FAYETTEVILLE — Bret Bielema will tell you it’s not one particular opponent nor one particular player that compelled him to switch Arkansas’ base defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4.
One can assert that TCU's offense is responsible as any for the switch.
Last season at TCU’s Amon Carter Stadium, Arkansas somehow prevailed 41-38 in double overtime. TCU amassed 169 more yards and five more first downs than Arkansas.
TCU coach Gary Patterson’s hurry-up, no-huddle Spread formation netted 572 yards and 25 first downs. Quarterback Kenny Hill completed 36 of 56 passes for 377 yards and netted 93 yards running on 15 carries.
Getting set fast against the fast-snapping, fleet-footed Frogs is paramount, Arkansas defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said.
“They are uptempo,” Rhoads said. “They always have been. You can pick any game that you like (against TCU) and you are going to see a team get caught with their pants down, be it out of position or not lined up with their eyes in the right location. It will be one of the keys to victory for us to be aligned properly with great eye discipline and great football stances to match the tempo and speed of Texas Christian.”
So did the 2016 TCU game prompt Bielema to think 3-4 for 2017?
“I wouldn’t say there’s any one offense that made me start thinking that,” Bielema said Monday. “I think the 3-4 fits what we can do better. One of the advantages I think, without a doubt, to the 3-4 is being able hopefully to line up more efficiently in a short amount of time and be able to get more athletes on the field on their feet, and be able to be diverse when the ball’s snapped.”
The 3-4 enables linebacker Randy Ramsey and his 6-4, 228-pound build. Ramsey was too big or too light to fit anywhere for long in the 4-3, but had too much talent to not play somewhere.
A true hybrid as a former high school safety who at Arkansas last year played as a too-small yet sometimes surprisingly effective hand-on-the-ground defensive end, Ramsey can play either the Razor or Hog outside linebacker positions in Bielema’s 3-4. So he’s got a place to play even when a linebacker is supplanted by a nickel back.
“I think he has some special skills and is just starting to scratch the surface how good he can be,” said Bielema, who noted Ramsey and senior outside linebacker Dwayne Eugene each logged sacks against FAMU.
“Randy Ramsey and Dwayne Eugene have been kind of role players to this point,” Bielema said. “But I think it showed up (against FAMU) that those are two guys that belong at this level.”