What all did Petrino cover in first SEC teleconference as Hogs' interim coach?

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Interim head coach Bobby Petrino participated in his first SEC teleconference Wednesday morning. It was his first in his new role with the Hogs.

Here is what he had to say.

Opening statement:

Well, we had a team meeting Monday, and I thought it went very well. Got a lot on the table. There's some, actually some hurt feelings, obviously, with Coach Pittman not being here anymore and couple of the defensive guys not being here anymore.
And I understand that, and the players understand that they need to move on and have a great finish to the next nine weeks so that they can be marketable, whether that's going into the NFL, staying here, are transferring. They need to have a very, very productive nine weeks, as do I and the assistant coaches. So we've just been trying to focus on that. Went out yesterday, and I felt like we had a good practice. There was a great attitude out there. Guys were going full speed.
We still got a lot of things to work on, a lot of things to get better at, but the effort and attitude was there, and I was encouraged by what I saw.

On changes to defensive schemes:

Yeah, I don't know if tinker is the right word. I think what we're working on is things that we we have in the system that we can make our base and get players to understand it better, get players to play faster, get all 11 guys on the same field to do their job on every single play, and have it all work together.
There was a lot of defense in that there were a lot of assignment errors and and confusion, and we're really working hard at making sure that goes away and we can get lined up, getting a great stance, get our eyes where they belong, and play together as a unit.

Feelings about trend of mid-season coaching changes:

Yeah, I'm not sure you're asking the right guy on that one. You know, I'm not a big fan of it. I think that when you when you start something, that you try to finish it. We always got to keep the players in mind, but, you know, it's not really up to us as coaches to, you know, do that. So we're trying to make sure here that we have our players come into the building every day and have a great attitude, great work ethic, enjoy themselves, have fun with it. And, you know, give them a give them a way that we can win football games.

On who's handling the coaching of linebackers right now:

Yeah, we've been we've got a couple of young guys that have been working there, and obviously Coach Wilson is splitting some time between the D line and the linebackers. We've got two young graduate assistants that are helping him. So right now, between the two positions, we've got three guys and him overseeing it.
Sometimes it's really good to meet together with the front and the linebackers. And one of our huge things that we're working on right now is our run fits, so the ability to install that, watch the video, see how it all works together, is not a bad thing. It's kind of a good thing to have them all in the same room and go through those run fits.

On how to handle recruiting right now:

Just trying to continue the relationships that we've had. You know, I felt like we did a really good job of recruiting here. We have a good group, and we all do understand that, you know, we're going to lose some guys. That's the nature of the business.
I know there's a guy a couple days ago, or the next day that really, really wants to come here, is really interested in this, but mom and dad don't want him to be left out in the cold, so he decommitted from us. So I mean, it's, it's life for them too. And you know, a lot of, lot of unanswered questions.
We're just going to continue to build the relationships we have and continue to understand the young men that this it's about the University of Arkansas and how much you liked it here when you're on your visit and going to school and getting your degree, and the football part of it will take care of itself.

On balancing act between challenging players and offering comfort in tough time:

Yeah, you know, I don't really know what the balancing act is. I know that I tried to let them understand that everybody in the room is feeling some of the things have hurt, that hurt and don't feel right.
I came here to coach the quarterbacks, coordinated the offense. I came here because coach Pittman was a man that reached out to me, and I developed a really close friendship with them and respect them tremendously. And I woke up, and now he's no longer here, so I have the same feelings that a lot of people in the room had.
Then we have to understand it, and then you try to go out and do something positive for somebody, and then get back to what's important to you before it happens. So that's kind of how I've always handled the crisis, is to make sure you mourn properly, make sure you do something positive for somebody, and then get back to what was important to you before.

On leaning on team leaders in the locker room for final nine weeks:

Yeah, we had a lot of one-on-one conversations too, and not just with me. You know, everybody's trying to get get their players in and visit with them one on one. And, you know, the leaders, everybody on the team, really. So I, like I said, I was very impressed at the attitude we took the field with yesterday and the work ethic that we had on the field.

Regarding people going into portal or missing practice:

No, no. We had everybody in the weight room all day yesterday, lifting and everybody out on the practice field. Everybody attended meetings on time. I think they all understand, and that was one of the things I tried to address with them, right off the off the bat.
And, you know, there's actually no benefit to going into the transfer portal right now. The only thing that can hurt is financially, and no ability to go in and play right away, and no video on on tape to to make your transition if you're going to transfer somewhere marketable. So there's really no reason to for anyone to go into the transfer portal. And I think once I laid it out that way for the players, they understood it.

On getting ready for Tennessee:

Well, we got a start on that on Sunday evening, early Monday morning. We've been working working on a part of practice yesterday was versus Tennessee.
I always liked on bye weeks, go back and work some ones versus ones, twos versus twos, and then also have a couple segments a day that are versus Tennessee. It allows you to just work on one emphasis.
Like today's emphasis is going to be third and short and third and medium. You know, yesterday was first in 10 and blitz. So it's just where you how you break it up and and try to get better as individuals, and then try to make sure we get a head start on the preparation for the game.