By Christopher Anderson (THROWITDEEP)
July 20, 2012 6:25 AM
At the SEC Media Days in Hoover, Alabama on Wednesday, Arkansas Head Football Coach John L. Smith stood behind the podium and gave the sports world what they wanted to hear, his crazy-like-a-fox brand of humor.
Smith was straight to the point when asked if he wanted to coach the Razorbacks beyond the 2012 season.
“Well, certainly. Do I look stupid?” he responded, but then stated “Don’t answer that question.”
The whole room got a laugh out of that remark and the new Head Hog stood there smiling.
That’s John L. Smith. A man with a quirky, but loving personality.
The pulse of the media going into the press conference was that hopefully Coach Smith would say something crazy to make himself and the University of Arkansas look not so favorable. However, what they received was a man on a mission with Miami on his mind, to win the BCS National Championship.
“This is a program, and we’re all a part of it as players, as coaches, as fans, as a student body,” Smith said. “We all have to relish our position as being a part of this program.”
“And we have one goal, and we’re not bashful about reiterating that goal. That goal is to win in Miami.”
Smith coached as an assistant at Arkansas for three seasons before leaving to take over at his Alma Mater, Weber State. A few months later, he was back in Fayetteville to clean up the mess left behind by his former star pupil, Bobby Petrino.
If you are reading this and have not heard about Petrino then you just woke up from a coma or you were living in a cave on meth. Go google it because I refuse to waste my words about his debacle anymore in this article.
Lying, plus, Jeff Long being your boss, equals living in a two-bedroom apartment in Rogers, Arkansas hiding in shame from the world.
I digress….
In fact, John L. agrees with me.
On whether Arkansas had contacted him before Bobby Petrino was dismissed:
“Could we move on to the next question, at least one with intelligence? No, you didn’t get that, did you?”
“No, to my knowledge, we did not have any interaction till after Bobby was gone. That had all taken place prior to any of that. The actual who reached out to who, all of that stuff, it started with — I’m going to be perfectly honest with you — my talking with the coaches and vice versa. That’s where it came from. And then I reached out.”
And when he reached out the players reached back.
“The one thing about him, is he really cares,” Linebacker Tenarius Wright said. “He wants you to have to have no worries off the field so you can go out and focus on the game.”
That is exactly why Athletic Director Jeff Long hired Smith. In fact, he was hired to hold together what is considered the Razorbacks most talented football team in thirty years.
“He puts a blanket on us, keeps it away from us,” Wright said.
That “it” that Wright is speaking about is the craziness that Bobby Petrino left behind.
Oops, I said I would not talk about it again.
I wonder if Petrino is snuggled up warm in a blanket this morning in his two-bedroom apartment?
John L. Smith was the right hire for this job and only time will tell if the Fox and all his “craziness” is enough to get to Miami?
Coach Smith did a great job at the SEC Media Days and represented the University of Arkansas very well. I believe he will have a special football season this year too.
That is exactly why he came back. He might be crazy-like-a-fox, but he is not stupid.
John L. Smith is here to win a Championship.
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