Razorbacks Trying to Fix Recurring Depth Problem in Secondary

Cornerbacks coach confident they've made strides with new faces joining Hogs this year

Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Kee'yon Stewart hangs to an interception in individual drills Monday morning on the practice fields in Fayetteville, Ark. / Andy Hodges-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — If you've paid attention to what Arkansas coach Sam Pittman has said in press conferences for five years now, if there's a recurring theme, it's depth. The uncertainty of the backups has been a thorn in his side.

As much as any other position, the defensive secondary needs depth. With the constant substitutions in college football these days to go along with the fast-paced offenses, nobody can go full-speed for 60 minutes.

Cornerbacks coach Deron Wilson was asked that up front talking with the media after Monday morning's practice on the outoor fields. He's had the off-season to look at game film from last year and evaluate.

"We had to get depth," Wilson said. "We addressed the depth issue with older guys who can play and also understanding when you bring in guys from the portal, try to get them in early so they can go through the spring. Two guys we had last year came in at the beginning of fall camp, the other came in the summer."

That does make a difference. At the very least they can find which way to go in town and a better understanding between player and coach. They understand what is the goal.

"From a relationship standpoint and time standpoint, from a timing standpoint, in the spring they get to know them, they get to know you, you get to know them and y’all continue to build," Wilson said. "Time we know brings trust. When you’re consistent over time, the player trusts you, you trust the player and y’all can thrive together."

This year's team has that, especially bringing cornerback Kee'yon Stewart in from TCU in the transfer portal. In his sixth season now, he just wants to get the bad taste out of his mouth from last year. He didn't think he played that well.

"I definitely didn’t have the year I wanted to last year and I definitely needed to do it this year, the way I wanted to," Stewart said. "There was a lot going on when I first got here. I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs, but now, everything’s slowed down and I’ve learned the system. I’m better with the coaches and everything is good. It should play out real good this year."

That's the expectation right now from the players and coaches. It's always positive before the games start and we find out what questions we should be asking about. We knew the secondary problems of last year needed to be fixed this year.

Just don't expect it to be the same every week. That will likely be determined by a lot of factors.

"Each week is different," Wilson said. "It could be field and boundary. It could be left and right. Each week is different, but you have to have the ability to know both sides. You can't just say, ‘Oh, I'm a boundary corner.’ What if somebody's tempo-ing. Now you got stuck to the field and now you have to know what the field corner is doing. Each week is different depending on who we’re playing and maybe matchups. We [face] a big guy, we may want to put a big DB [on him]. It's a whole bunch of things that go within that."

The Razorbacks open the season Aug. 29 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark., against UAPB at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

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