Clay Henry's Top 10 Keys: Arkansas vs. Auburn

Arkansas defensive coordinator John Chavis pats receiver Jared Cornelius on the back prior to a game against Eastern Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018, in Fayetteville.

John Chavis looks and acts like an old school coach. There is a gruffness that sounds a little like Wilson Matthews.

For those too young to know, Matthews was the veteran coach from Little Rock High with a string of state championships who was the first person Frank Broyles called when he took over as head coach at Arkansas in December 1957.

Matthews is credited for running the tough winter conditioning classes that players say was the key to the tough nature they played with while winning seven Southwest Conference championships under Broyles. Matthews was mean and nasty on the field, but had a way of connecting and loving on players back in the dormitory. He was as loved as he was feared.

Given that Chavis seemed to have that tough, no nonsense air, I was interested to hear him say earlier this season, when tackling wasn’t up to par in a scrimmage, that the approach in practice would be tough “but not demeaning. We will encourage.”

That fits with what his new head coach demands - that tough love approach that some say won’t work with football players. No, there is that belief among some that you must instill a fear in players. You must be scared of the coach to play at top effort.

Can you have it both ways? Yes, in fact, I think it’s the best way to coach. I dug through my notes to find the core believes for the way Chad Morris, the new Arkansas head coach, is putting the team through meetings and practices in these dark days.

Yes, they are dark. Morris has referenced “the storm” as he tries to pull the Hogs out of a 1-2 start and the schedule gets to the toughest stretch, a three-game gauntlet of Auburn, Texas A&M and Alabama.

It reminds me of what I was told Broyles went through in his first season, which began with a six-game losing streak that included two shutouts and two more games with one touchdown or less. There were mutterings of his lack of offensive innovation, yet Broyles was regarded as one of the brightest offensive minds in the game as a play caller while an assistant at Georgia Tech and Baylor.

During that 0-6 start, Broyles lost 20 pounds as he stayed up late trying to figure out what players needed to play what position. Everything was tried as personnel were shuffled.

Morris looked like a man who had not slept when he came to the interview room Monday trying to explain the plan for righting the ship “in a storm” after losing 44-17 to North Texas. He also sounded like Broyles. The message was what all good coaches maintain in a time of struggling offenses: reduce, simplify and clarify.

Broyles was famous for hiring the nation’s brightest offensive minds, adding the new wrinkle of the day. But, in the fall when things were not going smoothly, he’d do what Morris said, reduce and make it simple.

These are not speedy Razorbacks, but they looked slow on offense at times during the 1-2 start. They were thinking too much. And, the mental errors were too frequent. That’s how quarterbacks can throw six interceptions in a game.

Not all of the interceptions were on quarterbacks Cole Kelley, Connor Noland and John Stephen Jones. Receivers ran wrong routes and blockers didn’t provide enough protection, but the quarterback is the man who throws it.

What’s happened this week in practice wasn’t a blood bath. The answer was not intense scrimmaging. That’s not the way to get better, Morris said Monday. The practices were routine as far as the hitting goes.

What happened was intense detail to the fundamentals and techniques because that’s where the Hogs broke down. And, there was a huge amount of detail on the rules of the passing game, as far as the routes and the protection. Quarterbacks have to trust both areas to produce smooth and accurate production.

There is no pill that will make the pain in this Arkansas football team go away. I know that’s what we want, a quick fix. We take a pill for a headache, another one for sore knees. But there won’t be anything that helps other than just emphasis on the basics, day after day.

Yes, better players are needed. They are on the way. Morris has a staff full of ace recruiters. He maintains if you can’t recruit, you won’t be with him long.

In the meantime, he’ll coach them up, emphasizing the construction of relationships. That’s the basis for everything he does, work on that relationship. I was interested in what Chavis said last spring about the Morris method.

“I’ve already used this statement: You have to change actions to change character, and character changes the culture,” he said. “The point is this: Coach Morris does a tremendous job of being demanding in everything we do but not be demeaning.

“You can correct without doing that. He has a great gift and that’s because of who he is, what he stands for - but it doesn’t keep him from being competitive. In my opinion, it gives him a great edge.

“You can have all the great knowledge in the world. Certainly, Coach Morris has that, but being able to communicate with people and being able to motivate people is a big part of what goes into coaching football. Some people just have a gift for being able to motivate and communicate. It’s so important.”

A few days after the interview with Chavis, there was a sit down with Morris. He confirmed what Chavis said about relationships. Morris said if there is belief that the coach loves the players, you can coach them as hard as you want. Call that the Matthews way, but more than that, call it the right way. It’s the way to raise your family and it’s the way to build a football team.

“The biggest thing that I’ve gotten out of (years in coaching) is that it’s about relationships,” Morris said. “The more that you can have that relationship with a player, the fact that he feels like he let you down comes into play. He’s doing this because he truly loves his coaches and he doesn’t want to disappoint anyone.”

There just isn’t enough time in the day to do everything Morris wants to do in the relationship building. Just as he’s trying to do that with his players and staff, he’s working on the future. He’s trying to build relationships on the recruiting trail, which has taken him away from his new players.

Morris said Wednesday night on his weekly radio show he made 40 calls to recruits and their parents. It’s building that relationship that will allow him to keep 19 commitments, many of them highly ranked, and add to that list.

There wasn’t time to build relationships in that last class, but there will be going forward. But he’s also got to build relationships with current players and that doesn’t happen overnight.

Morris said the first thing he told players after the loss to North Texas was about love.

“I told them I care about them,” he said. “They have to understand that.”

Because if they don’t, it won’t be easy to drive them in practice over the past few days. It’s about relationships and the time it takes to build them.

“In order to do that – where they don’t want to disappoint you - it takes time,” Morris said. “That’s probably been the biggest challenge since I’ve gotten (to Arkansas). I wanted the relationships with the players to be just like it was when I walked out of at SMU.

“It wasn’t. It’s not going to be. It took three years to build that type of relationships. That takes time.”

All he can do is be consistent on a daily basis and learn the details about his players and their families.

“The biggest thing is that as long as players see that I’m genuine, we care about them and it’s far more than just the game of football,” he said. “That’s what this whole thing is about as we move forward with them.

“You can coach them as hard as you want as long as they know that you are real, you are genuine and that you honestly care about them. That’s who I am. That’s the way I was coached.”

And part of what was happening this week was make sure the quarterback takes care with the football. Morris said there is constant preaching to care for the ball “like a surgeon” cares for his patient. That’s how you limit turnovers.

And that’s where this week’s top 10 keys start.


Ball Security

Arkansas lost the turnover battle, 6-1, last week against North Texas. That had everything to do with the 44-17 result. No football team can overcome that ratio.

There is an understanding that poor football teams generally to lose the turnover battle. It’s what happens when the line of scrimmage is out of control. If you can block and shed blocks, you don’t lose the turnover battle. It’s that simple.

But there are times when you lost the battle up front and the quarterback is flushed when the right thing is to just throw the ball in the stands or at the feet of everyone so it just becomes an incomplete pass. I saw North Texas quarterback Mason Fine do that over and over. He never put his team in a bad position with a throw into danger.

Auburn’s fantastic front seven will do that to the Hogs on Saturday, break down the protections and flush the quarterback, promised to be Ty Storey. He’ll have to throw it away. An incomplete pass isn’t all bad.

The Hogs are underdogs by more than four touchdowns. The recipe for an upset is to win the turnover battle. That has to be the goal this week.

Energy

Going on the road is never easy. Jordan-Hare Stadium is loud and hostile. The Hogs have won there before, but it’s a given that there will be a small band of fans traveling with them this week. That’s what happens in a 1-2 start.

“We have to bring energy,” Morris said. “I told our team we have to pack our own energy.”

Still, the best way to get some energy is to make a play early and that can be in any area of the team: offense, defense or special teams.

North Texas got its spark last week from a trick play on a punt return, the fake fair catch for lack of a better phrase. I’m not sure there was much fake with his hands, but the Mean Green punt returner did fool the Hogs.

I wouldn’t advocate such a play, but be warned that Gus Malzahn has a large back of trick plays. Chavis said he’s gone over them this week with his defense. He said they are good ones, too, based on lots of practice.

Breaking up one of those trick plays can produce energy. So there’s another way for the Hogs to turn things in their favor as they sail through the storm.

Pressure

The Hogs have to put some pressure on Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham. It’s not easy. The Tigers have only given up three sacks in their first three games. Stidham has run for positive yardage on 15 plays, with just three losses.

Stidham’s numbers in the season opener against a good Washington defense were stunning. He completed 26 of 36 passes for 273 yards. That .722 completion percentage was an Auburn record for at least 25 attempts.

“He’s got an SEC arm,” Chavis said. “And, you wish he didn’t run so well, too.”

That’s the tough part about trying to pressure against Stidham. If he senses defensive backs have their heads turned and are in man-to-man pressure, he’ll slice through the rush for positive yards to pick up first downs.

Man to Man

Chavis promises the Hogs are not going to abandon the man-to-man tendencies that allow for blitzes.

“I promise you we are going to play man-to-man,” Chavis said, in an unprompted statement on Monday.

Chavis said that despite depth concerns at cornerback. Ryan Pulley has been the constant on one side at corner, but Chavis has been forced to rotate players on the other side.

This week will be no different. Morris said on Wednesday that Chevin Calloway is still out with a family matter. Britto Tutt is out for three weeks with an injury.

So the Hogs will go with a rotation of Jarques McClellion and Montaric “Buster” Brown at that cornerback spot. Both are redshirt freshmen.

O-Line Rotation

This is the root of the problem for the offense. There just aren’t enough players with SEC talent and experience up front.

The good news is that this group is healthier this week than at any point during the Morris time on campus. Colton Jackson and Shane Clenin are full go after being available on a limited basis last week.

True freshman Noah Gatlin started the last two weeks at left tackle. Jackson was the starter there for much of the last two seasons, but sat out the first two games after summer back surgery.

“It’s a work in progress,” Morris said several times this week.

It’s been a juggling act after Dylan Hays entered fall camp with a back strain. He has not played yet and probably won’t this week.

That meant Hjalte Froholdt moved from left guard to center. He’s moved back to guard this week in open portions of practice with Ty Clary taking practice snaps at center. Clary started last week at guard.

Clenin has worked at both right and left tackle. The one constant has been right guard where Johnny Gibson has taken every meaningful snap.

Storey Time

This is probably as important as anything, the way Ty Storey plays at quarterback this week. He’s gotten one start and was not effective, throwing two interceptions in a sputtering first half against Colorado State. He did throw well in one quarter when the Hogs raced to a big lead against Eastern Illinois in the opener.

Morris said he’s intent on giving Storey a full game, just like he was last week when Kelley started but was ultimately pulled in favor of freshmen after a fourth interception was thrown.

Physicality

This is where Auburn has been supreme under Malzahn. Can the Hogs match the physical nature of a top SEC team?

That’s what has been lacking in the offensive and defensive line through three games. Morris said the line played “soft and high” in the first week. That was a little better against Colorado State, but there was not much movement up front against North Texas.

Offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said Monday that some plays were added last week that featured double team blocks, but that there was “no push” at the point of attack. That’s an indictment of sorts.

Dre Greenlaw

The Hogs need their weakside linebacker to be healthy and a force. Greenlaw, a senior and a starter for most of his four years when healthy, made 10 tackles in the first quarter alone in the opener, but was injured with 19 seconds left in that opening period. He hasn’t played since.

There have been hints the last two weeks that Greenlaw was going to play, but that might not have been reality. Morris said on Monday that in “reality” Greenlaw wasn’t expected to play in either of the last two games. He should play this week, although he practiced in a no-contact green jersey Wednesday.

“We are glad to have Dre back,” Morris said. “Really, this is his first week back. He was out there bouncing around today. We are being very cautious with him.”

The Freshmen

It’s still early, but it’s time for the freshmen to grow up. The Hogs are playing quite a few, counting redshirt freshmen. Still, it’s going to be an uphill battle. Auburn is playing grown men. In the starting 11 on offense, Auburn has all juniors and seniors listed as starters. There are no freshmen listed among the defensive starters, although two sophomores are starting.

Conversely, the Hogs could start freshmen at several spots, including left tackle, wide receiver, linebacker and cornerback. This is their fourth game. It’s time for some of them to settle in as SEC players.

Morris addressed the youngsters in the offensive line Wednesday night, noting Gatlin has played well at left tackle, playing through mistakes.

“It’s hard to play a true freshman at this level, but it’s even harder to do that in the offensive line,” Morris said.

Who’s Your Friend?

I’ve always been interested to see how friends act when they are on opposite sidelines. An old coach told me once, “You know who is your friend when the score is out of hand in the fourth quarter.”

Malzahn and Morris are close friends. Malzahn is recruiting Morris’ son to play quarterback at Auburn. Their wives, Christy and Paula, are friends. They communicate often during the offseason.

“We will be friends when it’s over,” Morris said. “But you compete like crazy during the game.”

Can the Hogs take this game into the fourth quarter? It doesn’t look like that is possible with the way the two teams have played in recent seasons.

Yes, it is about relationships. Morris knows the ones he’s got to worry about on Saturday are on his sideline.