Gus Malzahn transcript
Opening statement...
"First of all, we're glad to be back home. The week one atmosphere was really good. I'm really looking forward to being back home. Looking at Arkansas, they had a big time win against a ranked team on the road—very impressive when we watched them on film defensively. Their defensive coordinator, Barry Odom, is one of the best there is. What he did against that offense that set SEC all-time records the week before, he deserves Coach of the Week awards with everything he did with that. When you look at their defense, they forced six turnovers in the first two games. I think they're second in the league with red-zone defense. Then of course their linebacker (Bumper Pool) is leading the conference in tackles, having 20 last week. That was really unbelievable to watch. Offensively, I've always been impressed with Feleipe Franks. The way he's playing and running the offense, I'm very impressed with that. Outside of the pocket, he is very accurate and he can hurt you with his legs, too. Overall, we're playing a team that's coming off a big win. We're glad to be back home and try to get back on track looking at this 10-game SEC schedule."
Status of Seth Williams and K.J. Britt...
"We're hopeful with all of our guys. It wasn't just them. We had quite a few that were banged up going in. Hopefully, we'll have all hands on deck."
On the energy Arkansas will bring on Saturday after its win...
"Like I said earlier, I'm very impressed with not just them winning but the records that they're setting. The all-time records the week before. Any time you win a road game in this league, it's extremely tough. When you put all of those together, obviously they'll come in here ready to play. Their head coach Sam Pittman is doing a great job. He's got his team playing really well with great passion, so we're expecting to get their best."
How to slow down the game for Bo Nix moving forward...
"They made us one-dimensional. That's probably where it started, and we were behind. Any time that you're trying to play catch-up against a really good defense that's going to really rush the passer, that's where that was coming from. I think the big thing is going to be to help him out to be more balanced. To be balanced, you have to be successful running the football, too. We'll work extremely hard on that moving forward, and I think that will be a big key."
Assessing the kicking, punting, kick coverage and punt and kick returns...
"The kick coverage -- they obviously got a good one that very first kickoff. I think overall our guys have been covering pretty well. Our punters -- we are still trying to figure out exactly which one to go with. I think at times both of them have had good kicks. Then in our return game, we just haven't had that many opportunities. Hopefully, that'll build up moving forward."
On what he's seen out of Barry Odom's defense...
"You're talking about two very good outings. We played Georgia last week. I thought he did a very good job against them in the first week, and then what he did last week -- like I said, I think he deserves two Coach of the Week awards. He's always been one of the best. It doesn't surprise me. I think they'll have a good plan against us, so we'll have to be executing at a high level."
How physical can you be this week?
"Well, we'd better be real physical. That's something we need to keep improving each week. We're in week three – we had a six-week fall camp, a little bit different, we chose to have a physical fall camp. We really feel like that will pay off. We're a little bit banged up – I think a lot of teams are right now – but we're back at home. We just need to get healed up and our guys will be ready."
Establishing the offensive line personnel...
"I think Chad (Morris) and Coach (Jack) Bicknell are getting together on exactly what that's going to look like and like I told you Sunday, we've got to start settling in. And we will. We'll see what that looks like this week, and I know there's going to be some more competition. That's something we're moving forward with."
Traits of Sam Pittman and Barry Odom...
"What stands out to me is they're playing extremely hard. When you've got a team that's playing extremely hard, I believe that's coaching. Hats off to those guys. They're off to a very good start. Sam is a football coach, and he's got those guys playing extremely hard."
COVID-19 update...
"We had another good test Sunday's return and that will be key moving forward. We get tested again today and tested Thursday, so hopefully that will be a positive outlook."
Is Chad Morris' familiarity with Arkansas personnel a benefit?
"I'm not sure. He knows some of their players, but they're doing different things now. They're playing extremely hard. We'll see what happens."
On transfer QB Feleipe Franks injecting a lot of energy into Arkansas...
"It looks to me like he's confident; you can tell his offensive guys are confident around him. Like I said earlier, I was always impressed with him at Florida. He's a veteran guy that understands the league and understands what it's like to start in the league. It gives them some stability in that position."
On the game plan with the potential of a hurricane this weekend...
"We are preparing for it to be wet. As it gets closer in the week, we'll know more about everything, but we are prepared for it to be raining. We'll see as it gets closer what specifically that will look like."
How physical will practices be this week in preparation for Arkansas?
"We have to keep developing. We've got to get better, so that's what we are going to continue to do. We are going to practice with a mindset that we have to improve; our guys understand that, and they will do that. Georgia was an experience that we can take with us -- that's behind us now -- we can improve and get better because of it. That's the way we are looking at it. Our goal moving forward is to get better each week, and I really believe that the teams that can do that specifically this year with the unique circumstances I think will have the advantage. The great thing for us is that we have the potential to do that, and I really believe we will do that."
On Tank Bigsby's performance vs. Georgia...
"He played hard. That was what really stood out to me. He played hard with passion. He could have done some things better, but he played extremely hard and with passion, and that's what I'm looking for from a coaching perspective."
On the progression of the JUCO offensive line transfers...
"They're coming along. We actually gave them some reps Sunday. We actually let our guys practice a little bit more than they normally would on Sunday and tried to develop not just those two but some other guys, too. Just develop more depth as we move forward. Both those guys will definitely help us in the future, and we'll just keeping bringing those guys along."
Is Kilian Zierer getting back to full speed?
"He's not quite back to full speed, but he's battling through it. He's getting better. You can see he is improving. Each week you see improvement with that knee, so like I said, we'll keep developing."
How much did COVID-19 hamper development of offensive line this offseason?
"There's no doubt it was a factor. I would assume it's a factor in every program around the country. Just the continuity of an offensive line, you need the same guy beside you for repeated reps so they can communicate and work together. Like I said, the hard thing in fall camp is we didn't have all five guys at any time for any week. So the good thing is this group will improve each week, and that continuity -- we've had like three weeks in a row where we do have the continuity -- so we'll improve. Like I said earlier, teams who improve each week in this league and in this day and time with the new circumstances are going to have the advantage, so we need to be one of those teams that do that."
An update on Big Kat Bryant and finding 'that guy' in the pass rush...
"Big Kat practiced Sunday, and it looked like he got through it fine. He'll keep improving. Of course, he's a big factor with our pass rush. That's one area we're going to work hard on, to get more pressure on the quarterback."
On Nehemiah Pritchett in his first start...
"I thought he did some good things in the coverage game. There's nothing like your first start and he'll have the ability to improve each game, but I thought he competed."
