema inconsistent on discipline as his comments suggested?

Expanding on his comments, Bielema said, “When you’re in a place like Arkansas, a place that needs to play at a higher level, not only on game day but in your preparation, you can’t settle for anything less.”

That statement is likely true of any place, but because Arkansas is usually an underdog, Bielema is saying you have to be exceptional in all the areas you control like discipline, accountability and player development, all of which were thought to be values that led to his success at Wisconsin.

On the day he was introduced as Arkansas’ head coach, he said this program would be disciplined and not beat itself. Discipline is at the very core of his approach, yet throughout the season, we have heard Bielema say his team doesn’t have it. Why?

It’s a question Bielema needs to answer to get this program back on track and it will take exceptional leadership to figure it out.

This originally appeared in Hawgs Illustrated