FAYETTEVILLE — They talk a good game, these Razorbacks do.
The shame, dismay and just plain fatigue from consecutive 4-8, 2-10, 2-10 overall seasons including 1-7, 0-8, 0-8 in the SEC and the presence of new Arkansas Head Coach Sam Pittman inspire them vastly to better themselves, they say.
"Sick and tired of being sick and tired," fourth-year junior offensive tackle Dalton Wagner surmised vowing to shed Arkansas' recent past.
Redshirting on the scout team, Wagner experienced in 2016 the rapid decline of the Bret Bielema era. Bielema's 2016 Hogs closed what could have been a 9-4 season at 7-6 blowing 24-0 leads closing the campaign with 28-24 and 35-24 losses at Missouri and in the Belk Bowl to Virginia Tech.
Those 2017 Hogs entering the season vowing to make amends won but one conference game greasing Bielema's departure.
On came Chad Morris with players vowing fresh start enthusiasm dashed in 2018 by 2-10, 0-8. Fervent 2019 preseason vows to make amends were so dashed with scant resistance that Morris got canned as two games remained.
So at Arkansas for years now they've talked a good game but seldom played one.
This 2020 schedule, 10 games all SEC that Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek with cause asserts the toughest ever assigned in college football, preseason promises no winning results.
Arkansas appears an underdog every game, especially against the seven ranked in the AP's Top 25 starting Saturday vs. No. 4 Georgia.
Yet even if the 2020 record likely won't show it because of the brutal schedule, Pittman may truly win over these Hogs to become winners. He's done it before. As the 2013-2015 Arkansas offensive line coach Pittman so impacted from the 3-9, 0-8 SEC mess that Bielema inherited in 2013 to bowl winning 7-6 and 8-5 teams that Razorbacks linemen Pittman coached lobbied him to Yurachek's attention to succeed Morris.
Morris, his career rocketed from high school coach to SMU and Arkansas head coach because of Clemson offensive coordinator success, approached head coaching Arkansas head coaching like a sloganeering coordinator. He espoused schemes and tempo and "Hammer Down."
Certainly schemes are important. And with offensive coordinator Kendal Briles' uptempo offense and defensive coordinator Barry Odom's multiple defense the Hogs scheme today's trends.
But way more than schemes, Briles and Odom emphasize Pittman's no slogans back to basics: Blocking, tackling, run the ball offensively and run to the ball defensively. If you get knocked down one play bounce back all the more focused the next.
"Football is just a bunch about who wants to whip somebody else's tail," Pittman said. "The fundamentals to compete with Georgia, running to the football, tackling, blocking, physicalness... All those things we have to have, we're practicing that way."
All that translated to Saturday still likely won't translate a win over 24-point favorite Georgia.
But it would win over their fans and themselves that they're finally on the road to winning.