Cleaning up the mess after a 48-10 home loss to Auburn on Saturday, now offensive lineman Joshau Braun and linebacker Chris "Pooh" Paul looking ahead to game with Florida International on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
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00:00 - So hey Poo, how's practice look this week?
00:02 How are things going?
00:04 - Practice has been going pretty good.
00:05 You know, we just been keying in on the little details
00:08 and things like that and just trying to get a step
00:11 on the opposing offense.
00:12 - All right.
00:14 Y'all probably heard a lot of the fan voice
00:17 in the last weekend, last few days.
00:19 What's that been like as a team hearing that?
00:21 And do you feel like maybe y'all are playing
00:23 for Coach Pittman a little bit these last two weeks?
00:25 - Definitely.
00:26 I feel like we putting everything on the line
00:27 for our coach, because we really love these guys.
00:29 These guys are passionate about the game of ball
00:31 and things like that.
00:32 But you know, just for us, the big thing about it
00:34 is just blocking out the outside noise
00:36 and just playing our brand of football, going out.
00:38 Like I said, it's just worried about FIU this week
00:40 and just, you know, taking advantage of the two opportunities
00:42 that we have left in order to get this program
00:44 going in the right direction.
00:46 - Josh, what about you?
00:47 - Yeah, I mean, people call college football a brotherhood
00:50 and this is really where those relationships come into play.
00:53 I mean, when you're winning and everything's going right,
00:55 yeah, it's easy to be friends, it's easy to love each other,
00:57 but when things are going wrong,
00:59 this is when you lean on each other,
01:00 you rely on each other,
01:01 and ultimately you're working towards a common goal,
01:03 which is to finish the season as strong as possible.
01:06 - As well as y'all played at Florida
01:08 with the run game and everything,
01:09 what happened against Auburn that didn't allow that to click
01:11 as it did the week before, Josh?
01:13 - Yeah, I would say there were a lot of factors,
01:16 but ultimately it just comes down to
01:18 personally our preparation and how we execute the game plan.
01:22 I mean, college football, one week doesn't mean anything
01:27 for the next week or the week before.
01:28 And so even though we had success against Florida
01:31 and ultimately we won the game,
01:32 there were things that we didn't do well in that game
01:35 that we unfortunately weren't able to correct.
01:38 And going into this week,
01:39 this is something that we have to focus on
01:41 and this is what we're repping in practice
01:42 to make sure that the errors mentally and physically
01:45 that we made in the game are corrected
01:47 when we go on the field on Saturday.
01:49 - How gratifying was that for you in Gainesville
01:51 a couple of weeks ago with a lot of family there?
01:54 - I mean, it was great.
01:54 It was something I look forward to all off season,
01:57 but at the end of the day, that was two weeks ago now
02:00 and we have two more games that we need to be focused on
02:02 and we need to play for our fans in Razorback Stadium.
02:07 I mean, we haven't put a good showing on yet this year
02:09 and that's all we're focused on right now,
02:10 just showing up for the fans and showing out.
02:13 - Poo, they got a freshman quarterback.
02:15 What do you see from that offense?
02:17 - So the quarterback, even though he's a freshman,
02:19 he's a real, very athletic guy.
02:20 He has speed on him, but he can also sling it.
02:23 And the thing about it that, like I just said,
02:25 we just got to keep an upbeat tempo on them guys,
02:28 just picking up on little factors,
02:30 what do O-linemen stands tell us,
02:32 what does running back depth, things like that,
02:34 that just give us an edge on the game
02:35 and just being real big on our communication
02:38 and just playing together.
02:39 - Courtney, go ahead.
02:42 - Yeah, just a quick question for both of you guys.
02:46 We got to see Jacoby a little bit in that game
02:49 of this past Saturday.
02:50 I was wondering from each of your perspective,
02:52 what is he like as a teammate and a player on this roster?
02:56 - Just looking at Jacoby and talking with him
02:59 throughout the day, you can tell that he's a natural
03:01 born leader.
03:02 He has that factor about him that was instilled in him
03:06 and things like that.
03:06 First of all, he's a great guy.
03:07 Anytime you need to just go talk to him,
03:11 outside of football as well,
03:13 it been times that I've seen him,
03:15 me and him going to tutoring sessions together
03:17 and we don't even talk about balls,
03:18 just catching up on each other,
03:19 like how are you, how aware are your mind,
03:21 your head space and things like that.
03:22 So, great guy, somebody that you can definitely lean on
03:25 and just watching him go out there
03:27 and just make those types of plays really made me happy.
03:30 Just watching him put in the preparation
03:32 and once his number was called for him to go out there
03:34 and make such an impact so fast
03:36 and just seeing him out there leading around, man,
03:38 it was just awesome.
03:39 - Yeah, seeing the work he puts in day in and day out,
03:41 just in practice and him getting the opportunity
03:45 and having his number called
03:46 and him filling the shoes that needed to be filled,
03:47 it was great for me to see that just as a friend of his.
03:51 - Thank you both, that's it for me.
03:53 - Bob, go ahead.
03:55 - Hey, I guess for both guys,
03:58 you've been playing all these big name SEC teams,
04:00 obviously now you're playing FIU
04:03 and they're in a tough season too.
04:07 What's it like going from all these SEC games,
04:09 now you're playing a team,
04:10 I think you're favored to beat by 30 points.
04:13 I mean, I know that's just points spread,
04:15 but what's it like getting ready for a team
04:18 that's not an SEC team this late in the year?
04:21 - We're not really a big logo team,
04:24 we don't really just work,
04:25 no matter how big or small the opponent is,
04:27 we're going to go out there and play tough, fast
04:30 and physical brand of football and things like that.
04:32 So just going into this week,
04:34 we prepared this week like we have every other week
04:38 and that's just big on communication,
04:40 big on getting to the football,
04:41 big on being physical and just flying around,
04:44 like Bron said, just giving our fans
04:48 what they deserve.
04:49 We haven't put a good showing on
04:50 for the past couple of weeks at home and things like that.
04:52 So, it's just big for us to go out here
04:54 and give the fans what they deserve.
04:56 - Yeah, I mean, ultimately it comes down to us as offense,
04:59 just doing what we're supposed to do.
05:03 We haven't given a good show at home
05:05 and so it doesn't matter whether we're playing FIU
05:07 or Georgia at home this week,
05:10 we're preparing exactly the same way,
05:12 hoping to put on a good show for the fans
05:14 and just for our brothers.
05:15 - Josh, you being from Florida,
05:17 I think FIU has been playing football,
05:20 I don't know, 20 something years maybe,
05:22 so they're relative newbie.
05:24 Just wondering, as a guy who grew up in Florida,
05:26 kind of what's the perception of FIU's program?
05:29 - I mean, they have a solid program from what I understand.
05:33 They hit some roadblocks this year,
05:36 but they keep fighting
05:37 and they're not gonna come in here and just lay down.
05:39 They're gonna give us their all.
05:41 They're fighting for bowl eligibility still
05:42 and they're not just gonna hand us a win.
05:44 So we need to go out there and be physical,
05:46 run to the ball and just play our hearts out.
05:50 - And then after you guys beat Florida,
05:51 big theme was you can close out strong at home,
05:55 get bowl eligible,
05:56 and then the Auburn game was a tough loss, obviously.
05:59 So how do you guys refocus
06:00 and what's the big motivation now?
06:03 - Just going one and know these last two weeks
06:06 and taking advantage of the two opportunities we have, Lil.
06:09 And it's just, yeah, okay,
06:11 we didn't play our brand last week,
06:13 but it's time to move forward.
06:15 There ain't no time to be in the past
06:16 and things like that.
06:17 We just gonna look forward to these two opportunities
06:19 that we still have left.
06:20 And for all the guys on the team, they love football.
06:22 So it don't matter.
06:23 We're gonna go out there, we're gonna play our brand.
06:25 We're gonna play fast.
06:26 We're gonna correct what we had to correct
06:27 and get it right for Saturday.
06:29 - Yeah, I mean, our season's very simple now.
06:30 We have two games left
06:32 and at this point, it's a point of pride.
06:34 I mean, we're going out there to put on a show
06:35 and we're not playing for championships.
06:39 We're not playing for anything
06:40 except our brothers and our fans and pride in ourselves.
06:42 And I hope that's the product
06:43 that we put on the field on Saturday.
06:46 - Thanks guys.
06:47 - Trey.
06:48 - Yeah, Josh, this might be a better question for you,
06:53 but maybe also for Pooh too,
06:55 because KJ has kind of been the face of the team
06:58 and a leader of the program.
07:00 I'm curious from you guys,
07:02 just how has his attitude been?
07:05 This hadn't been the season
07:06 that he thought it was gonna be in his senior year.
07:08 How has his attitude been?
07:09 How has he been leading this program?
07:11 - He's been leading it very well.
07:13 He's very positive.
07:14 He comes into work every day.
07:16 He's trying to lead the younger guys
07:17 just to get them developed and ready to play
07:20 whenever their number is called.
07:21 And I've seen great leadership from him.
07:23 Just, I've had experience in the past
07:26 with quarterbacks that fit his play style
07:28 and he is leading us as well as he can.
07:31 And I look forward to seeing his output on Saturday.
07:34 - What about you, Pooh?
07:36 I mean, I know you're defensive side of the ball,
07:38 but I mean, KJ kind of is an overarching character.
07:42 - The thing that I like about KJ,
07:43 he is not emotionally inconsistent.
07:46 He gonna be the same guy, whether it's win or loss.
07:49 He's just a high energetic guy who loves to play ball.
07:52 He still work around, he's still being the same.
07:53 KJ still lean the offense to just thrive
07:56 and make up for the mistakes that they've had in the past.
08:00 Also defense, he's also an out here as well.
08:02 Just letting us know that he's behind us,
08:06 no matter good or bad.
08:07 There's nothing that's gonna just phase us as a team.
08:10 So that's what I see from KJ.
08:13 - And we've seen some struggles with the offense,
08:16 good bit of the year, but defense,
08:17 that was pretty uncharacteristic
08:19 to give up 354 yards on the ground.
08:22 I'm wondering, what was Coach Williams,
08:24 what was his message?
08:25 What was his reaction to just the overall performance
08:28 Saturday and then getting it corrected
08:30 moving forward these last two games?
08:31 - Obviously, everybody on the team was disappointed
08:36 with the outcome of the game.
08:38 Nobody feel like they played Arkansas' brand of football.
08:41 And with Coach T. Will, it was just,
08:45 how do we get back to that Arkansas brand?
08:48 How do we get back to that physical,
08:51 flying around, being fast,
08:52 communicating defense that we were?
08:54 And just sitting back, we just been heavy in the field room
08:57 like we've been doing.
08:58 Coach T. Will has not changed his coaching style at all.
09:01 He's still that high energetic guy that's gonna run around.
09:04 We feed off his energy, he's still gonna coach us hard.
09:06 He's still gonna give us tough love
09:07 and things like that.
09:08 So, we just listen to him,
09:10 we just sit back and we trust him.
09:11 With everything that we have going on,
09:13 here we trust him and we trust our defensive staff.
09:17 - And football's a team game.
09:18 - I agree with that, Josh.
09:18 - It's not a point.
09:20 When the offense doesn't execute at a high rate
09:23 and the special teams doesn't execute at a high rate,
09:25 it puts a lot of stress on the defense.
09:27 And we need to put them in the best position possible
09:29 for them to be successful.
09:30 And we as an offense fail to put them in that position.