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Arkansas Takes the Stage at SEC Media Days

5NEWS content partner Bo Mattingly talks about the biggest impression he took away from the day.

HOOVER, Alabama (KFSM)- The Arkansas Razorbacks took the stage for day three of SEC media days in Hoover, Alabama. 5NEWS partner Bo Mattingly gives his thoughts on the festivities:

I found it intriguing to hear Bret Bielema talk about his quarterback situation. No surprise, Brandon Allen is his guy and fans might as well relax and get comfortable with that because it's not changing. It became evident when he started talking about his plan for a backup. He said it will be a priority in fall camp to figure out what they do there and went as far as to say AJ Derby, even though he's playing tight end, will still get reps at quarterback, primarily because of his game experience. That tells me Austin Allen and Rafe Peavey may not be ready yet but that could change by the end of fall camp.

It was also interesting to hear Bielema talk about Jared Cornelius. So much has been made about who is going to catch passes from Brandon Allen this year. Cornelius gave in from Shreveport in January and his name continues to come up as a possible difference maker at wide receiver.

What about defense? Why will Arkansas be improved on defense this year? Bielema said two big reason. They will be more aggressive and more physical. He also said everyone on the team has gotten better off the field in virtually every area. The question now becomes- Can they show up on the field this fall and improve off a 3-9 season?

Two other teams here today are LSU and Missouri. I think Missouri takes a step back. LSU is a mystery. They have a lot of guys to replace, but they also have a ton of unknown and unproven talent that people are wondering just how could they will be. I think the Razorbacks could knock both those teams off. If they are going to go to a bowl, they'll have to beat at least one of them, in my opinion. More tomorrow, we'll look at Georgia and Alabama, two more teams on Arkansas' schedule this fall.

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