Saturday's Celebration of Frank Broyles' Life exceeded all expectations
FAYETTEVILLE - From his start in the 1980s as a student assistant in the University of Arkansas sports information department into now his seventh season as the Razorbacks associate athletic director for public relations, Kevin Trainor has done outstanding and appreciatively calmly understated work.
But it’s hard to imagine he’s done anything more outstanding or calmly understated but appreciated work than this last weekend.
David Bazzel, the former Razorback and the emcee for Saturday’s Celebration of Frank Broyles’ life, credited Trainor with coordinating the weekend’s tribute to the Razorbacks’ legendary football coach (1958-76) and athletic director (1973-2007) and as athletic emeritus still the face of the Razorbacks even through his Alzheimer’s years during which he functioned amazingly well for the bulk of them until death this past Aug. 14.
The Broyles family, including their seven adult children extended family of Gen Whitehead Broyles, the widow of famed UA Creative Writing professor and author before Broyles became the widower of Barbara Broyles, mother of their six adult children, could not have asked for a better tribute than last Saturday’s six speakers, which included Broyles’ oldest son, Jack Broyles, and Jack Wilson, Broyles’ favorite minister in his 59 years attending Central Methodist Church and former UA Chancellor Dan Ferritor, Razorbacks Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner, and Ken Hatfield, Arkansas’ coach under from Broyles from 198489, and Quinn Grovey, the All South west Conference quarterback of the Hatfield era but touched personally by the Broyles authored Alzheimer’s Playbook for Caregivers based on caring for Barbara Broyles through her Alzheimer’s.
Grovey’s mother died of Alzheimer’s and the care her son provided improved nearly 100 percent from the care that Quinn said he was unsuccessfully providing until learning from Broyles’ book.
Everything, including the videos interspersed with the speeches, was first-rate.
It took a first-rate job coordinating it all. Kevin coordinated it like he’s one of the family, which in fact he is. Kevin is married to Ruth Whitehead Trainor, mother of two extended Broyles Whitehead family granddaughters.
Kevin would have done superbly under all conditions but there had to have been an extra all in the family incentive and it showed start to finish.
As Ken Hatfield said of Broyles’ life, extend the “job well done” to Broyles’ son-inlaw, too.
OPEN WEEK
VS. EARLY OPENER The Florida A&M Rattlers have an urgency head start on the Razorbacks this week but because of it could be worn out by the time they open Arkansas’ season at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 31 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
For this week, even with Monday’s start of UA fall semester classes, Coach Bret Bielema’s Razorbacks likely will feel locked more in tedious preseason than a game-week mode.
Florida A&M of the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference ) is full-tilt game week opening Saturday on ESPNU against Texas Southern of the SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference).
However the old adage of a team improving the most between its first and second game shouldn’t scare Arkansas.
The underdog Rattlers’ short-week recovery from Saturday’s game before a Thursday game won’t be helped by riding the bus from their Tallahassee headquarters to Little Rock.
At least the Rattlers’ head coach, Alex Wood, is familiar with Arkansas and Little Rock.
Wood coached quarterbacks in 2006 and receivers in 2007 for the Razorbacks of former Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt.
BACKUP QB
By the end of this week if he hasn’t already, Bielema has said and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Dan Enos plan to designate a top backup quarterback between third-year sophomore Ty Storey of Charleston and redshirt freshman Cole Kelley of Lafayette, La.
The No. 2 position likely will be an empty title if senior incumbent starter Austin Allen of Fayetteville stays healthy but obviously would become paramount if Allen became incapacitated.
Of course No. 2 now seems a head start for the No. 1 next spring with Allen moved on. However by then presumably redshirting scholarship freshman Daulton Hyatt should be a candidate.
And if they keep improving like what media saw of them in this month’s preseason scrimmages, don’t exclude walkons Jack Lindsey and Carson Proctor from next season’s battle to succeed Allen.
SCHEDULE Bielema scheduled a closed practice Sunday and customarily uses Monday for the players to get established on their first day of UA classes and resume drills Tuesday.
Bielema will be in Little Rock today addressing the Little Rock Touchdown Club and Wednesday addresses the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club.
(Nate Allen covers the Razorbacks for the News Times.)