Arkansas safety Alan Turner
Arkansas safety Alan Turner speaks at SEC Media Days on Wednesday, July 16, 2014, at the Wynfrey in Birmingham, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)
HOOVER, Alabama -- Bret Bielema is leading the charge on player safety, but even his own players are not so sure hurry-up offenses like Auburn's attack result in more injuries on the football field.
The Arkansas coach has long held hurry-up, no-huddle offenses like Auburn's attack correlates with more injuries on the field, especially for defenses unable to substitute players.
"I haven't really taken in account anything like that," said senior Arkansas safety Alan Turner. "I just know what Auburn does, they do really well, and I don't think it's really a player hazard."
Bielema and Alabama coach Nick Saban helped push legislation in the offseason that would have required offenses to wait 10 seconds before snapping the ball. The NCAA Football Rules Committee dropped the proposal before it went to vote in March amid pressure from Auburn coach Gus Malzahn and others.
"I firmly believe that, yes, our responsibility as coaches is player safety," Bielema said Wednesday. "However that comes about, whether it be a 10-second rule in the future, whether it be a substitution mandatory rule that a committee comes in place and sets in college football, I think the game is going to be a safer one because of it."
Auburn knocked off Arkansas 35-17 last season in Fayetteville. The Tigers leaned on the run more than the pass, throwing only nine times and completing eight for 133 yards while rushing for 233 yards and four touchdowns on 46 carries. The Tigers' offense hit its stride at that point in the season, scoring 55 points or more twice in the final five games.
"What they do with their offense, tempo, they try to help their players to be in the best position so they can make plays," Turner said. "They're just a quality team."
Arkansas defensive end Trey Flowers, a Huntsville, Alabama native, stood behind his coach after discussing both sides of the hurry-up, no-huddle argument at SEC Media Days.
"That's not really for me to dictate because football is football. There's going to be injuries here and there, but that could be an argument. I think that's coach Bielema's argument and I'm playing for coach Bielema, so I'm going to stand behind him," Flowers said, eliciting chuckles from reporters.
"As far as Auburn wants to do, that brings them success and obviously they're going to keep doing it -- we've just got to find a way to stop it."
Bielema reiterated his respect for Malzahn's Auburn offense -- and the coach's success -- Wednesday. He also pointed to his success against some no-huddle teams, including Wisconsin's 45-38 loss to Oregon in the 2012 Rose Bowl.
"There's nothing more enjoyable than to see a no-huddle offense sitting on the sideline and can't stand it," Bielema said. "But to do that you have to play really good defense and you have to play well on offense. For my formula to work and complete wins, you have to be able to be good offensively, defensively and on special teams. All three have to work together."
Arkansas allowed 30.8 points per game last season, ranking 89th nationally and 12th in the SEC, and scored only 20.7 points (107th nationally, 12th SEC).
Arkansas opens the season Aug. 30 at Auburn. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. on the SEC Network.