Major Problem with 2023 Hogs was Glaring for Mateos When He Arrived

Arkansas offensive line coach sets out on delicate path to fix issues that sunk Hogs last season

Arkansas Razorbacks offensive linemen Patrick Kutas (75) and Joshua Braun block for quarterback KJ Jefferson. / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Film from Arkansas’ 2023 games made it glaring from the start. Play after play, newly hired offensive line coach Eric Mateos watched as Razorbacks went to the ground and no one helped them up. 

Against Mississippi State a  running back got crushed and struggled alone for a second to continue to spring back up. Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson got plastered, crumpling to the ground at the feet of one of his offensive linemen. Not only did the lineman not reach out to help Jefferson up, he didn’t even look at him. It was as if he were intentionally ignoring him.

The one time in the game a Razorback did try to help a fellow teammate up, it went so comically bad that it would have fit in perfectly with the old “NFL Follies” VHS tapes. A skill position player went to help a lineman up, but had so little experience in helping he didn’t know how to leverage himself and couldn’t get him off the ground. As the lineman began falling back to the turf, he was hit in the head by a wide receiver who stumbled over him from his blind side, sending both the receiver and lineman to the turf. 

It was obvious chemistry and connections were a major problem. Mateos had his work cut out for him.

“So in the meeting room this spring, if you didn't cover down on a pass, we made a two white line rule,” Mateos said on the "Coaches and the Mouth" podcast. “The ball’s thrown, you got to jog. You got to go two white lines and then you can go back to the play. And then, if you don't go and help somebody up off the ground, doesn't matter if it's a back or receiver, anybody, then that's a loaf, and we're pointing those things out big time because we need to have a gang mentality.”

However, it’s much more than just getting players to help one another up. Mateos knows his offensive line can’t reach his goal of the fastest unit in the SEC, one that strikes fear in defensive coordinators because they can’t recreate it in practice, unless this group becomes close.

“That group that we had [when I was here before as a graduate assistant under Coach Bret Bielema], it was so close, was so close,” Mateos said. “That's kind of what I'm trying to recapture now is that closeness [they] had and I've had it. I've been blessed to have been with four different lines at four different schools that were Joe Moore. Award finalist or semi finalists. Like we were finalists here at Arkansas. I think we were a finalist, and then the next year I was at LSU. We were finalists at BYU and Baylor were semi finalists. This was Top 10 for the award that the common denominator is how close the boys are. That makes a difference. I mean, talent in that [Arkansas] group wasn't as talented as anybody else, or more talented than anybody else in the conference, but whether it's really close and really tough, we're trying to kind of emulate that now.”

Mateos said he has to force opportunities for relationships to build. Right away he started arranging dinners and inviting small groups of players into his office to watch NFL offensive lines together. He also instituted the breakdown “The tighter we are, the better we are.”

“It’s just time,” Mateos said. “There's no quick fix. I met my wife on Bumble, but besides that, I haven't had any quick relationships formed. It's just consistent effort, you know, and putting yourself out there, making yourself vulnerable with other people. I mean, we'll do things about different people's personal things, and we'll have even more things in the summer and in training camp that I don't really want to spill the beans on right now that'll be designed to bring the boys together.”

He’s aware it’s not all on the players. Mateos gets that he has to make himself approachable and also properly handle the delicate balance of psychology as he rebuilds the most maligned unit on the team last year.

“That's been the number one goal since we got here was kind of, I mean, for lack of a better term, repairing the room,” Mateos said. “The spirit was broken, the confidence was down. There's a lot of guys in there that weren't sure if like, 'Hey, we really can do this,' you know, and so that's been the No. 1 thing is just building the room back up confidence wise and just getting the guys together.” 

Part of that psychological aspect is making sure the players think he is invested in them as people and not force himself upon them. 

“I think being real, you know, being normal, being a normal coach [is important],” Mateos said. “If you come in and you're ‘Hey, I'm the new boss in town,’ you know, the guys are gonna be like, ‘Get out of here, bro. Like we don't even know you.’ So I took it really personal to try and earn everybody's trust on an individual level, because if you don't do that, then you're never gonna get the group because there's always gonna be some one or two or three guys in the room that're like, ‘Man, I don't buy into this guy. He doesn't care about me. He doesn't want to coach me.’” 

Once the personal connection is made, Mateos has to figure out how to weave a group of men made of different material created by years of individual experiences that may strongly differ from the others.

“How do you bring the group together where you got guys from different backgrounds, economic bracket backgrounds, you know, their family life, you got guys with great two parent homes you get guys with one parent homes you got guys that you know, had trouble keeping the lights on you got guys that drove a Mercedes in high school, and so how do you get all these different people to be a unit and feel like their family?” Mateos asked.

So far, he’s managed to get his mix-match of players heading in the same direction. There’s been enough visible progress to believe if someone gets knocked down in 2024, someone is going to be there pick them up, a strong step away from the chemistry problems that plagued the Razorbacks at the end of the past two seasons.

“Here's the deal, Mateos said. “Trust is built in drops. I mean, that's the truth of it, and it's lost in buckets, and so it just takes time and time and time and I think if everybody's authentic and being real. I think the guys have said it publicly too. I mean, I think the room already is a lot closer than maybe it was before.”

HOGS FEED:

• Razorbacks survive back-and-forth affair with Mississippi State in Game 1

• Mateos details relationship with Petrino

• Transfer catcher holds key to unlocking lineup's full potential

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