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HARPS H O M E T O W N F R E S H Tailgating decisions made easy www.harpsfood.com Sunday, August 25, 2019 11 NWA College Football Preview 2019 junior-college players. He's building a program that will have sustained success out into the future, that's not going to be that flash in the pan." In his opening comments at SEC me- dia days last month, Morris laid out his vision for the program, and also stressed patience. "When you take a head football coaching job, you know that establish- ing and enhancing a culture is your top priority, and it takes time, and it takes consistency, and there's a certain pro- cess to follow to develop the results that you're looking for," Morris said. "You can look at examples for guys that I worked for. Coach [Dabo] Swinney. Guys in this league, Dan Mullen and Mark Stoops. It didn't happen overnight. "My focus as a head football coach at the University of Arkansas is about building a program that's a consistent winner. Year in, year out, we want to compete for championships. But to win championships first, you've got to de- velop champions, and our staff is doing a tremendous job of doing that and re- cruiting that way and turning young men into champions. But it doesn't happen overnight." Indeed, recovering quickly from a winless league record in the SEC has been a rarity. Of the 48 teams that have gone win- less in the SEC since 1966, which is the year after Tulane left the conference, only eight managed to finish better than .500 in conference play the next year. The 2013 Auburn team, led by first- year head Coach Gus Malzahn, is the only team to win a conference or divi- sion title the year after going winless in the SEC. Those Tigers went 7-1 in the SEC, defeated Missouri in the league championship game, then lost the BCS Championship Game to Florida State. Due to forfeits, the 1993 Alabama team officially went 0-8 in the SEC and followed with an 8-0 league record in 1994. Needless to say, the current Razor- backs face a long road back to conten- tion. Most around the program say a six-win season, which would result in bowl eligibility, would be a significant milepost. "I think going to a bowl game is a goal that Coach Morris and I both share," Yurachek said. "I think that's taking that next step in the rebuilding process of getting this program back to where we all want to see it. "We have four very winnable noncon- ference games. That doesn't mean we'll win them, but I would say very winnable at-home nonconference games. Then we've got to find a way to win two or three conference games so we achieve that goal." Former Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt, now an analyst for CBS Sports, likes the Hogs' schedule. "It's laid out right," he said. "You've got to get off to a good start. You win that first game at home [vs. Portland State] like you should, then the second week when you go to Ole Miss, that's the Super Bowl. I mean, when you go to Oxford, you've got to win. "And if you do that, you're going to be 4-0 if you take care of business. Then you gear up for A&M. To me, it's a mat- ter of having success early and gaining some confidence. Of course, winning is what breeds that. When you haven't had some success in a while, it's very difficult, especially in the SEC." RECRUITING KEY Cycling back to the top of the SEC is going to take a chain of solid recruiting classes, and the Razorbacks are off to a good start. Morris and his staff are aggressive, hard-core recruiters, and they delivered a class this winter with the highest aver- age player rating since 247Sports began compiling composite rankings in 2001. The class is thick with big bodies on both sides of the line and rife with speed. Their numbers have created the kind of depth chart that allowed the coaches to run four groups of players on two fields during training camp. The staff landed key in-state talent such as tight end Hudson Henry, receiv- er Treylon Burks, defensive end Zach Williams and defensive lineman Mar- cus Miller. They went hard in Texas and signed six quality athletes from the Lone Star State. They dipped into south Lou- isiana for defensive backs Greg Brooks and Devin Bush, and offensive lineman Dylan Rathcke. They also pulled talent out of eastern Oklahoma, western Mis- sissippi and Memphis, and they landed a highly sought wideout in 6-4 Trey Knox. Those who have followed Arkansas football for decades believe that's a win- ning recruiting plan. Nutt, who led Arkansas to a 75-49 re- cord and two SEC championship games in 10 years, thinks Morris can make the Hogs formidable again. "It starts with what he's doing right now, recruiting the right ones," Nutt said. "You've got to do a great job of evaluat- ing players, and you have to build a big wall around Arkansas and keep those players in state with the Hogs." Scoring recruits from Texas is para- mount as well. "That's a big reason I think Arkansas can be successful, because Chad has the Hogs back in Texas," Nutt said. "Start in Arkansas — build that wall very high around the state — and get the best of the best to stay at home, but then you look under all the rocks to find the ones that want to be at Arkansas and are tough, committed and hard-nosed. Eventually they're going to develop for you, but you've got to have great evalu- ation and projection. v Continued from preceding page See MORRIS, Page 12