Hampton’s message for Arkansas football: ‘It’s not that damn hard’

Dan Hampton didn’t need a spreadsheet to explain what’s wrong with Arkansas football.

He needed about 30 seconds on the radio.

The Hall of Famer went on 103.7 The Buzz and said what plenty of fans have been yelling at their TVs.

“It’s not that damn hard to fix it,” Hampton said.

He’s right. Hampton was an offensive lineman in high school when then-defensive coordinator Jimmy Johnson spotted him on film. Johnson asked coach Frank Broyles to move him to defense. Johnson then coached him for two years before leaving, and Monte Kiffin got him to All-America status.

The part that should bother people in Fayetteville the most is you don’t have to be a Hall of Famer to know this. Arkansas football has won with superior coaching and overachieving players.

They worked to be better than their recruiting ranking.

Hampton said the whole thing drives him crazy, and he doesn’t blame fans for being upset.

Old blueprint still works

Here’s where Hampton made his best point.

He was talking with David Bazzel, another former Razorback, and he went straight to history.

Hampton told Bazzel that most of the guys Bazzel played with couldn’t have started for Florida or Alabama teams in today’s world. The truth is they probably wouldn’t have earned a regular backup role on some of those teams.

They played those teams toe-to-toe anyway. Of course, there were exceptions, but they proved the whole point. The overwhelming majority of players with the Hogs have never even set foot in an NFL training camp.

He said the same thing about his own teams. Man for man, they weren’t as gifted as a lot of the people they lined up against.

They won because the coaching was better and the players were willing to listen to the coaching, then go out and do it. If they didn’t, they ended up on the bench and then quietly and mysteriously disappeared when the season ended.

Hampton called enthusiasm and buy-in the corny stuff people think doesn’t count. He says it counts a lot. It does, and Hampton’s never had a problem pointing out what everybody sees.

That’s what used to produce championship-contending teams for the Hogs. It always did.

Hampton has earned the right to say it

Arkansas has never won by having the most stars next to its names.

It’s won with coaches who were sharper than the guy on the other sideline and players who played harder than the higher-rated ones across from them.

Hampton lived it.

His team beat Oklahoma in the 1978 Orange Bowl. That 1977 team is still, in my mind, the best Razorback team ever. I’m well aware of the 1964 and 1965 teams. I saw them, too.

He was the Southwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Then the Chicago Bears took him in the first round.

He helped them win Super Bowl XX, made four Pro Bowls and picked up the nickname “Danimal.”

When he talks about defense, it’s probably worth a listen. It’s a combination of knowledge and hands-on experience. Hampton’s not just talking the talk. He’s walked the walk, too.

The numbers back him up

Every Power 4 team the Razorbacks have faced has scored at least 34 points.

Texas A&M rolled up 401 yards last weekend. The Aggies got 231 of those on the ground.

Hampton said he doesn’t understand what defensive coordinator Ron Roberts and the staff are trying to do. He wants the basics done first.

He also wondered why the staff’s teaching isn’t sinking in. Everybody else is starting to wonder the same thing.

Hampton had words for defensive end Quincy Rhodes Jr. too. He said Rhodes should be the leader who never leaves the field and makes play after play.

In Hampton’s view, that hasn’t happened this year.

The offense isn’t off the hook. It’s scored four touchdowns against Power 4 teams, and only one came before the other side sent in the backups.

Effort without execution isn’t enough

Coach Ryan Silverfield and his coordinators have said the effort is there and the execution isn’t.

That’s a polite way to describe a 2-3 team with three lopsided losses.

Hampton’s answer is simple. Getting players to execute is the coaches’ job, even when the other team has more talent.

Money is part of this. Arkansas spends about $25 million on its roster. The Athletic reported that’s the lowest figure in the SEC.

The athletic director’s last public appearance came in July, when the stadium got its new name.

At least the building has a new name.

It doesn’t get easier Saturday. No. 15 Tennessee comes to Razorback Stadium for a 3:15 p.m. kickoff on SEC Network.

Hampton already drew up the plan. Somebody just has to follow it.