Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

7/20/2011 at 3:48pm

Image by Mark Wagner

Coach Bobby Petrino says the Razorbacks has the experience, depth and speed to be a Top 10 team.

HOOVER, Ala. -- A fearless, full-speed ahead approach served running back Knile Davis well during the 2010 season. Davis wasn’t a timid runner in piling up 1,322 yards and 13 touchdowns for Arkansas.

So it was a little surprising to see Davis hesitate — ever so slightly — when we visited during the Razorbacks’ SEC Media Days appearance in Hoover, Ala. Davis was offering a different opinion from Coach Bobby Petrino, and the reluctance to answer seemed to stem from him not wanting to come across the wrong way.

Petrino, while praising the team's talent and how it matched up with the rest of the SEC, said the Razorbacks would only be as good as the team chemistry and leadership allowed it to be. When Davis was asked why Petrino continued to express those same fears pre- and post- spring practice, the junior running back proceeded with caution before answering.

“He’s … I think … The leadership is there. He’s not with us at all times,” Davis said. “We have leadership. We have to make sure that we, during the season, it shows up. [Coach Petrino is] just putting it on the front of our minds that we have to do what we say we are going to do.”

Leadership has been a familiar theme for Petrino since the 2010 season ended with a loss in the Sugar Bowl to Ohio State. Petrino has had little problem praising the team for its talent and depth, but wondered how they would react to losing guys like quarterback Ryan Mallett, tight end D.J. Williams and offensive tackle DeMarcus Love.

Before raising the question again, Petrino made sure to highlight three areas why Arkansas should be considered among the league’s elite. Alabama and LSU are widely regarded as Top 10 teams and candidates in the SEC to win a sixth consecutive national title.

Petrino wanted the 900-plus media (and pseudo-media) on hand to understand why the Razorbacks belonged just as much as the Crimson Tide and the Tigers.

1. Arkansas has experience and depth.

2. Arkansas has speed.

3. Arkansas has the proper mindset.

It all sounds great. Those are exactly like the qualities that the league’s other title hopefuls will be touting. Plus, the team finally has a SEC-caliber defensive line in size and depth.

But Petrino delivered the praise with that well-worn caveat: “We’ll be as good as our team chemistry and our leadership from within.”

This echoes what offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said in the spring. McGee saw the roster as more talented than the one that took Arkansas to the Sugar Bowl in 2010, but questioned the team’s intangibles.

Davis, a junior, thinks the Hogs are further along than they are getting credit for in terms of leadership. In particular, he has been involved since spring in getting the team through workouts, film study and other summer preparation activities.

Players work out in position (and body type) groups, and Davis has been a fixture in the weight room even on days/times he hasn’t been participating. Wide receiver Jarius Wright has also done his part in getting receivers together for additional work and said the leaders at each position have been equally diligent in rallying the Razorbacks for those “voluntary” workouts that are required for teams to be competitive.

Wright said Petrino’s words have been a motivating factor for players this summer. Even more of a push has come from losing fourth-quarter leads to Alabama and Auburn and failing to take the lead late against Ohio State. When it came to beating elite-level teams the Razorbacks weren’t quite up to the task.

Even today Wright said the Ohio State loss — and the repeated opportunities to win the game blown by the Razorbacks — hurt.

“What motivates us is the feeling we felt after losing the game,” Wright said. “We know that we don’t want to have that feeling again, so you do everything you can to not feel that feeling.”

Avoiding that feeling again this year is something the Razorbacks desperately want. That was obvious from their time with media on Wednesday. And they hope when the coach is asked to reflect on 2011, he’s not left to talk about leadership and team chemistry holding them back.

Tagged: Arkansas Razorbacks, Knile Davis, SEC Media Days, Bobby Petrino, Southeastern Conference, 2011 SEC Media Days, Jarius Wright