Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1159352
8 NWA College Football Preview 2019 Sunday, August 25, 2019 READY TO BOUNCE BACK FAYETTEVILLE — Rebounding is torture in SEC football. Yet clawing out of the basement is the exact position the Arkansas Razorbacks find themselves in — again — in Year 2 under Chad Mor- ris after a 2-10 season that featured the program's second 0-8 SEC re- cord in the past six years. Morris inherited a roster from Bret Bielema in December 2017 that did not have enough team speed, did not have enough SEC-caliber power on its offensive and defensive lines, and did not have enough dynamic skill players. Morris and his staff have recog- nized those deficiencies and recruited with an eye toward repairing them. The Razorbacks brought in a 27-man signing class that ranked No. 23 in the country, and much of that young talent should be on display this fall. "I think we're right on track," Morris said when asked during camp about the implementation of his rebuilding plan. "I think it all starts with what we've talked about early on in the start of this season with where we are with the culture of our football program." Morris pointed out how the players kept up their energy and encouraging attitudes during a hot, taxing 175-play scrimmage that capped the first full week of camp recently. "To be able … to give the effort and the intensity we're asking, it shows we're definitely on the right track," he said. "But there's no finish line though. There is no finish line in this. This is all about getting up and being the absolute best we can be every day." The Razorbacks have not re-estab- lished themselves as a serious threat in the SEC West since their first winless SEC season in 2013 in Bielema's first year, the season after the ill-fated inter- im term of John L. Smith. Arkansas has had just one winning conference season since the departure of Bobby Petrino after 2011, a 5-3 mark in 2015 that included heartbreaking league losses to Texas A&M and Mississippi State. Smith's lone season coincided with the entry of Texas A&M and Missouri to the SEC, a transition that has so far worked to the detriment of Arkansas. The Razorbacks have the worst league record since 2012 at 13-43. That's 10 wins behind their next-worst SEC West rival, Ole Miss at 23-33. The 13-43 record (.232) is also four games worse than Kentucky and Ten- nessee, whose 17-39 conference records in that span are second worst in the SEC. The rut the Razorbacks are in is on a historical level. Their overall record the past sev- en years is 35-52 (.402). The Hogs and their fans have experienced home loss- es in that span to teams such as Louisi- ana-Monroe, Rutgers, Toledo and North Texas. They are 7-19 in SEC home games since 2012, including an eight-game Morris and his young roster see rebound on horizon TOM MURPHY ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE See REBOUND, Page 10 NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo/ BEN GOFF • @NWABENGOFF Arkansas head football coach Chad Mor- ris leads drills March 1 during spring foot- ball practice at the Fred W. Smith Football Center in Fayetteville.