Challenges exist, but foundation is solid

Chad Morris and Hunter Yurachek were impressive in their introductions. They seemed to exude genuine energy, enthusiasm and excitement.

That’s not an indictment against the men they replaced. Bret Bielema seemed to get it — the passion and pride that former players and the Razorback Nation feel every minute of every day.

Yurachek seems totally thrilled to be at Arkansas with the opportunity to be an athletic director at a Power 5 school.

Morris, a native of Texas — which means his family could have been Arkansans, but when they came to the sign that said you are leaving Arkansas they kept going, probably because they

couldn’t read (that’s a joke) — got his shot a year, maybe two years, ahead of schedule.

Both seem genuinely appreciative of being a part of the Southeastern Conference.

Let’s face it. It doesn’t get any better than the SEC. Plus, both got really nice raises.

Let’s also be honest. Both face big challenges. They share the one of trying to rally and reunite one of the country’s great fan bases, and that means the folks who save their money weekly to be able to make the donation that allows them to buy tickets as well as the wealthy fans who among other things allow new facilities to be built.

The majority of the butts in the seats the last six years were the people who work and save and consider it a privilege to be a season-ticket holder. They deserve some extra attention right now.

Yurachek faces the challenge of finishing the Razorback Riviera in the north end zone of Reynolds Razorback Stadium that is already rumored to be looking at going over budget. Not for the construction by CDI Contractors which apparently is coming in on budget, but for the decorating and finishing touches and all that goes with that.

Morris faces more immediate challenges. He needs players who fit his system. And lots of them. He needs a defensive coordinator who is as creative as he is on offense and who can recruit, but then his entire staff needs to be able to do that starting the day they get hired.

The head coach has to be able to get better players from the state of Texas than he did at SMU, and being in the SEC should help that, plus it is a little easier to get into the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville than SMU, a private and very expensive university.

Bielema hurt himself when he spoke to the Texas High School Coaches Association and told them, according to Texas Tech Coach Kliff Kingsbury, that he’d kick their a** if they didn’t play a fullback and tried to throw 70 times a game — most of the coaches that heard that weren’t playing a fullback and were running high octane spread offenses — Morris is well known and respected in Texas.

He won three state championships there before taking a shot at being a college coach, starting at Tulsa and then saving everyone’s bacon at Clemson with his sonic boom offense that could run 90 plays in a game without getting winded.

Yeah, he had a losing record at SMU but they improved every season and got bowl eligible at 7-5 this season and could have won two more games.

What he’s not is a Gus (Malzhan) lite. Or a halfpriced Gus. While they have some similarities in that both are religious, love their wife and family and are football geniuses, Morris is his own man who seems to enjoy fan interaction more than Malzahn.

A big challenge faces fans, too. A 7-5 record season next year won’t mean undefeated the next. The Razorbacks’ future has six seasons to overcome.

If this week was what it appeared to be, two pieces of a new foundation are in place.