BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (KFSM) - Year three of the Bret Bielema officially kicked off on Wednesday as Arkansas took to the podium at the SEC Media Days.
Bielema and three offensive seniors were put through the gauntlet of media questions but it's clear that his team has bought into the Bielema way of doing things.
"That’s why we love him as players," running back Jonathan Williams said. "He’s a real player’s coach because we get to see his personality, the reason why he’s been able to transform this program because he can relate to the players and players can relate to him."
"He's had a big impact on us," receiver Keon Hatcher said. "He came in with a structure of how he wanted to do things and how he wanted to handle his business and I feel like towards the end of the season. We really got the full grasp of it."
As is the norm at media days, the skill position players were at the forefront but the Arkansas offensive line was part of the conversation.
"It’s definitely exciting just to see those guys work day in and day out and see how comfortable they are with each other because they’ve been able to play with each other so long side by side," Williams said.
"They work so well together up front and I’m really excited for them," quarterback Brandon Allen said. "Obviously our two running backs are back, "Jonathan Williams) and Alex Collins are back and they’re going to do a lot of special things for us this season."
Allen will obviously benefit from that offensive line but the rest of the Arkansas backfield has had to learn to share roles instead of worrying about the number of carries they each get.
"When you run the ball effectively, it opens up the throwing game and to run the ball effectively you need multiple running backs," Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said. "Not all running backs want to hear that. They want to be the man. They want to be the guy. That usually leads to those problems."
The Hogs didn't have many problems in their final game of 2014 but Bielema said that no long matters.
"There’s not one tackle or touchdown that carries into the 2015 season and that’s a balancing act that we have to keep," Bielema said.