HOOVER, Ala. — The 10 years of Bret Bielema’s head coaching career have provided enough precedent to assume one thing of his teams: quality offensive line play.
2016 was a drastic exception. He’s pretty sure it won’t last longer than that.
Last season, Arkansas ranked next-to-last in the Southeastern Conference in sacks allowed (35) and 12th in yards per carry (4.13). Returning all of its late-season starters with the exception of left tackle Dan Skipper, Arkansas set a high expectation for its line at Southeastern Conference Media Days.
The center of that line, Frank Ragnow, thinks the experience earned from last year’s struggles was the only thing missing.
“The game slows down so much when you get more playing time under your belt,” Ragnow said. “That’s one thing I really noticed last spring is you could see they were more comfortable than they were last time. They all bought in to really improving themselves.
“Obviously you’re never going to be perfect with your technique, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the problem. I think the one thing with offensive line is getting synced, that chemistry and knowing so much because so many things are getting thrown at you so quick. That was an emphasis this spring.”
Arkansas should get a solid test of its mettle early against TCU on Sept. 9, as the Horned Frogs ranked tied for eighth in the nation in sacks last season.
Topics for the conference
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey opened up the day with an address that primarily focused on the recent success of the conference and an important anniversary for the league: 50 years since Nate Northington took the field Kentucky against Ole Miss, breaking the color barrier in SEC football.
After his address, Sankey answered questions about topics that could be on the conference’s agenda in the future. One that was cast away in no uncertain terms was division realignment. Most conversation around that topic involves moving Auburn to the SEC East, most likely swapping it with Missouri.
“Has not been an agenda item in the meeting,” Sankey said. “It is a conversation in most large press conferences in which I appear, and that’s the extent of the conversation.”
Sankey also addressed the ideas of the conference imposing a uniform drug policy, one it currently leaves up to individual member schools, and a conference-mandated injury report protocol as seen in the NFL.
“Our schools have not, in majority, supported adopting a (drug testing) policy at the conference level,” Sankey said. “Part of my expectation is that will at some point be a conversation because we’ve had so much turnover in personnel that it’s now asked with more frequency in meetings. And from a staff standpoint, we’re prepared for that conversation.”
On the injury report protocol, Sankey said such a conversation has not taken place and he suspects member schools are not thinking about it much, either.
Bielema the father
Bielema’s appearance at Media Days came right on the heels of his becoming a father for the first time. His wife, Jen, gave birth to daughter Briella Nichole early Saturday morning.
Bielema, when asked how fatherhood will impact his perspective on coaching, he pointed out he’s 48 hours into fatherhood and far from an expert. Ragnow, gave Bielema a vote of confidence.
“I can’t even express in words how thankful I am for that man,” Ragnow said. “He is a best friend, he is a mentor.”
Dobbs’ successor
Tennessee head coach Butch Jones did not shy away from the thought of the battle to replace former starting quarterback Joshua Dobbs extending into the regular season.
“I think playing time is earned, so if both players earn their right to play, we’ll play both quarterbacks,” Jones said.
Jones added the two contenders, Jarrett Guarantano and Quinten Dormady, have similar skillsets but far different personalities. Jones labeled Guarantano as, “very energetic, very passionate,” while Dormady displays more of a reserved coach’s son demeanor.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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