Cohu sparks talks on Arkansas’ football culture

Little Rock Christian head football Coach Eric Cohu made several posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Oct. 11 which created discussion about the need to improve the overall football culture in the state.

His first post noted “We all want to see the [University of Arkansas] Hogs succeed! But we have to improve the overall football culture in this state by investing in high school football. There is too much talent in this state that is being neglected.”

Administrative support for football and other sports are vital, said Cohu.

“I feel like over the last several decades educators have tried to squelch and marginalize sports or push them out totally and I think it’s a disservice to our kids,” Cohu said. “I think we learn a lot about character, I think we learn about life. I think sports are an integral part of the overall holistic education process.”

A study of nearly 140,000 students by the Kansas State High School Activities Association and the Kansas State Department of Education revealed athletes earned higher grades, graduated at a higher rate, dropped out of school less frequently and scored higher on state assessments than non-athletes.

An improved high school culture in the state helps the Razorbacks ability to compete in the SEC.

“If we don’t have the same football culture that Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee have, then we can’t expect to be playing at those levels,” Cohu said.

Cohu had coaching stops in Virginia, Tennessee and at Madison Academy in Huntsville, Ala., where he won three consecutive Class 3A state championships from 2012-2014. He was the offensive coordinator and international ambassador for the Israel Football League’s national team prior to being hired as the Warriors’ coach in April of 2017.

He believes moving ninth graders to varsity level would improve help high school football in the state.

“I’ve coached anywhere from 1A to 6A, so I know what it’s like to coach small school and the other southern states that I mentioned Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Texas, all freshmen are classified as high school,” Cohu said.

Michael Poore, the former Little Rock superintendent from 2016 to 2022, is credited for a revitalization of athletics in the district after years of lack of funding and a de-emphasis of athletics.

He agrees with moving freshmen to varsity level.

“I think it gives more options and the really talented kids you have to address the possibility of allowing a kid at 9th grade because it’s happening everywhere else and if you don’t do it, ultimately we’re going to lose a kid with the more liberal transfer rules,” Poore said.

Cohu sees freshman being on varsity as a win-win for schools at all classifications.

“If they’re practicing with older guys or have a high school staff, they’re going to develop a little quicker and then at medium size schools they’re going to be playing JV so they’re practicing and playing with sophomores which are older instead of 8th graders,” Cohu said. “At the small schools, it allows some of these teams not gave to drop to 8-man by adding 10 or 12 freshmen to the team.”

The Hogs average about five to seven in-state signees in each recruiting class with 2022 and 2008 being the exceptions with 10 and 15 Arkansas products inking with them, respectively.

Cohu believes the state could produce more than 10-15 SEC caliber prospects a year with a change in the culture.

“If we have more of a football culture on all levels, then that’s going to help the Hogs to have a better football culture because we’ll get more in-state kids, we’ll get more talent developed faster and quicker and just more volume,” Cohu said.

When Little Rock Parkview quarterback Landon Rogers and tight end Erin Outley signed with the Hogs for the 2021 class, they were the first from the district in 15 years to sign with Arkansas. Patriot running back James Jointer inked with the Hogs in 2022.

The district used to be a consistent talent pool for the Razorbacks in the past but started to drive up in the 1990s due to lack of commitment from district leadership.

The Patriots have produced several college prospects since the hiring of Brad Bolding in 2016. Parkview junior safety Omarion Robinson and sophomore linebacker Jakore Smith have offers from the Hogs.

Poore is proud of salary improvements for coaches in the district during his tenure but believes more needs to be done.

“I could be wrong but it’s been since 1980, the stipends never got changed,” Poore said. “If you compare what we’re doing in Little Rock to with what’s going on to Northwest [Arkansas], we’re not holding our own on that. In my theory, when you move the stipends up, it allows for a little more enhanced expectations for the positions.”

Daryl Patton, a four-time Class 7A state champion at Fayetteville, was named the first head football coach at Little Rock Southwest High School in January of 2020. In a promising development, the Gryphons junior varsity squad went 6-0 this season with wins over Cabot, Pine Bluff, Conway and North Little Rock.

Poore believes having higher expectations at the middle school level is needed.

“They should be evaluated on getting kids out because if we can get a solid group of 40 kids in each of those junior highs or middle schools, it’s going to create a pipeline,” Poore said.

Cohu believes some school districts need to invest more into coaches.

“You need about one coach per 10 to 15 players,” Cohu said. “Do the coaches have enough coaches? Do they have enough time in the day to prepare? Film study? Etcetera, etcetera in comparison to the other southern states that we would call football states.”

Cohu points out highly successful programs like Greenwood have a common theme.

“When you peel back the layers, you’ll find superintendent and principals that see the value in football,” Cohu said. “It’s a community building sport. A lot of kids can play it no matter what athletic build or makeup they are and it’s a venue for band and cheerleading and I just think ignoring extracurricular or minimizing football especially or marginalizing it, we can’t be shocked when it had effects on the collegiate level in our state.”