As far as preseason hype goes, three SEC West teams are projected to have a shot at not only the SEC title, but the BCS National Championship as well (given the fact that the SEC Championship game has essentially become the de facto national semi-final in recent years).
Bobby Petrino, with 13 returning starters, feels year four of his time at Arkansas may be his best chance yet to get to both.
And, given Petrino’s reputation as a quarterback and offensive guru, it was a little uncanny -- but not unwarranted -- for him to associate that goal with strong defensive line play.
“I feel like our defense is where they need to be at physically... both on the line and at the ends,” Petrino said during the first day of SEC media days, adding that the defensive line play in the SEC is likely the best he’s seen as a coach.
The last two national champions -- Auburn and Alabama -- saw Nick Fairley and Marcell Dareus, respectively, anchor strong defensive lines, so the question will be who can impact Arkansas’ D-line this year.
But what about at the other positions? Arkansas will have to replace quarterback Ryan Mallett.
“I like our experience and depth -- we had to play a lot of guys who were true freshman [three years ago],” Petrino said. “But that group of young men stuck together... and now they’re all matured and grown up... So I’m excited for our senior class.”
In fairness, Arkansas has seen 10 kids leave the program for one reason or another since the spring. Every program deals with roster attrition, but rarely does it end in a coach liking their depth.
But Petrino should feel excited. He’s had ample time to get his players into his system and mold them the way he wants to. We’ve all seen that not every coach gets that luxury.
“I feel like our guys know what it means to prepare for practice, prepare for meetings. They know what it means to practice.”
But will the knowledge that Petrino’s players have now translate into wins this season? It’s tough to argue that Arkansas’ conference schedule (plus Texas A&M in Dallas) is anything less than oppressive as the Razorbacks will have to face the SEC West’s two other preseason favorites -- Alabama and LSU -- on the road.
Petrino, who seems unfazed by just about everything, doesn’t care.
“I’m not afraid of high expectations”