FAYETTEVILLE -- Trumain Carroll's summer stint with the Arkansas Razorbacks has come to an end.
Carroll and his strength and conditioning staff have handed over the proverbial reins on the Razorbacks to the University of Arkansas football staff for the start of camp Friday after what he considers transformative summer conditioning.
The second-year strength and conditioning coach feels much better about the state of the team he is handing over to second-year Coach Chad Morris this summer than he did after last summer.
"This time last year, I wished we had a lot more time to get the team prepared before fall camp," Carroll said during a media session at Paradise Valley Athletic Club in Fayetteville on Monday. "And as we stand here today, I'm pretty happy with what we've been able to accomplish in the last eight weeks of the summer.
"Honestly, I feel we're in a much better spot this year than we were this time last year, just physically, mentally, from a team standpoint in guys being a cohesive unit."
Morris was at the media event to hang out and golf but did not hold a news conference. His first media session of camp will come Friday.
Offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said Carroll and his staff shined this summer.
"Our guys look different," Craddock said. "They run around different. That's what I'm excited to see is how that translates into football.
"They're definitely moving at a different pace. There seems to be a lot more buy-in from the whole team. Our team seems a lot closer than they ever have in the year and a half since we've been here."
Carroll revealed the standout performers when asked by reporters.
The fastest Razorbacks heading into the season: receiver Jordan Jones and cornerback Ladarrius Bishop.
"You're well aware of Jordan Jones," Carroll said. "That guy can roll now. Another guy who is deceptively fast is Ladarrius Bishop. If he's not faster, he's just as fast as Jordan Jones. Those are the top two right now."
Carroll said those two speedsters top out at 23 mph in testing.
The strongest Razorback apparently is no contest.
"John Marshall hands down," said Carroll, referencing the junior defensive tackle. "He's the strongest human I've ever been around. He puts up some astronomical numbers with the clean and squat and bench.
"To give you an accurate gauge on what his true one-rep max is, I can't tell you what that is because that kind of weight doesn't fit on the bars we have in the weight room."
Carroll also pointed out a large group of position leaders and players who have made "the biggest jump" during the offseason.
"I'm extremely proud of the entire roster, from those guys buying in and really taking hold of Coach Morris' culture," Carroll said. "Honestly, guys that just stick off the page for me, I'll have to start off with T.J. Smith. He's transformed his body tremendously. He's shed a lot of body fat and looks extremely good right now. He has a motor that he can go for much longer than he was able to go in the past."
Smith, listed at 6-3, 293 pounds, will open his second year as a projected defensive line starter beside McTelvin Agim.
Carroll also touted tight end Chase Harrell, the former receiver.
"He's a guy who switched positions this past offseason and really embraced it," Carroll said. " He challenged himself nutritionally and challenged himself in the weight room. He's added some good size to his body. He's walking around at 251 right now. He looks like an action figure."
As for standout newcomers, Carroll said keep an eye on 6-4, 205-pound receiver Trey Knox, and 6-3, 293-pound offensive lineman Beaux Limmer
"Just that physical presence," Carroll said of Knox. "There's not a lot you've got to do to that guy to get him ready for game day. Just make sure you don't mess him up."
Carroll described Limmer as a Brahma bull.
"He's putting up some numbers that a lot of our upper-class linemen are putting up, coming in as a true freshman," he said.
He also touted freshmen defensive linemen Taurean Carter, Collin Clay, Enoch Jackson and Marcus Miller.
"Those guys, I mean they're impressive," Carroll said. "Just to know that we're starting at this level, it's the kind of numbers you expect to see from guys in Year 2 or Year 3, and they're walking in the door with them."
Asked who the vocal leaders of the team were, Carroll listed a huge group of players, including Smith and Agim; linebackers De'Jon Harris, Grant Morgan, Bumper Pool, D'Vone McClure and Hayden Henry; receivers De'Vion Warren, Mike Woods and Deon Stewart; "all the quarterbacks"; running backs Rakeem Boyd and Devwah Whaley; and offensive linemen Dalton Wagner and Ty Clary, "just to name a few."
Carroll said the end-of-summer training ended with a team-building exercise that highlighted something besides physical toughness.
The Razorbacks hired an outfit called The Program Athletics, founded by former Marine Eric Kapitulik, which had Jake MacDonald, also a former Marine and current Marine Corps reserve, conduct the drills with the team.
"It was, needless to say, one of the most intriguing experiences I've ever been a part of in all my years of coaching," Carroll said. "I knew coming in kind of what to expect, but it exceeded any expectations I had of it.
"Those guys spent 48 hours with our team. It transformed us mentally. Obviously, we train hard and do all those things over the course of summer to prepare physically, but I I feel like that was our next step mentally, as far as bringing guys together."
The football program produced a short video on the training experience, which included carrying teammates on their backs, forming groups to accomplish physical feats and teamwork skills such as taking turns changing out of a bulky hoodie while in the water.
"As coaches, we always say, 'Hey, we need you guys to be better leaders. We need you guys to hold each other accountable,' " Carroll said. "We give instruction as far as that's concerned. But what we don't necessarily do is break down and teach what that looks like.
"How do you hold somebody accountable? How do you become a great leader? And those guys were able to come in and really give real-life examples and put those guys in real-life situations where they're forced to lead. They were forced to hold each other accountable. And more importantly, they were taught exactly how to do it in adverse situations."
Sports on 07/30/2019